John W. Campbell, Jr
John W. Campbell, Jr. (1910–1971) was an influential American science fiction writer and editor, born in Newark, New Jersey. He graduated with a B.S. in physics from Duke University in 1932 and began his writing career shortly thereafter, making his debut with the short story "When the Atoms Failed." Campbell gained prominence in the early 1930s as a science fiction novelist, notably with his 1938 novelette "Who Goes There?", which inspired the films "The Thing from Outer Space." He is perhaps best known for his long tenure as the editor of Astounding Science Fiction magazine, where he played a crucial role in shaping the genre by publishing works from notable authors such as Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein.
In addition to his editorial work, Campbell was involved in the early dissemination of L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics theories, which had personal repercussions, including a divorce from his first wife. He hosted the science fiction radio program "Exploring Tomorrow" in the late 1950s and received several Hugo Awards for his contributions to the field. After his death, he was posthumously honored with the establishment of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, and a crater on Mars was named in his memory. Campbell's legacy continues to resonate within the science fiction community, reflecting his significant impact on the genre's development.
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John W. Campbell, Jr.
Editor
- Born: June 8, 1910
- Birthplace: Newark, New Jersey
- Died: July 11, 1971
- Place of death: Mountainside, New Jersey
Biography
John Wood Campbell, Jr., was born in Newark, New Jersey, on June 8, 1910. His father, John Wood Campbell, Sr., was an engineer with the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. Following a conventional grammar and high school education at Blair Academy, Campbell attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1928 until he was expelled in 1931. He transferred to Duke University, where he graduated with a B.S. in physics in 1932. During the Depression, Campbell worked as a car and a gas heater salesman and later in the research department of Mack Truck, Hoboken Pioneer Instruments, and Carleton Ellis Chemical Company.
About the same time, Campbell started to write. He made his debut as a writer in 1930, at the age of twenty, with the short story “When the Atoms Failed.” In the early 1930’s, he established himself as a science-fiction writer with a series of space opera novels. His 1938 novelette “Who Goes There?” was made into the motion picture, The Thing from Outer Space, in 1951, and remade in 1982.
Campbell is best known as an editor. He edited Astounding Science Fiction magazine (renamed Analog Science Fiction in 1960) from 1937 until his death in 1971. During his editorship, he published the first stories of Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. van Vogt, L. Sprague de Camp, and others, and strongly encouraged Isaac Asimov. Campbell was well known for the opinionated editorials in each issue of the magazine; an anthology of these editorials was published in 1966. He also edited the fantasy magazine Unknown (later renamed Unknown Worlds) from 1939 to 1943, and From Unknown Worlds in 1948
In the 1950’s, he developed a strong interest in several theories including Dianetics, publishing Dianetics’s founder L. Ron Hubbard’s first articles and writing editorials in support of Hubbard’s theories. Campbell’s involvement in Dianetics led to his divorce from Donna Stuart, whom he married in 1931. Campbell married Margaret Winter in 1950. Between December 11, 1957, and June 13, 1958, Campbell hosted a weekly science fiction radio program, Exploring Tomorrow. The scripts were written by Gordon Dickson, Robert Silverberg, and other science-fiction writers.
Campbell received Hugo awards for Best Professional Magazine in 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, and the E. E. Smith Memorial Award for Imaginative Contribution in 1968. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 1996. He has also been honored by having a crater on Mars named after him.
In addition to his writing, Campbell was a habitual photographer and carried a camera to any function. The depository of these negatives and photographs is unknown. His other hobbies included electronics and amateur radio.
He died of a heart ailment on July 11, 1971, at his home in Mountainside, New Jersey, at the age of sixty-one. The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer were established in his honor after his death.