Edmond Hamilton
Edmond Hamilton (1904-1977) was a prominent American science fiction writer known for pioneering the space opera subgenre. Born in Youngstown, Ohio, he was the only son among four children in a family that moved from a farm to urban life. Hamilton's literary career began after he left Westminster College, where he was expelled due to boredom, and he soon became a notable contributor to magazines like "Weird Tales" and "Amazing Stories." His early works featured grand themes of planetary destruction and heroism, earning him nicknames such as "World Wrecker" and "World Saver." During World War II, he became the chief writer for the character Captain Future and later worked on iconic comic book series including Batman and Superman. He married fellow science fiction writer Leigh Brackett in 1946, and both had significant influences in the genre. Over his career, Hamilton's writing evolved to incorporate more scientific accuracy while retaining his flair for expansive, imaginative storytelling. His legacy is marked by his ability to evoke a "sense of wonder," blending adventure with thoughtful speculation about humanity's place in the universe.
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Edmond Hamilton
Writer
- Born: October 21, 1904
- Birthplace: Youngstown, Ohio
- Died: February 1, 1977
- Place of death: Lancaster, California
Biography
Edmond Hamilton was born on October 21, 1904, in Youngstown, Ohio, the only son among four children of Scott Hamilton, a newspaper cartoonist, and Maude (Whinery) Hamilton, formerly a schoolteacher. They lived on a relatively primitive farm until Scott Hamilton got a job on a newspaper in New Castle, Pennsylvania. The precocious Edmond entered Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, at the age of fourteen, but boredom and emotional unpreparedness led to his expulsion in his third year.
During that time he had begun reading the pulp fiction of the time: his favorite authors included Edgar Rice Burroughs, A. Merritt (his model for his first published short story), and especially Homer Eon Flint. A job as a railway yard clerk ended in 1924, and from then on, Hamilton’s sole source of income was his writing. His early stories were chiefly published in Weird Tales and Amazing Stories, and along with writers such as his friend Jack Williamson and E. E. “Doc” Smith, he pioneered the science fiction subgenre soon dubbed “space opera” in such works as his Interstellar Patrol series. Hamilton’s penchant for threatening entire planets with destruction, or rescuing them from it, led to his being called “World Wrecker” and/or “World Saver.” Although this fondness for gigantic subjects could lead to the sort of mindless human triumphalism that space opera is prone to, Hamilton could also be thoughtful in his speculations about humanity loosed upon the universe, as in 1932’s A Conquest of Two Worlds.
Hamilton was exempt from service during World War II. During that time, he became involved as the chief writer for a series of works, including an entire magazine devoted to one character, Captain Future, and his problem-solving helpers. When Mort Weisinger, the originator of the Captain Future concept, moved to DC Comics, he persuaded Hamilton to join him as a staff writer on Batman and Superman stories.
In 1946, Hamilton married fellow science fiction writer and space-opera creator Leigh Brackett. They lived on an antique farmhouse near Kinsman, Ohio, but Brackett’s work as a Hollywood scriptwriter (most importantly for Howard Hawks) led to their buying a home in Lancaster, California. Both Brackett’s and Hamilton’s science fiction matured at this time, Hamilton’s becoming, for one thing, more scientifically accurate, while losing none of the love for large themes that marked his youthful work. Both he and Brackett were honored as Guests of Honor at the Twenty-Second Annual World Science Fiction Convention in Oakland, California, in 1964. He died in California, in 1977; his wife survived him by thirteen months.
It has become a cliche to assert that the pioneers of American science fiction in the 1920’s and 1930’s were masters of the elusive “sense of wonder,” but in Hamilton’s case, it is true. Even as the scientific inaccuracies threaten the reader’s suspension of disbelief, Hamilton’s adjective-laden style, narrative verve, and grasp of the large concept entice the reader. Often the sense of wonder is shot through with melancholy. To adapt the title of one of his most famous stories, Edmond Hamilton is an excellent example of a Writer Who Evolved.