Garrett Putnam Serviss, son of Garrett Putnam and Catherine Shelp, was born in Sharon Springs, NY on 24 Mar 1851. He was married twice: first to Eleanore Betts with whom he had his only child, Garrett Putnam, Jr. His second wife was Madame Henriette Gros Gaties of Cote d'Or, France.
He was an American astronomer, popularizer of astronomy and early science fiction writer. His interest in astronomy dated back to his boyhood days when on his father's farm he was attracted by the beauty of the night sky.
In 1882 Serviss became the Night Editor of the The New York Sun. He showed a talent for explaining scientific details in a way that made them clear to the ordinary reader, leading Andrew Carnegie to invite him to deliver the 1894 Urania Lectures on astronomy, cosmology, geology and related matters. These presentations were illustrated by elaborate stage settings, electric devices and semi-transparent curtains, whereby realistic and imposing effects were produced, such as landscapes on the moon, solar and lunar eclipses, terrestrial landscapes, etc.
For over two years he toured the U.S. delivering these lectures, then settled down to become a popular speaker in the New York area. He also wrote a syndicated newspaper column devoted to astronomy and other sciences and wrote frequently for the leading magazines of the day.
His favorite topic was astronomy, and of the 15 books he wrote, 8 are devoted to it. He unquestionably was more widely read by the public on that topic than anyone prior to his time. Serviss worked with Max and Dave Fleischer on The Einstein Theory of Relativity (1923), a short silent film released in connection with one of Serviss' books. He also wrote 6 works of fiction in his lifetime, all of which would today be classified as science fiction. Five of these were novels, and one was a short story:
- "Edison's Conquest of Mars" (1898/novel), written on commission from The Boston Post as a sequel to "Fighters from Mars", an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds."
- "The Moon Metal" (1900/short story)
- "A Columbus of Space" (1909/novel), dedicated to people who read Jules Verne and written in his style; first published in All-Story Weekly magazine; republished by Hyperion Press in 1974.
- "The Second Deluge" (1911/novel)
- "The Moon Maiden" (1915/novel"
He also wrote "The Sky Pirate" (1909) which was published in serialized form but never as a book. Serviss died in the Englewood, NJ Hospital on 25 May 1929. He had made his home in Tenafly, NJ, although for a number of years he had spent the summers in France. Click HERE to learn more about Garrett Serviss.
