Milo Hastings

Born in Kansas in 1884, Milo Milton Hastings was an American inventor, author, and nutritionist whose career crossed several worlds. He studied agriculture, worked in poultry research, and became known for innovations including a forced-draft chicken incubator. His writing reflected that same practical, curious mind.

Hastings wrote nonfiction on chickens, farming, and health, but he also turned to fiction. His best-known novel, City of Endless Night (1919), imagined a grim future society and later drew attention as an early dystopian work. He also wrote The Book of Gud and other books that mixed social ideas, science, and satire.

He died in 1957. Although he never became a household name, his work has lasted in several different corners of literary history: agricultural writing, health culture, and early science fiction.