Harry Warner Jr.
Harry Warner Jr. | |
---|---|
Born | Hugo Awards (1969, 1972, 1993), First Fandom Hall of Fame award, Washington County, Maryland , Historical Preservation Award | December 19, 1922
Harry Warner Jr. (December 19, 1922 – February 17, 2003) was an American
He was also an important science fiction fan and historian of fandom and Washington County, Maryland, as well as a classical musician.
Biography
Warner was born in 1922 in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Due to poor health, he dropped out of Hagerstown High School by the 10th grade.[1]
Despite his lack of formal education, he was a well-read and learned man, an
Warner never married. On his death, he left most of his possessions to a Hagerstown Lutheran church.[2]
Career
Warner started as a
A lover of classical music, who played the piano and oboe in local recitals and on radio, he became the paper's classical music critic. He also wrote a
He retired in 1983.[1]
Science fiction fandom
Warner became active in science fiction fandom in 1936, although he was extremely reclusive, earning the nickname "The Hermit of Hagerstown" by the 1950s.[2] He rigidly kept his professional life in Hagerstown and his science fiction world separate, and few people in his hometown knew of his science fiction activities until after his death.[1][3] He hated to travel,[4] and almost never attended science fiction conventions. Although in the 1930s he welcomed such visitors as Frederik Pohl, Jack Speer, Wilson "Bob" Tucker, Milt Rothman and Russ Chauvenet,[5] ultimately, he discouraged the visits from other fans.
In 1938, he published the first issue of
Fanzine fans revered him for his letter writing.[1] His home at 423 Summit Avenue, Hagerstown, became the most famous mailing address in fandom.[4] Using a manual typewriter,[4] Warner wrote literally tens of thousands of letters commenting on fanzines. His reputation became such that nearly every fanzine publisher in the country sent him free copies of every issue as a matter of course. Almost without fail, Warner would reply with a thoughtful, two-page letter. Editors have described getting their first letter from Warner as a rite of passage.
Warner was announced as associate editor of the professional science fiction magazine Odd Tales in the 1940s.;[8] however this was revealed to be a hoax by Warner and Julius Unger.[9] In the 1950s, he tried his hand at science fiction itself, publishing a few short stories in various magazines,[3] such as "Rattle OK" in the December 1956 Galaxy.
He was the fan guest of honor at the 1971
In 1995, Warner received the First Fandom Hall of Fame award. He remained active in fanzine fandom until the end of his life.
Histories
Warner wrote two book-length histories of fandom, essential references in the field:
References
- ^ The Herald-Mail. Archived from the originalon January 9, 2016. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ a b c Glyer, Mike (June 2003). "Harry Warner Jr. -- 1922-2003". File 770. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Warner, Harry Jr. "I was a Teenage Octagenarian". Mimosa. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ a b c Phillips, Curt. "One Life, Furnished in Early Fandom". Mimosa. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ Warner, Harry Jr. "The Summer of '39". Mimosa. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ Glyer, Mike (2004-09-16). "Warner's Colossus Strides Anew". File 770. Retrieved 2023-02-19.
- ^ Ebert, Roger (2004). "Thought Experiments: How Propeller-Heads, BNFs, Sercon Geeks, Newbies, Recovering GAFIAtors, and Kids in the Basements Invented the World Wide Web, All Except for the Delivery System". Asimov's Science Fiction. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
- ^ "The Newest Prozine". Futurian War Digest - Issue 26 (Vol. 3, Number 4). Feb 1943. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
- ^ "Julius Unger - Fancyclopedia 3".
- ^ Warner, Harry Jr. "North by Noreascon". Mimosa. Retrieved March 1, 2009.
External links
- Works by Harry Warner Jr. at Project Gutenberg
- Spaceways #1, 1938
- "All Our Yesterdays" columns
- Publisher's information on All Our Yesterdays Archived 2009-08-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Publisher's information on A Wealth of Fable Archived 2009-08-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Harry Warner, Jr. at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database