Willy Ley: Science Popularizer Extraordinaire

I first heard of Willy Ley when I was 13 or 14, back in the 1970s. My library had the Tom Corbett, Space Cadet books (which was pretty much a miracle because the books had been published in the 1950s, and libraries seem to have a tendency to de-accession books once they are over ten years old!) The books were written by Carey Rockewell, and Willy Ley was the Technical Advisor, and I loved them!

The next time I heard of Willy Ley was when I picked up a copy of Isaac Asimov's Asimov on Science Fiction, published in 1982. This is an anthology of Asimov's essays on science fiction. Asimov pointed out that "Willy Ley was the father of the nonfiction article as it exists today in science fiction magazines. He dealt with subjects on the frontiers of science, subjects that shaded off into science fiction, but did so always with firm rationalism and with thorough scientific knowledge."

Havng Willy Ley brought to my mind again caused me to start studying up on the man -- not as easy a task then as it is now, as the Internet was only in its infancy at that time, and Wikipedia hadn't even been thought of.

Ley was born in German on October 2, 1906. He died at the age of 62, leaving behind a wife, Olga, and two daughters, Sandra and Xenia.

He was an avid student, and became interested in rocketry at a young age, after having read Hermann Oberth's Die Rakate zu den Planetenraumen (The Rocket into Planetary Space), published in 1923 when he was only 17.

In 1926 (Ley is 20!) his first book was published: Die Fahrt in den Weltraum (Travel in Outer Space).

In 1927, Ley was one of the founders of the early rocketry and space travel club, Verein fur Raumschiffahrt or VfR (Society for Space Travel), along with Johannes Wnkler and Max Valier. (Wernher von Braun would not join the group until 1930.)

In 1929, Ley and Hermann Oberth were technical advisors for Fritz Lang's silent movie Frau im Mond (Woman on the Moon).

Adolph Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933. Two years later Ley, who was not Jewish, emigrated to America, via England. He was 29 years old, and recognized as an expert in rocketry. In the United States, there was little interest in the subject among scientists... only Robert Goddard was working on that dream. Therefore, Ley wrote about other subjects in the natural world.

In its March, 1937 issue, Astounding Stories (editor F. Orlin Tremaine) published Ley's first article for an American science fiction magazine, The Dawn of the Conquest of Space." Ley would continue to have articles published in Astounding when John Campbell assumed the editorship.

In 1940, Ley became the science editor for a New York newspaper called PM. Sometime in this year, he also met the young Isaac Asimov, when the latter visited the offices of John Campbell. The two would go on to become good friends, although Asimov (an atheist, but of Jewish ancestry) initially had reservations about him because he was a German and Asimov knew what was happening to the Jews in Germany.

"He spoke with a thick German accent, which was, in itself, not calculated to endear him to me at the time...there was something lovable about him- a kind of intense but unpretentious rationality..."

Asimov speaks of Ley several times in his autobiography (In Memory Yet Green and In Joy Still Felt) although not at great length considering the size of those tomes!

Ley would become a friend of many science fiction writers, in particular Fletcher Pratt (author of fantasy books, historical writing sand books on naval strategy), who held naval wargames at his home. Ley was a frequent participant in these games. Asimov attended these once-a-month get-togethers as well, for the first time on January 24, 1941, and mentions that Ley was present.)

In 1944, Ley became a US citizen. Also in this year, his seminal book, Rockets was published. Throughout the years up until the 1960s, this book would be revised many times and eventually would be named Rockets, Missiles, & Space Travel.

After becoming a citizen,Ley was employed by the Washington Institute of Technology in College Park, MD as a research engineer from 1944 to 1947.

In 1948, his book The Lungfish, the Dodo and the Unicorn was published.

In 1950, Ley's book The Conquest of Space was published. In October 1950, an article by Ley appeared in the very issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine (published by Horace Gold), and he would continue to write a monthly essay column, under the umbrella title "For Your Information", a task he would fulfill until the end of his life. Some of these essays would eventually be gathered in book form.

In 1952, Ley, along with Wernher von Braun (captured by the Americans near Peenemunde in 1945) and space artist Chesley Bonestell collaborated on a series of space-themed issues for the magazine Collier's.

In 1953, Ley's book The Conquest of the Moon is published, with co-writers Werher von Braun and astronomer Fred Whipple.

In 1955, his book Salamanders and Other Wonders was published.

Ley  worked for a time as a consultant to the Office of Technical Services at the U.S. Department of Commerce before taking a teaching position at Fairleigh Dickenson University, from 1957 to 1958.

After the formation of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958, he was employed as a planning consultant until his death in 1969.

In 1964, Ley and Chesley Bonestell published the book, Beyond the Solar System.

From 1964 to 1969, Ley continued to work with Wernher von Braun and NASA as a consultant, write articles, and publish quite a few books on a variety of subjects, all of which are now out of print, but available from used bookstores and auction sites.

Willy Leys' wife donated all of her husband's papers - his manuscripts, his letters, his notes, to the Smthsonian Institution:

http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/arch/findaids/ley/ley_sec_1.html

And there is informaton about him at the International Space  Hall of Fame.

http://www.nmspacemuseum.org/halloffame/detail.php?id=18