Charles Willard Diffin

Born in Pennsylvania on March 25, 1884, Charles Willard Diffin was an American engineer, airplane salesman, and author. He studied analytical chemistry at the University of Buffalo, and that technical background gave his fiction a practical, problem-solving feel even when the plots leapt into wild planetary adventure.

He made his science-fiction debut in Astounding Stories in 1930 with "Spawn of the Stars" and soon became a regular in the early pulp magazines. His best-known work includes serials and stories such as The Pirate Planet, Brood of the Dark Moon, Two Thousand Miles Below, and "The Power and the Glory," along with later work in westerns, mysteries, and other pulp genres.

Diffin also wrote nonfiction books about transportation, including The Magic Carpet; Adventures in Transportation on Land and Transportation: The Evolution of Travel by Land. He died in Bonita, San Diego, California, on May 15, 1966. No suitable verified portrait image was available from the sources checked, so no profile image is included.