Herbert George Wells was born in Bromley, Kent, on 21 September 1866. He was the fourth and youngest child of Joseph Wells and Sarah Neal.

His parents ran a shop selling china and sporting goods, but it provided an uncertain living. Joseph Wells also earned money as a professional cricketer. The family’s finances meant that Herbert’s early working life included apprenticeships in the drapery trade, which he disliked.

Wells later found a different route through education. He studied science at the Normal School of Science in South Kensington, where biologist Thomas Henry Huxley taught him. He worked as a teacher and wrote educational material before becoming a professional writer.

His early books included science textbooks, but fiction made his name. The Time Machine appeared in 1895, followed by The Island of Doctor Moreau, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds.

Wells continued to write fiction, history, journalism and political works for the rest of his life. He died in London in 1946, aged 79.