Biography

Willy Ley was born on October 2, 1906 in Berlin, Germany. He was a writer, known for Conquest of Space (1955), Tom Corbett, Space Cadet (1950) and Cineficción Radio (2019). He died on May 24, 1969.

Studied astronomy, physics, zoology, and paleontology at the universities of Berlin and Konigsberg.

In 1927, Ley was one of the founders of the German Rocket Society and helped design, build and fly liquid-propellant rockets in Germany.

Popularizer of space exploration and travel.

In 1935, he was brought to the United States under the auspices of the American Rocket Society, and became a U.S. citizen in 1944. His literary works on astronautics and astro-history are considered classics in their field. His writings on what might be accomplished in astronautics with technology encouraged many young people to pursue careers in the astronautic sciences and technologies where they managed to turn his writings into reality. As an early advocate of space travel, Willy Ley helped usher in the rocket age.

His first name is pronounced Villy.