Science fiction as we know it would not exist without Hugo Gernsback. He coined the term “science fiction” as the editor and publisher of Amazing Stories, the first magazine devoted to the burgeoning genre, which he launched in 1926. The Hugo Awards for science fiction and fantasy are named after him.Gernsback was also an inventor whose many ideas included a “combined electric hair brush and comb,” a battery-powered handheld illuminated mirror, and a wax-impregnated fabric strip for removing exc...