Philip Francis Nowlan

Philip Francis Nowlan
Philip Francis Nowlan, as pictured in Science Wonder Stories, September 1929 (as "Frank Phillips")
Born	(1888-11-13)November 13, 1888 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	February 3, 1940(1940-02-03) (aged 51)[1] Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania,[2] U.S.
Occupation	Writer
Period	1928–1940
Genre	Science fiction
Subject	Buck Rogers
Notable works	Armageddon 2419 A.D.

Philip Francis Nowlan (/ˈnoʊlən/; November 13, 1888 – February 1, 1940) was an American science fiction writer, best known as the creator of Buck Rogers.^[2]

Nowlan was born on November 13, 1888. While attending the University of Pennsylvania, Nowlan was a member of The Mask and Wig Club, holding significant roles in the annual productions between 1907 and 1909. After attending the University of Pennsylvania he worked as a newspaper columnist. Nowlan was married to Theresa Junker, and they had ten children.^[2]

He moved to the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd and created and wrote the Buck Rogers comic strip, illustrated by Dick Calkins. He remained a writer on the strip until 1939. The comic strip ran from 1929-1967. Spin-offs included a radio-serial series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (sporadically aired from 1932-1947), a 1939 movie serial Buck Rogers, a brief 1950-51 television series, and a 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century.^[2]

Nowlan also wrote several other novellas for the science fiction magazines as well as the posthumously published mystery, The Girl from Nowhere. He died from a stroke at his home in Bala in 1940.^[1]

• Armageddon 2419 A.D. (1928)
• The Girl from Nowhere (1928, ISBN 0-8095-0038-8 (Neuauflage von 2005)
• The Airlords of Han (1929)
• The Airlords of Han by Philip Francis Nowlan at Project Gutenberg on Project Gutenberg
• The Onslaught from Venus (1929)
• The Time Jumpers (1934)
• The Prince of Mars Returns (1940)
• Space Guards (1940)
• Wings Over Tomorrow: The Collected Science Fiction of Philip Francis Nowlan (2005, ISBN 0-8095-1095-2)^[3]

• List of Buck Rogers comic strips
• Buck Rogers: A Life in the Future
• Buck Rogers XXVC (TSR game series)

• Works by or about Philip Francis Nowlan at Wikisource
• Works by Philip Francis Nowlan in eBook form at Standard Ebooks
• Works by Philip Francis Nowlan at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Philip Francis Nowlan at the Internet Archive
• Works by Philip Francis Nowlan at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Philip Francis Nowlan at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database