H.G. Wells

Herbert George Wells (1866–1946) was an English writer, journalist, and social commentator who became one of the founding figures of science fiction. Born in Bromley, Kent, he studied biology under Thomas Henry Huxley, an influence that shaped his scientific imagination and skepticism. Wells produced over 50 novels and numerous essays exploring technological advancement, social organization, and human futures, including *The Time Machine* (1895), *The Island of Doctor Moreau* (1896), and *The War of the Worlds* (1898).

Beyond fiction, Wells was a prolific essayist and public intellectual who engaged with contemporary debates on eugenics, world government, education, and the dangers of unchecked technological power. His work combined rigorous speculation about future scenarios—from atomic weapons to aerial warfare—with sharp social critique. He advocated for rational planning and international cooperation to manage technological risk, themes that resonate in modern futures studies and existential risk discourse.

Wells' legacy extends beyond literature into the intellectual foundations of futures thinking. His method of extrapolating from present trends to imagine plausible futures became a template for scenario planning and speculative analysis. His warnings about technological peril and calls for global coordination prefigured later concerns in technology ethics and long-term thinking.

H.G. Wells (1866–1946) was an English writer and futurist who studied biology under Thomas Henry Huxley and became a founding figure of science fiction. His novels—including *The Time Machine*, *The Island of Doctor Moreau*, and *The War of the Worlds*—combined scientific speculation with social critique, exploring technological futures and their dangers. Beyond fiction, he was a prolific essayist and public intellectual who advocated for rational planning and international cooperation to manage technological risk, establishing methods of scenario-based futures thinking that remain influential.