Jr. (John Wood) John W. Campbell

Born in Newark, New Jersey, John W. Campbell Jr. studied at MIT and later earned a physics degree from Duke University. He began publishing science fiction in 1930, first making his name with energetic super-science adventures and then showing a different side under the pen name Don A. Stuart.

Campbell became editor of Astounding in the late 1930s, and that role made him one of the most influential people in the field. From the magazine's pages, he encouraged more scientifically grounded stories and helped launch or develop the careers of major writers including Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein.

His legacy is both immense and complicated. He is widely remembered as a central architect of modern science fiction, especially through Astounding and later Analog, while discussions of his life also note that some of his later views and editorial judgments remain deeply controversial.