German author, scientist, and philosopher and considered to be the father of German science fiction. Laßwitz studied mathematics and physics at the Universities of Breslau and Berlin, and earned his doctorate in 1873. He wrote his first science fiction story in 1871 and wrote his first novel "Two planets" in 1879. "Two planets" was about an encounter between humans and martians. There is an book award for German language Science-Fiction named after him.