Fitz James O'Brien

Born in Ireland and later active in New York, Fitz-James O'Brien built a reputation as a lively journalist, poet, playwright, and short-story writer. Reliable sources agree that he became part of the city’s literary scene in the 1850s and is now remembered above all for his uncanny and speculative fiction.

He is especially associated with stories such as The Diamond Lens and The Wondersmith, works that helped make him an early forerunner of science fiction and fantasy in America. Critics have also noted the psychological edge of his writing, which often blends scientific curiosity, dark humor, and the strange.

O'Brien served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and died in 1862 from wounds received in service. Because sources differ on his exact birth year, library and reference records often list him as born in 1828, while some modern reference works give 1826; in either case, his career was remarkably brief and influential.