Albert A. (Albert Allis) Hopkins

Born in 1869 and dying in 1939, Albert Allis Hopkins was an American author and editor best remembered for his long association with Scientific American. Archival records describe him as an author, editor, and associate editor of the magazine for forty years.

His books reflect a wide range of interests. They include Magic: Stage Illusions and Scientific Diversions, Including Trick Photography, The Scientific American Handbook of Travel, Our Country and Its Resources, and reference works connected with science and everyday practical knowledge. Across them, he comes across as a writer who liked to explain how things worked and how readers could make use of that knowledge for themselves.

Hopkins also appears to have had strong literary interests beyond science and technology. Yale archival material notes that he was active in the Dickens Fellowship of New York and served as its vice president, suggesting a reader and editor whose curiosity ranged from mechanics and invention to literature and culture.