Robert A. Heinlein

Robert Heinlein was the third of seven children born to Rex and Bam Heinlein. Heinlein grew up in Kansas City, Missouri in a German-American family that had been in the U.S. for six generations. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, graduating in 1929 with an ensign’s commission and the equivalent of an engineering degree. His Navy assignments included radio communications—still a relatively new technology in the early 1930s—and gunner. He took early retirement after five years, having suffered tuberculosis and chronic sea sickness during his term. When the U.S. entered World War II, he was prevented from reenlisting due to the tuberculosis, as there wasn’t yet a cure available. Heinlein worked a series of odd jobs and dabbled in politics after leaving the Navy. His first short story, “Life Line,” was published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1939, launching his literary career. During his lifetime, Heinlein published 32 novels, 59 short stories, and 16 collections; more nonfiction, poetry, short stories, and collections were published after his death. In his later years, Heinlein suffered a series of health crises, including one which required multiple blood transfusions. Subsequently, in the 1970s, he and his wife became advocates for reorganizing and expanding the American blood donation system. In 1977, he was one of the first people to undergo a carotid bypass surgery. He died in his sleep of heart failure and emphysema—having been a lifelong smoker—in 1988.