Jules Gabriel Verne (February 8, 1828 – March 24, 1905) was a French author who helped pioneer the science-fiction genre. He is best known for his novels A Journey to the Center of the Earth (1864), From the Earth to the Moon (1865), Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea (1869–1870), Around the World in Eighty Days (1873) and The Mysterious Island (1875). Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before navigable aircraft and practical submarines were invented, and before any means of space travel had been devised. Consequently he is often referred to as the "Father of science fiction", along with H. G. Wells.^[1] Verne is the second most translated author of all time, only behind Agatha Christie, with 4162 translations, according to Index Translationum.^[2] Some of his works have been made into films.