2. Important Dates
●
Birth: August 22nd, 1920 (there were a few
conflicting dates, 1920 was the most common
one)
● First time using writing as a career option: 1934,
he was asked to write for the Burns and Allen
show
● First published story: Hollerbochen's Dilemma, in
January, 1938
●
Death: June 5th, 2012, at age 91
3. Youth
All through Bradbury's childhood, from age eleven
on, he wrote stories. Many of his books have
settings based off his childhood dwellings. His
favorite writers as a young man were Edgar Allen
Poe, and Edgar Rice Burroughs. He enjoyed
those two authors so much, that he styled his
early writings after Poe, and wrote a sequel to the
John Carter series.
4. Personal Life
Ray Bradbury married Marguerite McClure in
1947. They stayed married until she died. They
had four daughters together.
Bradbury was good friends with many people,
Charles Addams (creator of the Addams' family,)
Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek.) He kept
in close contact, and was devastated when they
passed away, but he kept in high spirits, and did
his best to keep his writing energy up.
Bradbury never liked technology. He believed that
it would someday cause the downfall of man.
5. Notable Works
●Fahrenheit 451, published in 1953, is a dystopian
novel, about a society where books are
considered evil.
● The Martian Chronicles, published in 1950, is
about humans fleeing from Earth, which was
devastated by atomic warfare. The colonize Mars,
but have conflicts with the native martians.
●Something Wicked This Way Comes,
published in 1962, is a story about two
boys who come in contact with a traveling
carnival, whose leader is obsessed with
getting people to sign enslaving contracts.
6. Notable awards and honors
● The Benjamin Franklin Award
● The Emmy Award, for an animated cartoon of
The Halloween Tree
● The National Medal of Arts, presented by
President George W. Bush
● The Pulitzer Prize, with a special citation, prolific
and unmatched career and influence
