Theodore L. Thomas

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Theodore Lockard Thomas (born April 13, 1920 in New York City ; died September 24, 2005 in Tucson , Arizona ) was an American science fiction writer, chemist, and patent attorney.

Life

Thomas studied chemistry and law at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Georgetown University , where he graduated as a Juris Doctor in 1953 . In 1947 he married Virginia Kent Paton, with whom he had two daughters and a son. In the same year he started as a chemical engineer with the American Cyanamid Company in Stamford , Connecticut . In 1950 he became a patent attorney in Washington, DC , and from 1955 he worked for Armstrong Cork Co. in Lancaster , Pennsylvania . From 1966 to 1970 he was chairman of the Lancaster Zoning Board of Adjustment and from 1970 to 1971 chairman of the Lancaster Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Committee .

In 1949 he began writing the popular science column Science for Everybody for the Stamford Advocate , which he continued for 30 years. In September 1952, Thomas's first science fiction stories appeared, namely The Revisitor in Space Science Fiction and Improbable Profession in Astounding , which he published together with Charles Leonard Harness under the community pseudonym Leonard Lockard. Improbable Profession was the first in a series of short stories in which he drew on his background as a patent attorney.

Together with Kate Wilhelm he wrote the novels The Clone (1965, German as Der Klon: Wesen aus Zufall ) and Year of the Cloud (1970, German as The year of heavy water ). In The Clone , a biochemical experiment leads to a catastrophe, the result of the experiment, an amorphous being that can absorb any organic material - including humans - escapes into the sewer system and spreads terror from there. The novel is based on the short story The Clone , written by Thomas alone, from 1959. In Year of the Cloud, the earth gets into the realm of an interstellar cloud , with catastrophic effects, with tidal waves and volcanic eruptions being only the beginning. The water of the oceans turns into a gelatinous substance and the world threatens to die of thirst.

Thomas is best known for his around 60 short stories that appeared in the almost 30 years from 1952 to 1981, including several in which a world government bases its power on controlling the weather. This group includes The Weather Man (1962, German as Die Wettermacher ), in which Australia is forced to submit to the authority of the global Weather Control Board with the threat of a drought .

In addition, Thomas wrote the popular science column The Science Springboard for the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction from 1964 to 1967 .

In 2005 Thomas died at the age of 85.

bibliography

Novels
  • The Clone (1965, with Kate Wilhelm)
    • English: The clone: ​​essence from chance. Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Taschenbuch # 24, 1973, ISBN 3-404-00059-5 .
  • Year of the Cloud (1970, with Kate Wilhelm)
    • German: The year of heavy water. Bastei Lübbe Science Fiction Bestseller # 22003, 1978, ISBN 3-404-01056-6 .
Patent Office (short story series, as Leonard Lockhard)
  • Improbable Profession (1952, with Charles L. Harness)
  • That Professional Look (1954, with Charles L. Harness )
  • The Magnificent Profession (1955)
  • The Curious Profession (1956)
  • The Professional Touch (1959)
  • The Lagging Profession (1961, essay)
  • The Professional Approach (1962, with Charles L. Harness)
  • Professional Dilemma (1964)
Short stories
  • The Revisitor (1952)
  • The Fatal Third (1953)
  • The Penultimate Weapon (1954)
  • Trial Without Combat (1955)
  • The Far Look (1956)
  • Ceramic Incident (1956)
  • The Innocents' Refuge (1957)
  • Mars Trial (1957)
  • The Disappearing Man (1957)
  • The Attractive Nuisance (1957)
  • Twice-Told Tale (1957)
  • Just Rub a Lamp (1957)
  • The Back of a Hand (1958)
  • The Law School (1958)
  • The Sound of the Wind (1958)
  • The Destroyers (1958)
  • Satellite Passage (1958)
  • The Good Work (1959)
  • Broken Tool (1959)
  • Day of Succession (1959)
  • New Model Spaceman (1959)
  • December 28th (1959)
  • The Clone (1959)
  • The Sound of Screaming (1960)
  • The Crackpot (1960)
  • The Flames of Life (1960)
  • The Intruder (1961)
    • German: The intruder. In: Charlotte Winheller (Ed.): The last element. Heyne (Heyne General Series # 224), 1963.
  • The Moon v. Nansen (1961)
  • Passage to Malish (1961)
  • Test (1962)
    • German: The test. In: Charlotte Winheller (Ed.): Saturn in the morning light. Heyne (Heyne General Series # 214), 1963. Also as: Test. In: Edward L. Ferman , Anne Jordan (eds.): The best horror stories. Droemer Knaur (Knaur Horror # 1835), 1989, ISBN 3-426-01835-7 .
  • The Spy (1962)
  • The Weather Man (1962)
    • German: Die Wettermacher. In: Arthur C. Clarke (Ed.): Comet of Blindness. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy), 1971.
  • The Lonely Man (1963)
  • The Soft Woman (1964)
  • Manfire (1965)
  • The Being in the Tank (1967)
  • The Doctor (1967)
  • The Other Culture (1969)
  • Welcome Centaurians (1969)
  • The Weather on the Sun (1970)
  • Motion Day at the Courthouse (1971)
  • The Swan Song of Dame Horse (1971)
  • The Tour (1971)
    • German: Distinguished visitor. In: Wulf H. Bergner (ed.): The planet sold. Heyne (Heyne Science Fiction & Fantasy # 3255), 1971.
  • Paradise Regained (1973, with Theodore R. Cogswell , as Cogswell Thomas)
  • Early Bird (1973, with Theodore R. Cogswell)
  • The Rescuers (1974)
  • Players at Null-G (1975, with Theodore R. Cogswell and Algis Budrys )
  • The Family Man (1978)
  • The Splice (1981)

literature

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Thomas, Theodore L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Thomas, Theodore Lockard (full name); Lockhard, Leonard (pseudonym); Thomas, Ted (alternative spelling); Thomas, Cogswell (pseudonym); Thomas, TL (alternative spelling); Thomas, Theo. L. (alternative spelling)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American science fiction writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 13, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH New York City
DATE OF DEATH September 24, 2005
Place of death Tucson , Arizona