Timeline of science fiction

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. Seen here is the so-called Flood tablet.

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.

16th century

Year	Event	Ref.
1516	Utopia by Thomas More is published.

17th century

Year	Event	Ref.
1627	New Atlantis by Francis Bacon is published.
1634	Somnium by Johannes Kepler is published.
1638	The Man in the Moone by Francis Godwin is published.
1686	Conversations on the Plurality of Worlds by Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle is published.

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.
1741	Niels Klim's Underground Travels by Ludvig Holberg is published.
1752	Micromégas by Voltaire is published.
1771	The Year 2440 by Louis-Sébastien Mercier is published.

19th century

Mary Shelley, author of the 1818 novel Frankenstein

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.
1818	Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is published.
early 1820s	Charles Babbage invents the difference engine, a calculating machine and forerunner to the computer.
1826	The Last Man by Mary Shelley is published.
1827	The Mummy! A Tale of the Twenty-Second Century by Jane Loudon is published.
1828	Jules Verne is born.
1838	The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe is published.
1844	"Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is published.
1848	Eureka: A Prose Poem by Edgar Allan Poe is published.
1858	"The Diamond Lens" by Fitz-James O'Brien is published.
1864	Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne is published.
	The non-fiction Real and Imaginary Worlds by Camille Flammarion is published.
1865	From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne is published.
1866	H. G. Wells is born.
1868	The Steam Man of the Prairies by Edward S. Ellis, the first SF dime novel, is published.
1869	"The Brick Moon" by Edward Everett Hale is published.
1869–1870	Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne is published in serial form.
1871	The Battle of Dorking by George Tomkyns Chesney is published.
	The Coming Race by Edward Bulwer-Lytton is published.
1872	Erewhon by Samuel Butler is published.
	Récits de l'infini by Camille Flammarion, a work of fiction expanding upon the concepts in Real and Imaginary Worlds, is published.
1874–1875	The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne is published in serial form.
1876 onwards	The Frank Reade dime novel series by Harry Enton, and later Luis Senarens, is published.
1884	Flatland by Edwin Abbott Abbott is published.
1885	After London by Richard Jefferies is published.
1886	Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson is published.
1887	Lumen by Camille Flammarion, a compilation of earlier fiction and non-fiction works, is published.
	A Crystal Age by W. H. Hudson is published.
1888	Looking Backward, 2000–1887 by Edward Bellamy is published.
1889	A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court by Mark Twain is published.
1890	News from Nowhere by William Morris is published.
	Caesar's Column by Ignatius L. Donnelly is published.
1892–1894	A Traveler from Altruria by William Dean Howells is published in serial, and later book, form.
1894	Omega: The Last Days of the World by Camille Flammarion is published.
1895	The Time Machine by H. G. Wells is published.
1896	The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells is published.
1897	Auf zwei Planeten by Kurd Lasswitz is published.
1898	The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells is published.
	Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Serviss is published.

1900s

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

Year	Event	Ref.
1900	The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum is published.
1901	The First Men in the Moon by H. G. Wells is published.
	The Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel is published.
1902	Georges Méliès shows the film A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune).
1904	Hugo Gernsback emigrates from Luxembourg to the United States.
	The Food of the Gods and How It Came to Earth by H. G. Wells is published.
	"The Country of the Blind" by H. G. Wells is published.
1905	"With the Night Mail" by Rudyard Kipling is published.
	A Modern Utopia by H. G. Wells is published.
	Albert Einstein formulates the special theory of relativity.
	Jules Verne dies.
1907	The Iron Heel by Jack London is published.
1908	The War in the Air by H. G. Wells is published.
	Hugo Gernsback launches his first magazine: Modern Electrics.
1909	The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster is published.
	A Columbus of Space by Garrett P. Serviss is published.
	Henry Ford launches the Ford Model T.

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.
1911	Ralph 124C 41+ by Hugo Gernsback is published in serial form in Modern Electrics.
	The Hampdenshire Wonder by J. D. Beresford is published.
1912	The Second Deluge by Garrett P. Serviss is published.
	Under the Moons of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs is published.
	The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, which gives the name to the lost world subgenre of science fiction, is published.
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.
1913	Hugo Gernsback launches The Electrical Experimenter.
1914	The World Set Free by H. G. Wells is published.
	World War I begins.
1915	Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is published.
	The Scarlet Plague by Jack London is published.
1917	The Messiah of the Cylinder by Victor Rousseau Emanuel is published.
	Vladimir Lenin leads the Russian October Revolution.
1918	The Moon Pool by A. Merritt is published.
	World War I ends.

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.
	"The Comet" by W. E. B. Du Bois is published.
	A Voyage to Arcturus by David Lindsay is published.
1921	"The Blind Spot" by Homer Eon Flint and Austin Hall is published.
1922	Aelita by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy is published.
1923	The Clockwork Man by E. V. Odle is published.
	Men Like Gods by H. G. Wells is published.
	Weird Tales is launched.
	Hugo Gernsback dedicates the August issue of Science and Invention to "scientifiction".
1924	We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is published.
	The film Aelita, based on the 1922 novel, is released.
	Krakatit by Karel Čapek is published.
1925	Ralph 124C 41+ by Hugo Gernsback is published in book form.
	The film The Lost World, based on the 1912 novel by Arthur Conan Doyle, is released.
1926	Hugo Gernsback launches Amazing Stories, the first specialized science fiction magazine.
	"The Coming of the Ice" by G. Peyton Wertenbaker is published.
1927	Fritz Lang releases the film Metropolis.
	"The Colour Out of Space" by H. P. Lovecraft is published.
1928	The Skylark of Space by E. E. Smith is published, launching the Skylark series.
	"Crashing Suns" by Edmond Hamilton is published.
	The film Alraune, the third adaptation of the 1911 novel by Hanns Heinz Ewers, is released.
	Armageddon 2419 A.D. by Philip Francis Nowlan, the first story about Buck Rogers, is published.
1929	Buck Rogers in the 25th Century begins publication as a comic strip.
	Fritz Lang releases the film Woman in the Moon.
	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.
	Edwin Hubble discovers that the universe is expanding.
	The United States stock market crashes, marking the beginning of the Great Depression.

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.
	The Iron Star by John Taine is published.
	Astounding Stories of Super-Science begins publication.
	The film Just Imagine is released.
	Science Wonder Stories and Air Wonder Stories merge to become Wonder Stories magazine.
	Gladiator by Philip Wylie is published.
	The Comet, the first science-fiction fanzine, is launched.
1931	Abel Gance's film End of the World is released.
	James Whale releases the film Frankenstein.
	Astounding Stories of Super-Science changes its title to Astounding Stories.
	Islands of Space by John W. Campbell is published, introducing the concept of hyperspace.
	The film Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is released.
1932	Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is published.
	"The Last Evolution" by John W. Campbell is published.
1933	When Worlds Collide by Edwin Balmer and Philip Wylie is published.
	James Whale's film The Invisible Man, based on the 1897 novel by H. G. Wells, is released.
	Street and Smith purchase Astounding Stories and retool its editorial policy.
	"Shambleau" by C. L. Moore is published.
	The film King Kong is released.
	The Shape of Things to Come by H. G. Wells is published.
	The Man Who Awoke by Laurence Manning is published.
	Buck Rogers appears in a short film at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair.
1934	"Twilight" by John W. Campbell is published.
	"Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster is published.
	"A Martian Odyssey" by Stanley G. Weinbaum is published.
	Skylark of Valeron by E. E. Smith is published, concluding the Skylark series.
	"Triplanetary" by E. E. Smith is published, launching the Lensman series.
	The Legion of Space by Jack Williamson is published, launching the Legion of Space series.
	The Flash Gordon comic strip begins publication.
	The Science Fiction League, a science fiction fan organization, is founded by Hugo Gernsback and Charles Hornig.
1935	Odd John by Olaf Stapledon is published.
	It Can't Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis is published.
1936	Things to Come, directed by William Cameron Menzies, is released.
	War with the Newts by Karel Čapek is published.
	The first Flash Gordon film serial is released.
	At the Mountains of Madness by H. P. Lovecraft is published.
	Hugo Gernsback sells Wonder Stories, which is retitled Thrilling Wonder Stories.
1937	John W. Campbell becomes editor of Astounding Stories, launching the so-called Golden Age of Science Fiction.
	Star Maker by Olaf Stapledon is published.
1938	Astounding Stories changes its title to Astounding Science Fiction.
	Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell is published.
	Orson Welles produces a radio adaptation of The War of the Worlds, resulting in panic when it is mistaken for a news broadcast.
	"Helen O'Loy" by Lester del Rey is published.
	Superman first appears in the first issue of Action Comics.
	"The Legion of Time" by Jack Williamson is published.
	Raymond A. Palmer becomes editor of Amazing Stories.
	The Futurians, a science fiction fan group, forms.
1939	The New Adam by Stanley G. Weinbaum is published.
	Startling Stories is launched.
	John W. Campbell launches Unknown.
	"Lest Darkness Fall" by L. Sprague de Camp is published in Unknown. It is published in an expanded novel form in 1941.
	The first annual World Science Fiction Convention is held in conjunction with the 1939 New York World's Fair.
	Buck Rogers appears in a 12-part film serial.
	World War II begins in Europe.

1940s

Year	Event	Ref.
1940	The radio serial The Adventures of Superman debuts.
	The Future History stories "If This Goes On—" and "The Roads Must Roll" by Robert A. Heinlein are published in Astounding Science Fiction.
	Slan by A. E. van Vogt is published as a serial; it is later published in book form in 1946.
	The film Dr. Cyclops is released.
	"Martian Quest", the first story by Leigh Brackett, is published.
	"Emergency Refueling", the first story by James Blish, is published.
1941	"Nightfall" by Isaac Asimov is published.
	"Universe" by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	"By His Bootstraps" by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	"Microcosmic God" by Theodore Sturgeon is published.
	The Other Worlds compiled by Phil Stong, the first major science fiction anthology, is published.
	Japan attacks Pearl Harbor, causing the United States to enter World War II.
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.
	Beyond This Horizon by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
1944	"No Woman Born" by C. L. Moore is published.
	"City" by Clifford D. Simak, the first story in what would become the 1952 fix-up novel City, is published.
	Sirius by Olaf Stapledon is published.
	"Arena" by Fredric Brown is published.
1945	"First Contact" by Murray Leinster is published.
	The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt is published as a serial; it is later published in book form in 1948.
	That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis is published.
	The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki lead to the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
1946	The Best of Science Fiction anthology, edited by Groff Conklin, is published.
	Adventures in Time and Space, an anthology edited by Raymond J. Healy and J. Francis McComas, is published.
	New Worlds begins publication.
1947	Rocket Ship Galileo by Robert A. Heinlein, the first of his juvenile novels, is published.
	Fantasy Book begins publication.
	"With Folded Hands ..." by Jack Williamson is published.
1948	"That Only a Mother" by Judith Merril is published.
	The first Superman film serial is released.
	Against the Fall of Night by Arthur C. Clarke is published.
	Walden Two by B. F. Skinner is published.
1949	The Best Science Fiction Stories, an anthology edited by E. F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, is published.
	Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is published.
	"He Walked Around the Horses" by H. Beam Piper is published.
	Earth Abides by George R. Stewart is published.
	"The King of Thieves" by Jack Vance is published.
	The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction begins publication.
	A. Merritt's Fantasy Magazine begins publication.

1950s

Year	Event	Ref.
1950	I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, a fix-up of stories in his Robot series, is published.
	The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury is published.
	Shadow on the Hearth by Judith Merril is published.
	Galaxy Science Fiction begins publication.
	Worlds Beyond begins publication.
	Science Fantasy begins publication.
	The film Destination Moon, directed by Irving Pichel, is released.
	The film Rocketship X-M is released.
	A non-fiction article on dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard is published by Astounding Science Fiction.
1951	The Puppet Masters by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury is published.
	The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham is published.
	Dragon's Island by Jack Williamson is published, introducing the term "genetic engineering" into science fiction.
	The film The Day the Earth Stood Still is released.
	The film When Worlds Collide is released.
	The film The Thing from Another World is released.
1952	"The Lovers" by Philip José Farmer is published.
	"The World Well Lost" by Theodore Sturgeon is published.
	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.
	Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut is published.
	Ivy Mike, the first hydrogen bomb, is tested at the Enewetak Atoll.
1953	The Demolished Man by Alfred Bester is published and wins the first Hugo Award for Best Novel.
	Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is published.
	Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke is published.
	Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement is published in serial form; it is published in book form in 1954.
	Bring the Jubilee by Ward Moore is published.
	"Lot" by Ward Moore is published.
	Star Science Fiction Stories, an anthology edited by Frederik Pohl, is published.
	E Pluribus Unicorn by Theodore Sturgeon is published.
	More Than Human by Theodore Sturgeon is published.
	The 11th World Science Fiction Convention awards the first Hugo Awards (named after Hugo Gernsback).
	The film The War of the Worlds is released.
	The film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms is released.
1954	Brain Wave by Poul Anderson is published.
	The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov is published.
	I Am Legend by Richard Matheson is published.
	"The Cold Equations" by Tom Godwin is published.
	Handbook of Science Fiction and Fantasy by Donald H. Tuck is published.
	The film Them! is released.
	The film 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is released.
1955	Earthman, Come Home by James Blish is published.
	The Long Tomorrow by Leigh Brackett is published.
	"The Star" by Arthur C. Clarke is published.
	Of All Possible Worlds by William Tenn is published.
	The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney is published.
	"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.
	The End of Eternity by Isaac Asimov is published.
	"The Tunnel under the World" by Frederik Pohl is published.
	Twin brothers Gregory Benford and James Benford launch a fanzine, Void.
	The film This Island Earth is released.
1956	The Stars My Destination (a.k.a. Tiger! Tiger!) by Alfred Bester is published.
	The City and the Stars by Arthur C. Clarke is published.
	Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	The Door into Summer by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	The Naked Sun by Isaac Asimov is published.
	SF: The Year's Greatest Science Fiction and Fantasy, an anthology edited by Judith Merril, is published.
	The film Invasion of the Body Snatchers is released.
	The film Forbidden Planet is released.
	The first annual Milford Science Fiction Writers' Conference is organized by Damon Knight, James Blish, and Judith Merril.
1957	Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand is published.
	The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle is published.
	Eye in the Sky by Philip K. Dick is published.
	The film The Incredible Shrinking Man is released.
	The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into Earth orbit. This is followed one month later by Sputnik 2, carrying the dog Laika.
1958	Non-Stop (a.k.a. Starship) by Brian Aldiss is published.
	A Case of Conscience by James Blish is published.
	Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale by Ivan Yefremov is published.
	The film The Fly is released.
	The British Science Fiction Association is founded.
	The United States launches its first satellites, starting with Explorer 1.
1959	Time Out of Joint by Philip K. Dick is published.
	Starship Troopers by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	"'—All You Zombies—'" by Robert A. Heinlein is published.
	"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes is published as a novella; it is published in expanded novel form in 1966.
	The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut is published.
	Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson is published.
	The film On the Beach is released.
	The Twilight Zone begins airing.
	The journal Extrapolation begins publication.
	The Soviet Union launches the first lunar missions: Luna 1 (flyby), Luna 2 (impact), and Luna 3 (flyby).

1960s

Year	Event	Ref.
1960	The High Crusade by Poul Anderson is published.
	Strange Relations by Philip José Farmer is published.
	Venus Plus X by Theodore Sturgeon is published.
	The film The Time Machine is released.
	Astounding Science Fiction is retitled Analog Science Fact and Fiction.
1961	Gordon R. Dickson publishes Naked to the Stars.
	Harry Harrison publishes The Stainless Steel Rat.
	Robert A. Heinlein publishes Stranger in a Strange Land.
	Zenna Henderson publishes the collection of short stories entitled Pilgrimage: The Book of the People.
	Stanisław Lem publishes Solaris in Poland. It is translated into English in 1970.
	Cordwainer Smith publishes the short story "Alpha Ralpha Boulevard".
	Frederik Pohl takes over as editor for Galaxy and If.
	Brian W. Aldiss publishes Hothouse in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction.
1962	J. G. Ballard publishes The Drowned World. Anthony Burgess publishes A Clockwork Orange. Philip K. Dick publishes The Man in the High Castle. Naomi Mitchison publishes Memoirs of a Spacewoman. Eric Frank Russell publishes The Great Explosion. The Manchurian Candidate is released to the big screen. Madeleine L'Engle publishes A Wrinkle in Time.
1963	Pierre Boulle publishes La planète des singes, which is translated as Planet of the Apes. Doctor Who begins airing in England. The literary journal Quarber Merkur is launched in Austria.
1964	Philip K. Dick publishes Martian Time-Slip. Robert A. Heinlein publishes Farnham's Freehold. James Blish publishes The Issue at Hand under the pseudonym William Atheling. Michael Moorcock becomes editor of New Worlds in Great Britain. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish the novel Hard to Be a God in 1964.
1965	Philip K. Dick publishes Dr. Bloodmoney. Harry Harrison publishes The Streets of Ashkelon. Frank Herbert publishes Dune, which wins the Nebula Award for best novel. Jack Vance publishes Space Opera. World's Best Science Fiction: 1965, edited by Donald A. Wollheim and Terry Carr, is published. Cele Goldsmith Lalli steps down as editor of Amazing Stories and Fantastic Fiction when the two magazines are sold by Ziff Davis to Sol Cohen. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish Monday Starts on Saturday in 1965. Lost in Space begins airing.
1966	Samuel R. Delany publishes Babel-17. Harry Harrison publishes Make Room! Make Room!. Robert A. Heinlein publishes The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Damon Knight edits Orbit 1, the first in a series of anthologies. Keith Roberts publishes The Signaller. Star Trek begins being broadcast in the United States. The first Nebula Award is given out.
1967	Samuel R. Delany publishes The Einstein Intersection. Harlan Ellison edits the anthology Dangerous Visions. Roger Zelazny publishes Lord of Light. Anne McCaffrey publishes Dragonflight. The Prisoner begins airing in Great Britain. Horizons du Fantastique is launched in France.
1968	John Brunner publishes Stand on Zanzibar. Philip K. Dick publishes Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Thomas M. Disch publishes Camp Concentration. Judith Merril edits the England Swings SF anthology. Alexei Panshin publishes Rite of Passage. Keith Roberts publishes Pavane. Robert Silverberg publishes Hawksbill Station. 2001: A Space Odyssey, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is released. The Molecular Café, an anthology of Russian science fiction, is published in the West. Nueva Dimension is founded in Spain. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish The Ugly Swans.
1969	Michael Crichton publishes The Andromeda Strain. Ursula K. Le Guin publishes The Left Hand of Darkness. Kurt Vonnegut Jr. publishes Slaughterhouse-Five. Visions of Tomorrow, a short-lived science fiction journal, is founded. While it remains in publication for only one year, it is the first English-language periodical to publish one of Stanisław Lem's short stories. Star Trek: The Original Series concludes its original broadcast run.

1970s

Year	Event
1970	Larry Niven publishes Ringworld. Marge Piercy publishes Dance the Eagle to Sleep. George Lucas releases his film THX 1138.
1971	Editor Terry Carr releases Universe 1, the first volume of the Universe anthology. Robert Silverberg publishes The World Inside. Donald A. Wollheim, editor of Ace Books, leaves to establish DAW Books. He uses the opportunity to include topics that were forbidden at Ace, including sex. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish Prisoners of Power.
1972	Isaac Asimov publishes The Gods Themselves. Harlan Ellison edits Again, Dangerous Visions. Barry N. Malzberg publishes Beyond Apollo. Joanna Russ publishes When It Changed. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish Roadside Picnic. Gene Wolfe publishes The Fifth Head of Cerberus. The Science Fiction Foundation begins publishing the journal Foundation. Stanisław Lem's novel Solaris is made into a film. Ben Bova officially becomes the editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact after running the magazine following John W. Campbell's death.
1973	Arthur C. Clarke publishes Rendezvous with Rama. Thomas Pynchon publishes Gravity's Rainbow. Mack Reynolds publishes Looking Backward from the Year 2000. James Tiptree Jr. publishes the collection of short stories Ten Thousand Light-Years from Home. Ian Watson publishes The Embedding. The journal Science Fiction Studies begins publication. The John W. Campbell Memorial Award is established by Harry Harrison and Brian Aldiss. Brian Aldiss publishes Billion Year Spree. Moonbase 3 is released. Star Trek: The Animated Series begins its original broadcast run.
1974	Suzy McKee Charnas publishes Walk to the End of the World. Joe Haldeman publishes The Forever War. Ursula K. Le Guin publishes The Dispossessed. SF Magazine begins publication in Japan; it primarily translates works found in Fantasy and Science Fiction magazine. Star Trek: The Animated Series concludes its original broadcast run.
1975	Samuel R. Delany publishes Dhalgren. Joanna Russ publishes The Female Man. Pamela Sargent edits Women of Wonder. Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson publish Illuminatus!. Gérard Klein edits the first Anthologies de la Science-Fiction in France. Univers begins publication in France. Space: 1999 begins airing in England.
1976	Samuel R. Delany publishes Triton. Marge Piercy publishes Woman on the Edge of Time. James Tiptree Jr. publishes the novella Houston, Houston, Do You Read?. Odyssey Science Fiction magazine is founded and folds after only two issues. Galileo Magazine is founded and folds after a single issue. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky publish Definitely Maybe in 1976.
1977	Philip K. Dick publishes A Scanner Darkly. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, directed by Steven Spielberg, is released. Star Wars, directed by George Lucas, is released. Collectif is published in France. Frederik Pohl publishes Gateway. Asimov's Science Fiction magazine is founded.
1978	George H. White publishes his La saga de los Aznar in Spain. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is aired on BBC Radio. Bob Guccione founds Omni magazine. Battlestar Galactica begins its original broadcast on ABC.
1979	Douglas Adams publishes The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Octavia Butler publishes Kindred. John Crowley publishes Engine Summer. Alien, directed by Ridley Scott, is released. Darko Suvin publishes the translation of his Pour une poetique de la science-fiction as Metamorphoses of Science Fiction. It later receives the Pilgrim Award. The first edition of The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction is published. Star Trek: The Motion Picture, directed by Robert Wise, is released.

1980s

Year	Event
1980	Stephen King publishes The Mist as part of the Dark Forces anthology. Gregory Benford publishes Timescape. Gene Wolfe publishes The Shadow of the Torturer, the first volume of The Book of the New Sun series. Tor Books is founded by Tom Doherty after he leaves Ace Books. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, directed by Irvin Kershner, is released. SF et Quotidien is published in France.
1981	C. J. Cherryh publishes Downbelow Station. William Gibson publishes the short story "The Gernsback Continuum". Vernor Vinge publishes the short story "True Names". Serge Brussolo publishes Sommeil de sang (Blood Sleep) in France. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is translated to film. Interzone begins publication in Great Britain.
1982	Brian Aldiss publishes Helliconia Spring. Blade Runner, directed by Ridley Scott, is released. Steven Spielberg releases E.T.. John Carpenter releases a remade version of The Thing. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, directed by Nicholas Meyer, is released.
1983	David Brin publishes Startide Rising. Bluejay Books is set up as an imprint of St. Martin's Press. Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, directed by Richard Marquand, is released. The mini-series V airs. Analog serializes Greg Bear's book Blood Music.
1984	Octavia Butler publishes the short story "Bloodchild". Samuel R. Delany publishes Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand. Gardner Dozois edits The Year's Best Science Fiction: First Annual Collection. Suzette Haden Elgin publishes Native Tongue. William Gibson publishes Neuromancer, one of the earliest works of the Cyberpunk genre. Gwyneth Jones publishes Divine Endurance. Kim Stanley Robinson publishes the short story "The Lucky Strike", which was reprinted in the collection of short stories entitled The Planet on the Table in 1986, and the novel The Wild Shore. Frank Herbert's Dune is brought to the cinemas by David Lynch. The Terminator, directed by James Cameron is released in cinemas and becomes a massive blockbuster. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, directed by Leonard Nimoy, is released. The Ewok Adventure - Caravan of Courage of the Star Wars franchise, directed by John Korty, is broadcast on ABC.
1985	Margaret Atwood publishes The Handmaid's Tale, which wins the first Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel in 1987. Greg Bear publishes Blood Music and Eon. Orson Scott Card publishes Ender's Game. Lewis Shiner and Bruce Sterling publish the short story "Mozart in Mirrorshades". Bruce Sterling publishes Schismatrix. Kurt Vonnegut publishes Galápagos. Iain Banks publishes Walking on Glass. Back to the Future is released in the movie theaters.
1986	Lois McMaster Bujold publishes Ethan of Athos. Orson Scott Card publishes Speaker for the Dead. Ken Grimwood publishes Replay. Pamela Sargent publishes The Shore of Women. Joan Slonczewski publishes A Door into Ocean. The Arthur C. Clarke Award is given out for the first time; The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood wins. Aliens, directed by James Cameron, is released. Charles C. Ryan founds and edits Aboriginal SF. Frank Miller publishes the graphic novel Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, directed by Leonard Nimoy, is released.
1987	Iain M. Banks publishes Consider Phlebas. Octavia Butler publishes Dawn: Xenogenesis I. Pat Cadigan publishes Mindplayers. Judith Moffett publishes Pennterra. Lucius Shepard publishes Life During Wartime. Michael Swanwick publishes Vacuum Flowers. Arkady and Boris Strugatsky are allowed to leave Russia to attend their first WorldCon in Great Britain. Star Trek: The Next Generation launches on television in the United States. Alan Moore publishes his Watchmen in the U.S. comics market.
1988	John Barnes publishes Sin of Origin. Sheri S. Tepper publishes The Gate to Women's Country. Robert A. Heinlein dies. Red Dwarf begins airing in Great Britain.
1989	Orson Scott Card publishes The Folk of the Fringe. Geoff Ryman publishes The Child Garden. Dan Simmons publishes Hyperion. Bruce Sterling publishes the short story "Dori Bangs". Sheri S. Tepper publishes Grass. Locus Magazine documents a 50% per year increase in the number of science fiction books being published. Doctor Who hiatus starts. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, directed by William Shatner, is released. Back to the Future Part II is released in the movie theaters.

1990s

Year	Event
1990	Colin Greenland publishes Take Back Plenty. Kim Stanley Robinson publishes Pacific Edge. Sheri S. Tepper publishes Raising the Stones. Brian Stableford publishes his first Werewolves of London series. Total Recall is released. Eidolon (Australian magazine) is launched in Australia.
1991	Stephen Baxter publishes Raft. Emma Bull publishes Bone Dance. Pat Cadigan publishes the short story "Dispatches from the Revolution". Michael Crichton publishes Jurassic Park. Gwyneth Jones publishes White Queen. Brian Stableford publishes Sexual Chemistry: Sardonic Tales of the Genetic Revolution. James Cameron releases Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, directed by Nicholas Meyer, is released.
1992	Greg Egan publishes Quarantine. Nancy Kress publishes the short story "Beggars in Spain". Maureen McHugh publishes China Mountain Zhang. Kim Stanley Robinson publishes Red Mars. Neal Stephenson publishes Snow Crash. Vernor Vinge publishes A Fire Upon the Deep. Connie Willis publishes Doomsday Book. Isaac Asimov dies.
1993	Eleanor Arnason publishes Ring of Swords. Nicola Griffith publishes Ammonite. Peter F. Hamilton publishes Mindstar Rising. Nancy Kress publishes Beggars in Spain. Paul J. McAuley publishes Red Dust. Paul Park publishes Coelestis. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine begins airing in the United States.
1994	Kathleen Ann Goonan publishes Queen City Jazz. Elizabeth Hand publishes Waking the Moon. Mike Resnick publishes A Miracle of Rare Design. Melissa Scott publishes Trouble and Her Friends. Stargate, directed by Roland Emmerich, is released in cinemas. Star Trek: The Next Generation concludes its original broadcast run. Star Trek Generations, directed by David Carson, is released. Babylon 5 begins its original broadcast run on PTEN.
1995	Greg Egan publishes Permutation City. Ken MacLeod publishes The Star Fraction. Melissa Scott publishes Shadow Man. Neal Stephenson publishes The Diamond Age. Star Trek: Voyager begins airing in the United States.
1996	Orson Scott Card publishes Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus. Kathleen Ann Goonan publishes The Bones of Time. Mary Doria Russell publishes The Sparrow. Star Trek: First Contact, directed by Jonathan Frakes, is released.
1997	Wil McCarthy publishes Bloom. Paul J. McAuley publishes Child of the River. Stargate SG-1 begins its original broadcast on Showtime.
1998	Graham Joyce and Peter F. Hamilton publish the short story "Eat Reecebread". Keith Hartman publishes the short story "Sex, Guns, and Baptists". Nalo Hopkinson publishes Brown Girl in the Ring. Ian R. MacLeod publishes the short story "The Summer Isles". Brian Stableford publishes Inherit the Earth. Bruce Sterling publishes Distraction. Howard Waldrop publishes "US". Star Trek: Insurrection, directed by Jonathan Frakes, is released.
1999	Greg Bear publishes Darwin's Radio. Neal Stephenson publishes Cryptonomicon. Vernor Vinge publishes A Deepness in the Sky. The Matrix, directed by The Wachowskis, is released. Star Trek: Deep Space Nine concludes its original broadcast run. Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, directed by George Lucas, is released. Farscape begins its original broadcast run on SyFy. Galaxy Quest, a science fiction parody film directed by Dean Parisot, is released. Futurama, created by Matt Groening, begins its first original broadcast run on Fox.

2000s

Year	Event
2000	Nalo Hopkinson publishes Midnight Robber, a coming-of-age story set in a Caribbean-settled colony world. Ursula K. Le Guin publishes The Telling. Ken MacLeod publishes Cosmonaut Keep.
2001	Terry Bisson publishes the short story "The Old Rugged Cross". Ted Chiang publishes the short story "Hell is the Absence of God". John Clute publishes Appleseed. Mary Gentle publishes Ash: A Secret History. Maureen McHugh publishes Nekropolis. China Miéville publishes Perdido Street Station. Geoff Ryman releases the mundane science fiction manifesto, calling for hard science fiction that depicts plausible technologies. Joan Slonczewski publishes Brain Plague. Douglas Adams dies. Star Trek: Enterprise begins airing in the United States.
2002	Greg Egan publishes Schild's Ladder. Jon Courtenay Grimwood publishes Effendi. Kim Stanley Robinson publishes The Years of Rice and Salt. Star Trek: Nemesis, directed by Stuart Baird, is released. Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, directed by George Lucas, is released. Firefly, created by Joss Whedon, begins its original broadcast run on Fox.
2003	Star Wars: Clone Wars is broadcast on Cartoon Network. Battlestar Galactica: The Miniseries is broadcast on SyFy.
2004	Battlestar Galactica begins its original broadcast on SyFy. Stargate Atlantis begins its original broadcast on SyFy.
2005	Octavia Butler publishes Fledgling. Doctor Who returns as a weekly series. Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, directed by George Lucas, is released. Serenity, based on Firefly, directed by Joss Whedon, is released.
2006	Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance is broadcast on SyFy. Stanisław Lem dies.[1]
2007	Oxford University Press publishes what is said to be "the first historical dictionary devoted to science fiction": Brave New Words.
2008	Iron Man is released as the first film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Arthur C. Clarke dies. Liu Cixin publishes The Three-Body Problem, the first novel of the Remembrance of Earth's Past trilogy. Star Wars: The Clone Wars, directed by Dave Filoni, is released. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV Series) is broadcast on Cartoon Network. Futurama begins its second original broadcast run on Comedy Central.
2009	Star Trek, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released. Stargate Universe begins its original broadcast run on SyFy.

2010s

Year	Event
2010	Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, is released.
2011	Andy Weir publishes The Martian.
2012	Cloud Atlas, directed by The Wachowskis, is released. Ray Bradbury dies.
2013	Orphan Black is produced by Temple Street Productions, BBC America and Space. Star Trek Into Darkness, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released.
2014	Interstellar, directed by Christopher Nolan, is released. Star Wars: Rebels is broadcast on Disney XD.
2015	N. K. Jemisin publishes The Fifth Season, the first novel of the Broken Earth series. Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released.
2016	Stranger Things is released on Netflix. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, directed by Gareth Edwards, is released. Star Trek Beyond, directed by Justin Lin, is released.
2017	Star Trek: Discovery is released on CBS All Access and Netflix. Star Wars: The Last Jedi, directed by Rian Johnson, is released. The Orville, created by Seth MacFarlane, starts its original broadcast run on Fox.
2018	Ursula K. Le Guin dies. Solo: A Star Wars Story, directed by Ron Howard, is released.
2019	Alita: Battle Angel, produced by James Cameron and directed by Robert Rodriguez, is released. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, directed by J. J. Abrams, is released. The Mandalorian is released on Disney+.

2020s

Year	Event
2020	Solar Opposites premiers on Hulu. Star Trek: Picard is released on Paramount+.
2021	Denis Villeneuve's film adaptation of Dune is released to theaters and streaming simultaneously. Star Wars series The Bad Batch and The Book of Boba Fett are released on Disney+.
2022	Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is released on Paramount+. Star Wars series Tales of the Jedi, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Andor are released on Disney+.
2023	Rebel Moon is released on Netflix. Star Wars series Ahsoka is released on Disney+.
2024	The Last Dangerous Visions is published by J. Michael Straczynski. Dune: Part Two is released. Alien: Romulus a science fiction horror film is released.

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