Timeline of science fiction

This is a timeline of science fiction. While the date of the start of science fiction is debated, this list includes events included in timelines published by expert sources.^[a]

The starting point of science fiction depends on the definition used. By the broadest definition it began with the Epic of Gilgamesh (c. 2100 BCE), the oldest surviving work of fiction.^[1] Seen here is the so-called Flood tablet.

16th century

Year	Event	Ref.
1516	Utopia by Thomas More is published.	[C]: xx [E]: 16 [G]: XXII

17th century

Year	Event	Ref.
1627	New Atlantis by Francis Bacon is published.	[C]: xx [G]: XXII
1634	Somnium by Johannes Kepler is published.	[C]: xx [E]: 16 [G]: XXII
1638	The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin is published.	[C]: xx [E]: 16 [G]: XXII
1686	Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds by Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle is published.	[C]: xx [G]: XXII

18th century

Lemuel Gulliver encountering the flying island of Laputa in Jonathan Swift's 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels

Year	Event	Ref.
1726	Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is published.	[D]: xiii [E]: 16 [F]: xix
1741	Niels Klim's Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg is published.	[C]: xx [G]: XXII
1752	Micromégas by Voltaire is published.	[C]: xx [D]: xiii [G]: XXII
1771	The Year 2440 by Louis-Sébastien Mercier is published.	[C]: xx [D]: xiii [F]: xix [G]: XXII

19th century

Mary Shelley, author of the 1818 novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus

An alien invasion as featured in H. G. Wells' 1897 novel The War of the Worlds.

Year	Event	Ref.
1805	The Last Man by Jean-Baptiste Cousin de Grainville is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 36 [C]: xx [G]: XXII
1818	Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 36 [C]: xx [D]: xiv [E]: 16 [F]: xix [G]: XXII [H]: xv
1826	The Last Man by Mary Shelley is published.	[B]: 36 [C]: xx [D]: xiv [F]: xix [G]: XXII
1838	The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 36 [G]: XXII
1864	Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne is published.	[A]: 11 [D]: xv [E]: 17 [F]: xix [G]: XXII
1865	From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [C]: xx [E]: 17 [G]: XXII
1868	The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis, the first SF dime novel, is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [D]: xv [G]: XXII
1869–1870	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne is published in serial form.	[A]: 11 [C]: xx [E]: 17 [F]: xix [G]: XXII
1871	The Battle of Dorking by George Tomkyns Chesney is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [C]: xx
	The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [C]: xx [G]: XXII
1872	Erewhon by Samuel Butler is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [E]: 17
	Récits de l'infini by Camille Flammarion, a work of fiction expanding upon the concepts of extraterrestrial life previously covered in his 1864 non-fiction book Real and Imaginary Worlds, is published; these works are later compiled and published as Lumen in 1887.	[C]: xx [D]: xv [F]: xix–xx [G]: XXII [2]
1876 onwards	The Frank Reade dime novel series by Harry Enton, and later Luis Senarens, is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [G]: XXII
1884	Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott is published.	[A]: 11 [D]: xvi [F]: xix
1886	Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [D]: xvi [E]: 17 [F]: xix
1887	A Crystal Age by W. H. Hudson is published.	[A]: 11 [C]: xx [D]: xvi [G]: XXII
1888	Looking Backward, 2000–1887 by Edward Bellamy is published.	[A]: 11 [B]: 37 [C]: xx [D]: xvi [E]: 17 [F]: xx [G]: XXII
1889	A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain is published.	[A]: 11 [C]: xx [D]: xvi [F]: xx [G]: XXII
1890	News from Nowhere by William Morris is published.	[C]: xx [D]: xvi [E]: 17 [F]: xx [G]: XXII
1895	The Time Machine by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 37 [C]: xx [D]: xvii [E]: 17 [F]: xx [G]: XXIII [H]: xv
1896	The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [C]: xx [D]: xvii [E]: 17 [F]: xx [G]: XXIII
1898	The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [C]: xx [D]: xvii [E]: 17 [F]: xx [G]: XXIII [H]: xv

1900s

Hand-coloured still frame from Georges Méliès's 1902 short film Le Voyage dans la Lune

Year	Event	Ref.
1901	The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 42 [C]: xx [D]: xvii [F]: xx [G]: XXIII
	The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel is published.	[A]: 12 [C]: xx [D]: xvii [G]: XXIII
1902	Georges Méliès shows the film A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune).	[A]: 12 [B]: 42 [E]: 17 [F]: xx [H]: xv
1904	"The Country of the Blind" by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 42 [E]: 17
1905	A Modern Utopia by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 12 [D]: xvii [F]: xx
1907	The Iron Heel by Jack London is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 43 [C]: xxi [G]: XXIII
1909	The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster is published.	[A]: 12 [C]: xxi [D]: xvii [F]: xx [G]: XXIII

1910s

Modern Electrics, February 1912, featuring the serialization of Hugo Gernsback's Ralph 124C 41+

Year	Event	Ref.
1910	Thomas Edison's film company produces Frankenstein.	[A]: 12 [B]: 46 [F]: xx [H]: xv
1911	Ralph 124C 41+ by Hugo Gernsback is published in serial form in Modern Electrics; it is published in book form in 1925.	[A]: 12 [B]: 46, 51 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII
	The Hampdenshire Wonder by J. D. Beresford is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 46 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [G]: XXIII
1912	Under the Moons of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 46 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [G]: XXIII
	The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, which gives the name to the lost world subgenre of science fiction, is published.	[A]: 12 [B]: 46 [D]: xviii [E]: 18 [G]: XXIII
1912–1914	Darkness and Dawn by George Allan England is published in three separate serializations across 1912 and 1913, and in book form in 1914.	[A]: 12 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [G]: XXIII [3]
1918	The Moon Pool by A. Merritt is published.	[A]: 13 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [G]: XXIII

1920s

The Maschinenmensch from the 1927 film Metropolis

Year	Event	Ref.
1920	The play R.U.R. by Karel Čapek is published, introducing the word "robot". It is first performed in 1921.	[A]: 13 [B]: 50 [C]: xxi [D]: xviii [E]: 18 [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII
1923	The Clockwork Man by E. V. Odle is published.	[B]: 50 [C]: xxi [G]: XXIII
	Men Like Gods by H. G. Wells is published.	[A]: 13 [B]: 50 [D]: xviii
	Weird Tales is launched.	[A]: 13 [D]: xviii [E]: 18 [G]: XXIII
	Hugo Gernsback dedicates the August issue of Science and Invention to "scientifiction".	[A]: 13 [B]: 50 [D]: xviii–xix [F]: xxi
1924	We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is published.	[C]: xxi [D]: xix [E]: 18 [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII
	The film Aelita, based on the 1922 novel Aelita by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, is released.	[B]: 50 [F]: xxi [H]: xv
1926	Hugo Gernsback launches Amazing Stories, the first specialized science fiction magazine.	[A]: 14 [B]: 51 [C]: xxi [D]: xix [E]: 18 [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII
1927	Fritz Lang releases the film Metropolis.	[A]: 14 [B]: 51 [C]: xxi [E]: 18 [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII [H]: xv
1928	The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith is published, launching the Skylark series.	[A]: 15 [C]: xxi [D]: xix [E]: 19 [F]: xxi [G]: XXIII
1929	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century begins publication as a comic strip.	[B]: 51 [D]: xix [F]: xxi
	Fritz Lang releases the film Woman in the Moon.	[A]: 15 [B]: 51 [H]: xvi
	Hugo Gernsback loses control of Amazing Stories alongside his other magazines as Experimenter Publishing goes bankrupt. He then launches the Wonder Stories family of magazines consisting of Science Wonder Stories, Air Wonder Stories, and Science Wonder Quarterly.	[A]: 15 [D]: xix [F]: xxi

1930s

First issue of Astounding Stories of Super-Science, dated January 1930. The cover art is by Hans Waldemar Wessolowski.

Orson Welles interviewed by reporters after his 1938 radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds caused a panic.

Year	Event	Ref.
1930	Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon is published.	[A]: 16 [B]: 56 [C]: xxi [D]: xix [E]: 19 [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
	The Iron Star by John Taine is published.	[C]: xxi [D]: xix [G]: XXIV
	Astounding Stories of Super-Science begins publication.	[A]: 16 [B]: 56 [C]: xxi [D]: xix [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
	The film Just Imagine is released.	[B]: 56 [E]: 19 [F]: xxii [H]: xvi
	The Comet, the first science-fiction fanzine, is launched.	[A]: 16 [D]: xix [G]: XXIV
1931	Abel Gance's film End of the World is released.	[A]: 16 [G]: XXIV [H]: xvi
	James Whale releases the film Frankenstein.	[A]: 17 [B]: 56 [E]: 19 [G]: XXIV [H]: xvi
	Astounding Stories of Super-Science changes its title to Astounding Stories.	[A]: 17 [B]: 56 [F]: xxii
1932	Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is published.	[A]: 17 [B]: 56 [C]: xxi [D]: xix [E]: 19 [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
1933	"Shambleau" by C. L. Moore is published.	[A]: 18 [D]: xx [F]: xxii
	The film The Invisible Man, directed by James Whale and based on the 1897 novel by H. G. Wells, is released.	[A]: 18 [B]: 56 [E]: 19
1934	"Twilight" by John W. Campbell is published.	[A]: 19 [D]: xx [G]: XXIV
	"Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster is published.	[A]: 18 [C]: xxi [D]: xx [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
	"A Martian Odyssey" by Stanley G. Weinbaum is published.	[A]: 19 [C]: xxi [D]: xx [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
	"Triplanetary" by E. E. Smith is published, launching the Lensman series.	[A]: 18 [B]: 56 [G]: XXIV
	The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson is published, launching the Legion of Space series.	[A]: 18 [B]: 56 [F]: xxii
	The Flash Gordon comic strip begins publication.	[B]: 56 [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV
1935	Odd John by Olaf Stapledon is published.	[C]: xxi [G]: XXIV [E]: 19
1936	Things to Come, directed by William Cameron Menzies, is released.	[A]: 20 [C]: xxi [E]: 19 [F]: xxii [G]: XXIV [H]: xvi
	War with the Newts by Karel Čapek is published.	[A]: 24 [B]: 57 [F]: xxiii
	The first Flash Gordon film serial is released.	[A]: 20 [B]: 57 [F]: xxii [H]: xvii
	At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft is published.	[A]: 20 [D]: xx [F]: xxii
	Hugo Gernsback sells Wonder Stories, which is retitled Thrilling Wonder Stories.	[A]: 20 [B]: 57 [F]: xxii–xxiii
1937	John W. Campbell becomes editor of Astounding Stories, launching the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.	[A]: 21 [B]: 57 [D]: xx [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV
	Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon is published.	[A]: 21 [D]: xx [E]: 19 [F]: xxiii
1938	"Helen O'Loy" by Lester del Rey is published.	[A]: 23 [C]: xxi [G]: XXIV [E]: 19
	Orson Welles produces a radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds, resulting in panic when it is mistaken for a news broadcast.	[A]: 23 [B]: 57 [G]: XXIV
	Superman first appears in the first issue of Action Comics.	[D]: xx [E]: 19 [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV
	"The Legion of Time" by Jack Williamson is published.	[A]: 22 [D]: xx [F]: xxiii
1939	"Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague de Camp is published in Unknown. It is published in an expanded novel form in 1941.	[A]: 25 [C]: xxi [D]: xx [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV [4]
	The first annual World Science Fiction Convention is held in conjunction with the 1939 New York World's Fair.	[A]: 25 [D]: xx [E]: 19 [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV

1940s

A depiction of Big Brother from a comic adaptation of George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four

Year	Event	Ref.
1940	The Future History stories "If This Goes On—" and "The Roads Must Roll" by Robert A. Heinlein are published in Astounding Science Fiction.	[A]: 26–27 [C]: xxi [D]: xx [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV [5]
	Slan by A. E. van Vogt is published as a serial; it is later published in book form in 1946.	[A]: 27, 32 [B]: 65 [C]: xxi [D]: xx [F]: xxiii [G]: XXIV
1941	"Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov is published.	[A]: 28 [C]: xxi [F]: xxiii [G]: XXV
1942	"Foundation" by Isaac Asimov, the first story in what would become the 1951 fix-up novel Foundation and later the broader Foundation series, is published.	[A]: 29 [C]: xxi [D]: xxi [E]: 20 [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV
	Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[B]: 64 [C]: xxi [G]: XXV
1944	"City" by Clifford D. Simak, the first story in what would become the 1952 fix-up novel City, is published.	[A]: 31 [B]: 64 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV
	Sirius by Olaf Stapledon is published.	[A]: 31 [B]: 64 [E]: 19
1945	"First Contact" by Murray Leinster is published.	[A]: 31 [C]: xxii [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV
	The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt is published as a serial; it is later published in book form in 1948.	[A]: 31 [B]: 65 [F]: xxiv
1946	The Best of Science Fiction anthology, edited by Groff Conklin, is published.	[A]: 32 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [G]: XXV
	Adventures in Time and Space, an anthology edited by Raymond J. Healy and J. Francis McComas, is published.	[A]: 32 [B]: 65 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [G]: XXV
1947	Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. Heinlein, the first of his juvenile novels, is published.	[C]: xxii [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV
1949	The Best Science Fiction Stories, an anthology edited by E. F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, is published.	[A]: 35 [C]: xxii [G]: XXV
	Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is published.	[A]: 35 [B]: 65 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [E]: 20 [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV
	Earth Abides by George R. Stewart is published.	[B]: 65 [C]: xxii [G]: XXV
	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction begins publication.	[A]: 35 [B]: 65 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [F]: xxiv [G]: XXV

1950s

Year	Event	Ref.
1950	I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, a fix-up of stories in his Robot series, is published.	[C]: xxii [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is published.	[A]: 36 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	Galaxy Science Fiction begins publication.	[A]: 37 [B]: 68 [C]: xxii [D]: xxi [G]: XXV
	The film Destination Moon, directed by Irving Pichel, is released.	[A]: 36 [B]: 68 [C]: xxii [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV [H]: xvii
1951	The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham is published.	[A]: 39 [C]: xxii [E]: 20 [G]: XXV
	The film The Day the Earth Stood Still is released.	[A]: 38 [E]: 20 [G]: XXV [H]: xvii
	The film When Worlds Collide is released.	[A]: 38 [E]: 20 [H]: xvii
1952	The Space Merchants by Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth is published in serial form as Gravy Planet; it is published in book form in 1953.	[A]: 40 [C]: xxii [D]: xxii [F]: xxv [G]: XXVI
1953	The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is published and wins the first Hugo Award for Best Novel.	[D]: xxii [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is published.	[A]: 42 [C]: xxii [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke is published.	[A]: 42 [C]: xxii [E]: 20 [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement is published in serial form; it is published in book form in 1954.	[A]: 42 [C]: xxii [D]: xxii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXV–XXVI
	Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore is published.	[A]: 42 [C]: xxii [F]: xxv [G]: XXV
	More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon is published.	[A]: 42 [C]: xxii [D]: xxii [G]: XXVI
	The 11th World Science Fiction Convention awards the first Hugo Awards (named after Hugo Gernsback).	[A]: 43 [B]: 68 [F]: xxv
	The film The War of the Worlds is released.	[A]: 43 [E]: 20 [G]: XXVI [H]: xvii
1954	The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov is published.	[C]: xxii [F]: xxv–xxvi [G]: XXVI
	I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is published.	[A]: 44 [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	"The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin is published.	[A]: 45 [C]: xxii [D]: xxii [G]: XXVI
	The film Them! is released.	[A]: 45 [B]: 68 [H]: xviii
1955	Earthman, Come Home by James Blish is published.	[A]: 46 [C]: xxii [E]: 20 [G]: XXVI
	"A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller Jr., the first story in what would become the 1959 fix-up novel A Canticle for Leibowitz, is published.	[A]: 46, 51 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [E]: 21 [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII [6]
	The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov is published.	[A]: 46 [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	The film This Island Earth is released.	[A]: 46 [B]: 69 [E]: 20 [G]: XXVI [H]: xviii
1956	The Stars My Destination (a.k.a. Tiger! Tiger!) by Alfred Bester is published.	[A]: 47 [B]: 69 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[A]: 47 [C]: xxiii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	The film Invasion of the Body Snatchers is released.	[A]: 47 [C]: xxiii [E]: 21 [G]: XXVI [H]: xviii
	The film Forbidden Planet is released.	[A]: 46 [B]: 69 [C]: xxiii [E]: 21 [G]: XXVI [H]: xviii
	The first annual Milford Science Fiction Writers' Conference is organized by Damon Knight, James Blish, and Judith Merril.	[A]: 47 [D]: xxii [F]: xxvi
1957	Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is published.	[A]: 48 [D]: xxii [G]: XXVI
1958	Non-Stop (a.k.a. Starship) by Brian Aldiss is published.	[C]: xxiii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by Ivan Yefremov is published.	[C]: xxiii [D]: xxii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
1959	Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick is published.	[C]: xxiii [E]: 21 [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[A]: 50 [B]: 69 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [E]: 21 [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes is published as a novella; it is published in expanded novel form in 1966.	[A]: 50 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [G]: XXVI
	The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut is published.	[A]: 50 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson is published.	[A]: 50 [D]: xxiii [F]: xxvi [G]: XXVI
	The journal Extrapolation begins publication.	[A]: 50 [E]: 21 [G]: XXVI

1960s

Year	Event	Ref.
1960	The film The Time Machine is released.	[A]: 50 [B]: 72 [G]: XXVII [H]: xix
	Astounding Science Fiction is retitled Analog Science Fact and Fiction.	[A]: 50–51 [B]: 72 [D]: xxiii [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
1961	The Stainless Steel Rat by Harry Harrison is published.	[C]: xxiii [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
	Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[A]: 51 [B]: 72 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [E]: 21 [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
	Solaris by Stanisław Lem is published.	[A]: 51 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiv [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
	The film The Day the Earth Caught Fire is released.	[A]: 51 [B]: 72 [H]: xix
1962	The Drowned World by J. G. Ballard is published.	[C]: xxiii [E]: 21 [G]: XXVII
	The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick is published.	[A]: 52 [B]: 72 [C]: xxiii [E]: 21 [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
	A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle is published.	[D]: xxiii [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
1963	Planet of the Apes by Pierre Boulle is published.	[A]: 53 [B]: 72 [F]: xxvii
	Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut is published.	[A]: 53 [F]: xxvii [G]: XXVII
	Doctor Who begins airing.	[A]: 53 [B]: 72 [C]: xxiii [E]: 22 [G]: XXVII
1964	Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick is published.	[C]: xxiii [E]: 22 [G]: XXVII
	Farnham's Freehold by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[A]: 54 [C]: xxiii [E]: 22 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVII
	Michael Moorcock becomes editor of New Worlds.	[A]: 54 [B]: 72 [D]: xxiii [E]: 22 [F]: xxviii
	The film Dr. Strangelove is released.	[A]: 53 [G]: XXVII [H]: xx
1965	Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb by Philip K. Dick is published.	[C]: xxiii [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVII
	Dune by Frank Herbert is published and wins the first Nebula Award for Best Novel.	[A]: 53, 55 [B]: 73 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiii [E]: 22 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVII
	""Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman" by Harlan Ellison is published.	[A]: 55 [B]: 73 [G]: XXVII
	The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein is published.	[A]: 55 [B]: 73 [C]: xxiv [E]: 22 [G]: XXVII
	The Science Fiction Writers of America is founded.	[A]: 55 [D]: xxiii [F]: xxviii
1966	Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany is published.	[A]: 56 [C]: xxiii [D]: xxiv [E]: 22 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVII
	Make Room! Make Room! by Harry Harrison is published.	[A]: 56 [C]: xxiii [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVII
	Orbit 1, the first in a series of anthologies edited by Damon Knight, is published.	[B]: 73 [C]: xxiv [G]: XXVII
	The film Fahrenheit 451 is released.	[A]: 56 [E]: 22 [H]: xx
	Star Trek begins airing.	[A]: 55 [B]: 73 [C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [G]: XXVII
1967	Dangerous Visions, a New Wave anthology edited by Harlan Ellison, is published.	[A]: 57 [B]: 73 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII
1968	Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner is published.	[A]: 58 [C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII
	Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick is published.	[A]: 58 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [E]: 22 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII
	Camp Concentration by Thomas M. Disch is published.	[A]: 57 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [G]: XXVIII
	The film 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is released.	[A]: 58 [B]: 73 [C]: xxiv [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII [H]: xxi
	The film Planet of the Apes is released.	[E]: 22 [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII [H]: xxi
	Locus begins publication.	[A]: 58 [B]: 73 [D]: xxiv [F]: xxviii
1969	The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[A]: 59 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [E]: 23 [F]: xxviii–xxix [G]: XXVIII
	Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut is published.	[C]: xxv [F]: xxviii [G]: XXVIII

1970s

Star Wars was released in 1977.

Year	Event	Ref.
1970	Ringworld by Larry Niven is published.	[C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [E]: 23 [F]: xxix [G]: XXVIII
	The Science Fiction Research Association is founded.	[A]: 60 [D]: xxiv [F]: xxix [G]: XXVIII
1971	The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[A]: 61 [E]: 23 [F]: xxix [G]: XXVIII
	Donald A. Wollheim founds DAW Books.	[A]: 61 [B]: 78 [D]: xxiv
	The film THX 1138, directed by George Lucas, is released.	[A]: 60 [B]: 78 [E]: 23 [H]: xxi
	The film A Clockwork Orange, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is released.	[A]: 61 [B]: 78 [E]: 23 [G]: XXVIII [H]: xxi
1972	The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [G]: XXVIII
	"When It Changed" by Joanna Russ is published.	[C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [G]: XXVIII
	Dying Inside by Robert Silverberg is published.	[A]: 62 [D]: xxiv [F]: xxix
	Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky is published.	[C]: xxiv [F]: xxix [G]: XXVIII
	The Science Fiction Foundation begins publishing the journal Foundation.	[A]: 62 [C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [G]: XXVIII
	The film Solaris is released.	[A]: 62 [B]: 78 [E]: 23 [H]: xxi
1973	Rendezvous with Rama by Arthur C. Clarke is published.	[A]: 63 [C]: xxiv [E]: 23 [F]: xxix [G]: XXVIII
	"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[A]: 64 [F]: xxix [G]: XXIX
	"The Girl Who Was Plugged In" by James Tiptree Jr. is published.	[A]: 64 [E]: 24 [F]: xxix
	The journal Science Fiction Studies begins publication.	[A]: 63 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxiv [E]: 24 [F]: xxix [G]: XXIX
	The film Soylent Green is released.	[A]: 63 [G]: XXIX [H]: xxi–xxii
1974	The Forever War by Joe Haldeman is published.	[C]: xxiv [D]: xxv [F]: xxix [G]: XXIX
	The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[A]: 64 [B]: 78 [C]: xxiv [D]: xxv [E]: 24 [F]: xxix [G]: XXIX
1975	Dhalgren by Samuel R. Delany is published.	[C]: xxiv [E]: 24 [F]: xxx [G]: XXIX
	The Female Man by Joanna Russ is published.	[C]: xxiv [D]: xxv [E]: 24 [F]: xxix–xxx [G]: XXIX
1976	Triton by Samuel R. Delany is published.	[C]: xxv [D]: xxv [E]: 24 [F]: xxx [G]: XXIX
	Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy is published.	[C]: xxv [D]: xxv [F]: xxx [G]: XXIX
	The film Logan's Run is published.	[A]: 66 [G]: XXIX [H]: xxii
1977	The film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by Steven Spielberg, is released.	[C]: xxv [G]: XXIX [H]: xxii
	The film Star Wars, directed by George Lucas, is released.	[A]: 66 [B]: 79 [C]: xxv [G]: XXIX [H]: xxii
	Gateway by Frederik Pohl is published.	[C]: xxv [F]: xxx [G]: XXX
	Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine begins publication.	[B]: 79 [D]: xxv [F]: xxx
1979	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams, adapted from the 1978 radio series, is published.	[B]: 79 [C]: xxv [E]: 24 [F]: xxx [G]: XXIX
	Kindred by Octavia E. Butler is published.	[C]: xxv [E]: 24 [G]: XXIX
	The film Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, is released.	[B]: 79 [C]: xxv [E]: 24 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
	The film Star Trek: The Motion Picture is released.	[E]: 24 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
	Metamorphoses of Science Fiction by Darko Suvin, translated from the original 1977 French version, is published.	[B]: 79 [D]: xxv [E]: 24 [F]: xxx

1980s

Year	Event	Ref.
1980	Timescape by Gregory Benford is published.	[C]: xxv [D]: xxv [G]: XXX
	The film The Empire Strikes Back is released.	[B]: 86 [G]: XXIX [H]: xxiii
1981	Downbelow Station by C. J. Cherryh is published.	[C]: xxv [F]: xxx [G]: XXX
	VALIS by Philip K. Dick is published.	[E]: 25 [F]: xxx [G]: XXX
	"True Names" by Vernor Vinge is published.	[C]: xxv [D]: xxv [F]: xxx [G]: XXX
	The film Mad Max 2 is released.	[B]: 86 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
1982	Helliconia Spring by Brian Aldiss is published.	[C]: xxv [F]: xxx [G]: XXX
	The film Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is released.	[B]: 86 [C]: xxv [E]: 25 [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
	The film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, directed by Steven Spielberg, is released.	[B]: 86 [E]: 25 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
	The film The Thing, directed by John Carpenter, is released.	[B]: 86 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiii
1983	Startide Rising by David Brin is published.	[C]: xxv [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX
	The film Return of the Jedi is released.	[B]: 86 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiv
1984	"Bloodchild" by Octavia E. Butler is published.	[C]: xxv [E]: 25 [G]: XXX
	Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delany is published.	[C]: xxv [E]: 25 [G]: XXX
	Neuromancer by William Gibson, one of the earliest works of the cyberpunk subgenre, is published.	[B]: 86 [C]: xxv [D]: xxvi [E]: 25 [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX
	Divine Endurance by Gwyneth Jones is published.	[C]: xxv [E]: 25 [G]: XXX
	The Wild Shore by Kim Stanley Robinson is published.	[C]: xxv [E]: 25 [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX
	The film Dune, directed by David Lynch, is released.	[B]: 86 [E]: 24 [H]: xxiv
	The film The Terminator, directed by James Cameron, is released.	[B]: 86 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiv
1985	The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood is published; it wins the inaugural Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987.	[B]: 87 [C]: xxv [E]: 25 [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX
	Blood Music by Greg Bear is published.	[B]: 87 [C]: xxv [D]: xxvi [G]: XXX
	Eon by Greg Bear is published.	[B]: 87 [C]: xxv [G]: XXX
	Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is published.	[B]: 87 [C]: xxv [F]: xxxi [G]: XXX
	Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling is published.	[C]: xxv [D]: xxvi [F]: xxxi [G]: XXXI
	The film Back to the Future is released. Two sequels—Back to the Future Part II and Part III—are released in 1989 and 1990, respectively.	[B]: 87 [E]: 25 [G]: XXXI [H]: xxiv–xxv
1986	A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski is published.	[C]: xxvi [F]: xxxi [G]: XXXI
	Mirrorshades, an anthology edited by Bruce Sterling, is published.	[D]: xxvi [F]: xxxi [G]: XXXI
	The film Aliens, directed by James Cameron, is released.	[B]: 87 [E]: 25 [G]: XXX [H]: xxiv
1987	Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks is published.	[C]: xxvi [D]: xxvi [E]: 26 [F]: xxxi [G]: XXXI
	Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, the first novel in the Lilith's Brood or Xenogenesis trilogy, is published. The sequels Adulthood Rites and Imago are published in 1988 and 1989, respectively.	[C]: xxvi [F]: xxxi–xxxii [G]: XXXI
	The film RoboCop, directed by Paul Verhoeven, is released.	[E]: 26 [G]: XXXI [H]: xxv
1989	The Child Garden by Geoff Ryman is published.	[C]: xxvi [E]: 26 [G]: XXXI
	Hyperion by Dan Simmons is published.	[C]: xxvi [D]: xxvi [E]: 26 [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXI

1990s

Year	Event	Ref.
1990	The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling is published.	[E]: 26 [F]: xxxii
	Pacific Edge by Kim Stanley Robinson is published.	[C]: xxvi [E]: 26 [G]: XXXI
	The film Total Recall, directed by Paul Verhoeven, is released.	[B]: 92 [H]: xxv
1991	White Queen by Gwyneth Jones is published.	[C]: xxvi [E]: 26 [G]: XXXII
	The film Terminator 2: Judgment Day, directed by James Cameron, is released.	[B]: 92 [E]: 26 [H]: xxv
1992	Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson, the first book in the Mars trilogy, is published.	[C]: xxvi [D]: xxvi [E]: 26 [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
	Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson is published.	[C]: xxvi [E]: 26 [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
	A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge is published.	[C]: xxvi [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
1993	Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler is published.	[E]: 26 [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
	The Giver by Lois Lowry is published.	[F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
	Vurt by Jeff Noon is published.	[D]: xxvi [F]: xxxii
	The film Demolition Man is released.	[B]: 93 [H]: xxvi
	The film Jurassic Park, directed by Steven Spielberg, is released.	[E]: 26 [G]: XXXII [H]: xxvi
	The X-Files begins airing.	[E]: 26 [G]: XXXII
	The second edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, edited by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, is published.	[B]: 93 [E]: 26
1994	The film Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich, is released.	[B]: 93 [H]: xxvi
1995	The Star Fraction by Ken MacLeod is published.	[C]: xxvii [D]: xxvii [F]: xxxii [G]: XXXII
	Chaga by Ian McDonald is published.	[D]: xxvii [F]: xxxii
	Northern Lights by Philip Pullman is published.	[E]: 27 [F]: xxxii
	The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [G]: XXXII
	The film 12 Monkeys, directed by Terry Gilliam, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvi
	The anime film Ghost in the Shell is released.	[G]: XXXI [H]: xxvi
1996	The Reality Dysfunction, the first entry in The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F. Hamilton, is published.	[D]: xxvii [F]: xxxii
	The film Independence Day, directed by Roland Emmerich, is released.	[E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvi
1997	Diaspora by Greg Egan is published.	[D]: xxvii [F]: xxxiii
	The film Contact, directed by Robert Zemeckis, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film Gattaca, directed by Andrew Niccol, is released.	[E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film Men in Black, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film Starship Troopers, directed by Paul Verhoeven, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
1998	Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII
	Kirinyaga by Mike Resnick is published.	[D]: xxvii [F]: xxxiii
	The film Dark City is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film The Truman Show is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
1999	Darwin's Radio by Greg Bear is published.	[C]: xxvii [F]: xxxiii [G]: XXXIII
	Cryptonomicon by Neal Stephenson is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII
	The film The Matrix, directed by The Wachowskis, is released.	[E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, directed by George Lucas, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii
	The film Galaxy Quest, directed by Dean Parisot, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxvii

2000s

Year	Event	Ref.
2000	Ash: A Secret History by Mary Gentle is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [G]: XXXIV
	The Telling by Ursula K. Le Guin is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [G]: XXXIII
	Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson is published.	[C]: xxvii [F]: xxxiii [G]: XXXIII
	Perdido Street Station by China Miéville is published.	[C]: xxvii [E]: 27 [F]: xxxiii [G]: XXXIV
2001	The film Donnie Darko is released.	[G]: XXXIV [H]: xxviii
2002	The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson is published.	[C]: xxvii [D]: xxviii [E]: 28 [F]: xxxiii [G]: XXXIV
	The film Minority Report, directed by Steven Spielberg, is published.	[G]: XXXIV [H]: xxviii
	The film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, directed by George Lucas, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxviii
2003	Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood is published.	[F]: xxxiv [G]: XXXIV
	Pattern Recognition by William Gibson is published.	[E]: 28 [G]: XXXIV
	The films The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, directed by The Wachowskis, are released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxviii
2004	Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson is published.	[E]: 28 [G]: XXXIV
2005	Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler is published.	[E]: 28 [F]: xxxiv
	Accelerando by Charles Stross is published.	[D]: xxviii [E]: 28 [F]: xxxiv
	The film The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, directed by Garth Jennings, is released.	[E]: 28 [G]: XXIX [H]: xxix
	The film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, directed by George Lucas, is released.	[G]: XXXIII [H]: xxix
	The film Serenity, directed by Joss Whedon and based on the television series Firefly, is released.	[G]: XXXIV [H]: xxix
	Archaeologies of the Future: The Desire Called Utopia and Other Science Fictions by Fredric Jameson is published.	[E]: 28 [F]: xxxiv
2006	The Road by Cormac McCarthy is published.	[E]: 28 [G]: XXXIV
	The film A Scanner Darkly, directed by Richard Linklater, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxix
	The film V for Vendetta, directed by James McTeigue, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxx
2007	The Yiddish Policemen's Union by Michael Chabon is published.	[F]: xxxiv [G]: XXXV
	The film I Am Legend, directed by Francis Lawrence, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxx
	The film Sunshine, directed by Danny Boyle, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxx
2008	The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is published.	[F]: xxxiv [G]: XXXV
	The film Cloverfield is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxx
	The film Sleep Dealer is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxx
	The film WALL-E is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxx
2009	The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi is published.	[F]: xxxiv [G]: XXXV
	The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman is published.	[E]: 29 [F]: xxxiv
	The City & the City by China Miéville is published.	[E]: 29 [F]: xxxiv
	The film Avatar, directed by James Cameron, is released.	[E]: 29 [G]: XXXV [H]: xxxi
	The film District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxx–xxxi
	The film Moon, directed by Duncan Jones, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxxi
	The film Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxxi

2010s

Year	Event	Ref.
2010	The film The Book of Eli, directed by the Hughes brothers, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxxi
	The film Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, is released.	[E]: 29 [G]: XXXV [H]: xxxi
	The film Tron: Legacy, directed by Joseph Kosinski, is released.	[E]: 29 [H]: xxxi
2011	Embassytown by China Miéville is published.	[E]: 29 [F]: xxxv
	The film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Rupert Wyatt, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxxi
2012	Through the Valley of the Nest of Spiders by Samuel R. Delany is released.	[E]: 30 [G]: XXXV
	2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson is published.	[E]: 30 [F]: xxxv [G]: XXXV
	The film The Hunger Games, directed by Gary Ross, is released.	[E]: 30 [G]: XXXV [H]: xxxii
	The film Prometheus, directed by Ridley Scott, is released.	[E]: 30 [H]: xxxii
2013	We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler is published.	[F]: xxxv [G]: XXXVI
	The film Elysium, directed by Neill Blomkamp, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxii
	The film Gravity, directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxii
	The film Pacific Rim, directed by Guillermo del Toro, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxii
	The film Star Trek Into Darkness, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxxii
2014	Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor is published.	[F]: xxxv [G]: XXXVI
	The film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, directed by Matt Reeves, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxxiii
	The film Ex Machina, directed by Alex Garland, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
	The film Guardians of the Galaxy, directed by James Gunn, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
	The film Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
2015	The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi is published.	[F]: xxxv [G]: XXXVI
	The film Jurassic World, directed by Colin Trevorrow, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
	The film Mad Max: Fury Road, directed by George Miller, is released.	[G]: XXX [H]: xxxiii
	The film The Martian, directed by Ridley Scott, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
	The film Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiii
2016	The film Arrival, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiv
	The film Independence Day: Resurgence, directed by Roland Emmerich, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiv
	The film Rogue One, directed by Gareth Edwards, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxiv
	The film Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin, is released.	[G]: XXXV [H]: xxxiv
2017	The film Blade Runner 2049, directed by Denis Villeneuve, is released.	[G]: XXXVII [H]: xxxiv
	The film Get Out, directed by Jordan Peele, is released.	[G]: XXXVII [H]: xxxiv–xxxv
	The film Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, is released.	[G]: XXXVII [H]: xxxiv
2018	The film Annihilation, directed by Alex Garland, is released.	[G]: XXXVI [H]: xxxv

See also

• History of science fiction
• List of films set in the future
• List of science fiction authors
• Lists of science fiction films
• List of science fiction television programs
• List of science fiction television films
• List of science fiction novels
• List of years in literature

Notes

1. Specifically, the following:

   • Brian Ash's The Visual Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (1977)^[A]
   • John Clute's Science Fiction: The Illustrated Encyclopedia (1995)^[B]
   • Edward James and Farah Mendlesohn's The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction (2003)^[C]
   • Brian Stableford's Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Literature (2004)^[D]
   • Nick Hubble [Wikidata] and Aris Mousoutzanis's The Science Fiction Handbook (2013)^[E]
   • M. Keith Booker [de]'s Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction in Literature (2014)^[F]
   • Gerry Canavan [Wikidata] and Eric Carl Link [Wikidata]'s The Cambridge History of Science Fiction (2018)^[G]
   • M. Keith Booker's Historical Dictionary of Science Fiction Cinema (2020)^[H]