Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828, in Nantes, France. From a young age, Verne was interested in literature, however, his father wanted him to become a lawyer, so he was sent to boarding school. While attending boarding school he would write short stories and became more and more attracted to literature, especially theater. He obtained a law degree in 1849. He received pressure from his father and rejected his father’s offer to open a law firm in Nantes. He wrote several plays as secretary of the Théâtre Lyrique (1852–54), and published short stories and scientific essays in the periodical Musée des families.

When he married Honorine de Viane in 1857, he became a broker but never gave up his passion for writing. In 1861, the couple's only child, Michel Jean Pierre Verne, was born. His career as a writer failed to gain traction until he met Hetzel, a publisher, who published a large portion of Verne’s novels.

By 1869, his novels started getting translated into English and he began living comfortably off writing. However, he faced strife in his personal life such as being shot by his nephew, becoming limped, and the death of Hetzel and his mother. These events caused a shift in the tone of his novels from that point on.

In his later life, he established his residence in the northern French city of Amiens, and began serving on its city council in 1888. Stricken with diabetes, he died at home on March 24, 1905.

However, that is not the end of his legacy. Even years later manuscripts have been published long after he died. Backwards to Britain was published in 1989, 84 years after Verne’s death.

In total, Verne authored more than 60 books (most notably the 54 novels comprising the Voyages Extraordinaires), as well as dozens of plays, short stories and librettos. He created hundreds of memorable characters and imagined countless innovations years before their time, including the submarine, space travel, terrestrial flight, and deep-sea exploration which is why he is often referred to as the “Father of Science Fiction”.