Douglas Adams

Douglas Adams was an English author and humorist, born in Cambridge in 1952. He studied English literature at St John's College, Cambridge, where he performed with the Footlights comedy troupe, and worked at various odd jobs while trying to break into writing for radio and television, including contributions to Monty Python's Flying Circus and Doctor Who.

Adams achieved enduring fame with The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which began as a BBC radio comedy in 1978 before becoming a series of novels. Blending science fiction with absurdist British humor, the series follows the hapless Arthur Dent across a gleefully chaotic universe, and introduced ideas and phrases, from the number forty-two to the Babel fish, that became part of popular culture.

The Hitchhiker's series sold millions of copies and was adapted into television, stage, and film versions. Adams also wrote the Dirk Gently novels and, with the zoologist Mark Carwardine, the nonfiction book Last Chance to See, about endangered species, reflecting his deep interest in science, technology, and conservation.

A passionate early adopter of computers and an advocate for environmental causes, Adams was known for his wit, his struggles with deadlines, and his optimism about technology. He died suddenly of a heart attack in 2001 at the age of forty-nine, leaving a comic legacy that continues to delight readers around the world.