English novelist Herbert George Wells (1866-1946) was born on this day in Bromley, Kent. As a student, he won a biology scholarship, then taught science and was a bookkeeper before becoming a full-time writer in 1895.

He observed, "The teacher, whether mother, priest, or schoolmaster, is the real maker of history."

Wells wrote over a hundred of books, virtually creating the science fiction genre. His fiction including the classics The Time Machine (1895) and The Invisible Man (1897). With passion, he explored how science and technology influenced society and the survival of mankind.

"Human history," he said,"is in essence a history of ideas."

His War of the Worlds (1898), about a Martian invasion of earth, created a sensation when it was first published and a frenzy in 1938 when Orson Welles adapted the novel for radio.

Known for his social commentary and support for education and women's rights, Wells once said, "Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe."

Called a visionary by many, he dreamed of a world without war, a world of boundless possibilities. About the evolution of communication he predicted in 1940: "Perhaps in the future, when the present clamor for national languages and dialects in broadcasting subsides, and new discoveries in science are made, we shall be conversing with one another through a common medium of speech yet undreamed of."

There are always mysteries in life. Celebrate them!