Top 10 facts about science fiction

The term science fiction was first used in 1851

TODAY is the 90th birthday of the great English science fiction author Brian Aldiss.

1. The earliest use of the term Science Fiction, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, was in 1851 when it was applied to poetry or fiction interweaving a story with scientific fact.

2. The earliest use of “science fiction” for futuristic writing was in 1927…

3. … and the abbreviation “sci-fi” was introduced in 1954, by analogy with “hi-fi”.

4. The annual awards at the World Science Fiction Convention are called the “Hugos” after Hugo Gernsback, founder of Amazing Stories in 1926.

5. Although Greenback was the first in modern times to use the term “science fiction”, he preferred to call it “scientifiction”.

6. According to Vladimir Nabokov, Shakespeare’s The Tempest was science fiction.

7. The first US edition of Nabokov’s novel Lolita was published on Brian Aldiss’s birthday in 1958.

8. The first bowler to take four wickets in consecutive balls in First Class cricket was Joseph Wells, father of science fiction pioneer HG Wells.

9. The Spielberg film A.I. was based on a Brian Aldiss story, “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long”.

10. The first popular SF superhero was Mandrake the Magician in 1934. Superman arrived in 1938.