Francis Nowlan Philip: - "Philip Francis Nowlan (November 13, 1888 - February 1, 1940) was a science fiction writer best remembered for creating Buck Rogers. On November 13, 1888, Nowlan was born. Nowlan was a member of The Mask and Wig Club at the University of Pennsylvania, where he had important roles in the annual plays between 1907 and 1909. He worked as a newspaper writer after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. Nowlan had eleven children with his wife, Theresa Junker. He went to Bala Cynwyd, a Philadelphia suburb, and conceived and wrote the Buck Rogers comic strip, which was illustrated by Dick Calkins. He continued to write for the strip until 1939. From 1929 through 1967, the comic strip was published. Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (sporadically aired from 1932 to 1947), a 1939 movie serial Buck Rogers, a brief 1950-51 television series, and a 1979-1981 television series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century were all spin-offs. Nowlan also penned many more novellas for science fiction periodicals, as well as The Girl from Nowhere, a posthumously published mystery. In 1940, he died of a stroke at his home in Bala."