Timeline of Science Fiction Fandom

Fandom:	Science Fiction Fandom
Dates:	1926?-
See also:	Timeline_of_science_fiction (Wikipedia)
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

1800s

• 1818: Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley
• 1843: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. Early time travel, alternate universe, and ghost plots.
• 1864: Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
• 1895: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. Early time travel plot.
• 1897: Auf Zwei Planeten (English title: "Two Planets") by Kurd Laßwitz. SF novel describing encounter between humans and a Martian civilization that is older and more advanced.
• 1898: The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells. Early Martian invasion plot.

1900s

• 1902: Le Voyage dans la Lune is the first science fiction film.

1920s

• 1920: R.U.R. by Karel Čapek. Czech SF play and origin of the word robot.
• 1922: Die Macht der Drei by Hans Dominik. German SF novel set in the future (1955). Using powerful futuristic technology, three people try to prevent a war between the U.K. and the U.S. while an American villain with hypnotic superpowers works against them. (Sequel: Atlantis, 1925)
• 1924: We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Banned in Russia and first published in the U.S.; one of the earliest futuristic dystopian novels.
• 1926: In the U.S., Hugo Gernsback publishes Amazing Stories, the first sf magazine.
• 1927: Metropolis, one of the first feature-length SF films, made in Germany by Fritz Lang.

1930s

• May 1930: The Comet is the first fanzine ever published.
• 1930-33: Eofandom era, according to "Up To Now," the 1939 U.S. sf fandom history article by Jack Speer.
• 1933-36: First Fandom era, according to Jack Speer.
• 1934: Hugo Gernsback announces the creation of the Science Fiction League
• 1936-7: The first SF convention is held, either in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1936) or in Leeds, U.K. (1937)
• October 1937: John W. Campbell takes over as editor of the American magazine Astounding Science Fiction until his death in 1971. Campbell has a strong influence on the genre and is the first to publish stories by Isaac Asimov and Robert A. Heinlein.
• October 1937-October 1938: Second Fandom era, according to Jack Speer.
• September 1938: The Greater New York Science Fiction Club splits, forming two new fan clubs: the Futurians and the Queens Science Fiction Club.
• October 30, 1938: Orson Welles' radio play of War of the Worlds causes panic.
• 1939: The first Worldcon is held in New York City. The Futurians are upset about something and get banned from the con. See The Great Exclusion Act.

1940s

• September 1940-early 1944: Third Fandom era, according to the numerical fandom theory.
• 1940: Invention of Isaac Asimov's three laws of robotics.
• 1941: The first Boskone is held.
• 1942: Asimov starts publishing his Foundation series.
• 1944: Fancyclopedia I is published.
• 1944-1947: Fourth Fandom era. Philcon I, the 1947 Worldcon, is the end point.
• 1947-mid-1950: Fifth Fandom era.

1950s

• 1951-May 1953: Sixth Fandom era. Later numbered fandoms are contested.
• 1953: The first Hugo Awards are given at Worldcon.
• 1953: German publishing house Pabel starts published a SF novel series called Utopia, which leads to the introduction of the term Science Fiction in Germany by 1954. The stories were mostly translated from American works because the German publishers were reluctant to publish anything by a German.
• 1954: The Enchanted Duplicator, possibly the best known work of faanfiction, is printed.
• August 04, 1955: The Science Fiction Club Deutschland is founded. This date is regarded as the beginning of German science fiction fandom.
• 1957: Another German publisher, Arthur Moewig Verlag, starts publishing a series of mostly translated American works. The series is called "Terra".
• 1958?: Marion Zimmer Bradley starts writing Darkover stories.
• 1958: British Science Fiction Association is founded.
• 1959: Fancyclopedia II is published.

1960s

• 1961: Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein. Origin of the word grok.
• September 8, 1961: First issue of Perry Rhodan
• November 23, 1963: First episode of Doctor Who
• 1965: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, a professional association, is founded by Damon Knight.
• 1965: Dune by Frank Herbert is published.
• 1965: First known fan translation of Perry Rhodan (the first four issues were translated into Hebrew)
• 1966: The first Nebula Awards are given by SFWA
• September 8, 1966: First episode of Star Trek: The Original Series
• September 17, 1966: First episode of Raumpatrouille
• 1968: Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey, the first novel in the Dragonriders of Pern series, is published.
• 1969: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin, an early example of feminist science fiction and genderfuck, is published. It won both a Hugo and a Nebula.
• 1969: German news media report the existence of 600 Perry Rhodan fan clubs

1970s

• 1970: The immortal fan story The Eye of Argon is printed.
• 1970: The first San Diego Comic-Con is held.
• 1977: Star Wars is released.
• 1977: The first Wiscon is held.
• 1978: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is first broadcast as a radio play.

1980s

• 1982: The film Blade Runner is released. Along with William Gibson's 1984 novel Neuromancer, this film represents the beginning of cyberpunk.
• 1985: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is published.
• 1986: The first Finncon is held.
• 1987: The first Dragon*Con is held.
• 1988: The first Gaylaxicon is held.

1990s

• 1992: FedCon, now Europe's largest Star Trek and SF convention, is founded.
• 1999: The Matrix is released.

2000s

00s

• 2005: Doctor Who is rebooted.
• April 2008: The Open-Source Boob Project
• January 2009: RaceFail '09

2010s

• April 2015: The Hugo Awards nominations are gamed by an online conservative coalition in Puppygate