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Robert A. Heinlein.

Robert Anson Heinlein

Robert A. Heinlein — Literary Critic
Born Butler, United States
Died Carmel, United States
Citizenship United States
Would Be 119 yr If Living

9 min read

Reading time

1,723

Words

Published

20

Awards

TL;DR

Robert A. Heinlein graduated 20th out of 243 from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929 before tuberculosis ended his naval career. In 1939, he sold his first story ‘Lifeline’ to Astounding Stories for $70. Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960, followed by Stranger in a Strange Land in 1962. The Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award came in 1975.

Identity & family.

KIN · 2

Names, aliases, and relatives of Robert A. Heinlein — birth name, kin, and personal ties.

Birth Name Robert Anson Heinlein
Nicknames The Grand Master
Aliases Author, Robert Heinlein
Spouses
Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld Leslyn MacDonald

At a glance.

STATS

Robert A. Heinlein by the numbers — life, work, and family.

80 Years lived
20 Awards
2 Marriages

Who was Robert A. Heinlein?

BIOGRAPHY

Robert A. Heinlein — early life, career, personal life, and legacy.

Early life

Heinlein graduated 20th in a class of 243 from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1929. Tuberculosis ended his naval career in 1934 after five years in the Pacific. Born July 7, 1907 in Butler, Missouri, he graduated from Central High School at 17 and spent a year at the University of Missouri before entering Annapolis.

Career

Lifeline, Heinlein’s first published story, appeared in Astounding Stories in August 1939 and sold for $70. During WWII, he worked as a research engineer for the Navy in Philadelphia and wrote 25 novels and short stories. Starship Troopers won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1960. Stranger in a Strange Land won the Hugo in 1962 and became a counterculture touchstone. He received the first Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award in 1975.

Personal life

In 1932, he married Leslyn MacDonald; they divorced in 1947. He married Virginia Doris Gerstenfeld in 1948, and she remained his wife until his death. He wrote seven days a week, six months a year, and traveled or relaxed the other six. His health declined in the late 1960s but improved after a major operation in 1982. His last novel, To Sail Beyond the Sunset, appeared in 1987.

Legacy

Larry Niven wrote a short story imagining Heinlein as a Navy admiral, showing his influence on other science fiction authors. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Critics rank him among the Big Three of science fiction, and his works pushed social boundaries, especially Stranger in a Strange Land. Film adaptations of his novels continue to appear and influence the genre.

Awards & honors.

AWARDS · 9

Every award, honor, and recognition received by Robert A. Heinlein — Grammys, hall-of-fame inductions, civic honors, lifetime achievements.

  • Prometheus Award – Hall of Fame
  • Inkpot Award
  • Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award
  • Hugo Award for Best Novel
  • Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame
  • Retro Hugo Award for Best Novel
  • Retro Hugo Award for Best Novella
  • Retro Hugo Award for Best Novelette
  • Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel

Notable quotes.

QUOTES · 11

A wall of memorable lines from Robert A. Heinlein — lyrics, interviews, and off-the-cuff remarks captured over a lifetime.

Did you know?

FACTS · 6

Little-known facts about Robert A. Heinlein — origins, oddities, and behind-the-scenes details from a public life.

  1. Robert A. Heinlein’s first book, For Us, the Living 1938, was actually the last to be published, discovered as a lost manuscript after his death and published in 2003.

  2. When writing short stories, he was so prolific that he would sometimes have two or even three stories in the same magazine issue. To disguise this, at most one was published under his own name. His most frequent pseudonym was Anson McDonald his middle name with his then wife Leslyn’s maiden name. He also used Lyle Monroe, John Riverside, Caleb Saunders, and Simon York.

  3. Science fiction author Larry Niven wrote a short story in which Heinlein never leaves the Navy and achieves the rank of Admiral.

  4. His novel Stranger in a Strange Land is mentioned in the Billy Joel song ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’. The title is based on something Moses says in the Book of Exodus.

  5. He attended school with Sally Rand, a famous actress and dancer.

  6. A biography of Heinlein appears in The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 404-406, published by Charles Scribner’s Sons in 1999.

You wanted to know.

FAQ · 32

Quick answers to the questions readers ask most about Robert A. Heinlein.

Audited & updated by

Sophia Bennett

Associate Editor & Editorial Content Coordinator

Sophia has 4 years of editorial experience and a habit of becoming the person any team leans on when they need to know where something stands. At Famousy, she manages the content pipeline, coordinates reviews, and handles the detail work that keeps a large editorial operation from falling apart. She reads a lot of profiles in the process and she's developed a sharp instinct for when something doesn't feel right. She flags it. It usually is.

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