Edgar Pangborn
Edgar Pangborn was an American author born on February 25, 1909, in New York City, known for his contributions to science fiction and other literary genres. The son of a notable supernatural fiction writer, he received his early education at Brooklyn Friends School and attended Harvard University, though he did not graduate. He began his literary career in the 1930s with his first novel, published under the pseudonym Bruce Harrison, and later engaged in freelance writing under various pen names. After serving in the U.S. Army Medical Corps during World War II, Pangborn committed to writing full-time, producing his first significant science fiction story, "Angel's Egg," in 1951, which gained considerable acclaim and was translated into multiple languages.
His notable works include the science fiction novels "West of the Sun" and "A Mirror for Observers," the latter winning the International Fantasy Award. Pangborn also explored other genres, writing award-winning stories for mystery magazines and novels like "Wilderness of Spring" and "The Trial of Callista Blake." He spent his later years in Voorhoesville, New York, until his death on February 1, 1976. Posthumously, his future history stories were compiled in "Still I Persist in Wondering," and he was honored with the Rediscovery Award in 2003. Pangborn's personal papers are preserved at Boston University, highlighting his literary legacy.
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Edgar Pangborn
- Born: February 25, 1909
- Birthplace: New York, New York
- Died: February 1, 1976
- Place of death: Woodstock, New York
Biography
Edgar Pangborn was born in New York City on February 25, 1909, the son of Harry Levi Pangborn and Georgia Wood Pangborn. His mother was a noted writer of supernatural fiction. He was educated at Brooklyn Friends School, graduating in 1924, and attended Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, from 1924 to 1926, but did not graduate. He also studied at the New England Conservatory of Music in 1927.
In 1930, his first novel, A-100: A Mystery Story, was published as Bruce Harrison. He engaged in, as he called it, “literary hackwork” under other pen names (most often as “Neil Ryder” in the mystery and detective pulp magazines). He also worked odd jobs, including a few years of backwoods farming in Maine from 1939 to 1942, when he began his service in the United States Army Medical Corps. After his army service, which finished in 1945, Pangborn began writing science fiction. He became a full-time writer in 1946.
His first published science fiction story, “Angel’s Egg,” appeared in June of 1951 in Galaxy Science Fiction and is considered a classic of the field. It was translated into six languages and reprinted more than twenty times. His first science-fiction novel, West of the Sun, was published two years later in 1953. His second novel, A Mirror for Observers published the following year, won the International Fantasy Award. He continued writing in other genres for the next ten years, returning to science fiction with Davy in 1964. His other work included several award- winning stories in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, the historical novelWilderness of Spring (1958), and the contemporary courtroom drama The Trial of Callista Blake (1961).
Pangborn lived his later years in Voorhoesville, New York, and died February 1, 1976 in Woodstock, New York, aged sixty-six. His series of future history stories were posthumously collected in Still I Persist in Wondering and published in 1978. >Pangborn was also the posthumous recipient of the 2003 Rediscovery Award presented by the Cordwainer Smith Foundation. Pangborn’s personal papers were acquired by Boston University, Mugar Memorial Library, Special Collections.