1886 - William Olaf Stapledon was born on 10 May 1886 in Wallasey, Merseyside, England, to William Clibbett Stapledon and Emmaline Miller.
1886 - 1892 -Lives in Port Said, Egypt.
1883- 1899 - Attends Abbotshire School, Uttoexeter, Derbyshire.
?? B.A. and M.A. in History, Balliol College, Oxford.
1910 -1911 - Master at Manchester Grammar School.
1911- 1913 - Works for Blue Funnel Line in Liverpool and Port Said.
1913 - 1915 - Teaches for Workers Educational Association and also extension courses for the University of Liverpool.
1915 - 1919 - Serves with Friends Ambulance Unit in France.
1919 - Marries Agnes Zena Miller on 16 July at Friends Meeting House, Reigate, Surrey.
1920 - Ph.D., Philosophy, University of Liverpool.
1920 - 1940 - Lives at 7 Grovesnor Avenue, West Kirby.
1920 - Takes up lecturing again for Workers Educational Association and teaches extension courses on psychology, philosophy and industrial history. Daughter Mary born on 30 May.
1923 - Son John born on 6 November.
1930 - Publishes his first novel, Last and First Men, whose mythic universe and philosophical themes were to be the basis of all his later fiction.
1932 - Death of father. Publishes Last Men in London, considered a sequel to Last and First Men.
1935 - Death of mother. Odd John published.
1937 - Publishes Star Maker, extending to its limits the macrohistory of Last and First Men.
1939 - A full-time member of the University of Liverpool Staff.
1942 - Returns to fiction, after five years of non-fiction works, with Darkness and the Light.
1944 -Sirius published.
1949 - Only British delegate at the Cultural and Scientific Conference for World Peace held at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York City.
1950 - Last work, A Man Divided, published. Dies on 6 September.
- The above chronology is from Olaf Stapledon: A Man Divided by Leslie Fiedler -
"Stapledon's literary imagination was almost boundless." - Jorge Luis Borges
"No book [Last and First Men] before or since has ever had such an impact upon my imagination: the Stapledon vistas of millions and hundreds of millions of years, the rise and fall of civilizations and entire races of men, changed my whole outlook on the universe and has influenced much of my writing since." - Arthur C. Clarke
"[Last and First Men] goes beyond the boldest hypotheses of science and philosophy, and leads us into wonder. A monumental book." - Stanislaw Lem
Excerpts from Olaf Stapledon's Star Maker
Myth Maker: Wm Olaf Stapledon An excellent site that includes:
Olaf Stapledon: The Man Behind the Works by Sam Moskowitz
Behind the Veil A Chapter From Darkness and the Light
Arthur C Clarke reviews Olaf Stapledon: Speaking for the Future
Olaf Stapledon Page, includes an Obituary from the New York Times
Later Day Psalms. Henry Young, 1914
A Modern Theory of Ethics: A Study of the Relations of Ethics and Psychology. Methuen, 1929
Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future. Methuen, 1930
Last Men in London. Methuen, 1932
Waking World. Methuen, 1934
Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest. Methuen, 1935
Star Maker. Methuen, 1937
New Hope for Britain. Methuen, 1939
Saints and Revolutionaries. Methuen, 1939
Philosophy and Living. Penguin Books, 1939
Beyond the "Isms". Secker and Warburg, 1942
Darkness and the Light. Methuen, 1942
Old Man in the New World. Allen and Unwin, 1944
Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord. Secker and Warburg, 1944
The Seven Pillars of Peace. Commonwealth, 1944
Death into Life. Methuen, 1946
Youth and Tomorrow. St. Botolph, 1946
The Flames: A Fantasy. Secker and Warburg, 1947
A Man Divided. Methuen, 1950
The Opening of the Eyes. Edited by A. Z. Stapledon. Preface by E. V. Rieu. Methuen, 1954
"Nebula maker". Brian's Head Books, 1976
Far Future Calling: Uncollected Science Fiction and Fantasies. Edited by Sam Moskowitz. Oswald Train, 1979
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