Morgan Robertson (September 30, 1861 - March 24, 1915) was a well-known American author of short stories and novels, and the possible inventor of the periscope. is the 273rd day of the year (274th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1861 (MDCCCLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Author (disambiguation). ... This article is in need of attention. ... For other uses, see Novel (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Inventor (disambiguation). ... Principle of the periscope. ...

Nowadays he is best known for the short fictional novel Futility, first published in 1898. This story features an enormous British passenger liner called the Titan, which, deemed to be unsinkable, carries insufficient lifeboats. On a voyage in the month of April, the Titan hits an iceberg and sinks in the North Atlantic with the loss of almost everyone on board. Futility, or the Wreck of the Titan was an 1898 novel written by Morgan Robertson. ... Year 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... A passenger ship is a ship whose primary function is to carry passengers. ... For other uses, see Iceberg (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Atlantic (disambiguation) The Atlantic Ocean is Earths second-largest ocean, covering approximately one-fifth of its surface. ...

The similarities between the fictional sinking of the Titan and the real-life sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912 attract attention even today although there are significant differences: for example, the fictional Titan capsized and sank almost immediately (rendering the number of lifeboats moot), and the Titan was on its third return trip from New York, not her maiden voyage to New York. For other uses, see Titanic (disambiguation). ... Year 1912 (MCMXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In 1905 Robertson's book The Submarine Destroyer was released. It described a submarine that used a device called a periscope. Despite Robertson's later claims that he had "invented" a prototype periscope himself (and was refused a patent), Lake and Grubbs had perfected the model used by the U.S. Navy by 1902, 3 years before Robertson's "prescient" novel. For other uses, see 1905 (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... Principle of the periscope. ...

In 1914 (in a volume that also contained the new version of Futility) Robertson included a short story called Beyond the Spectrum, which described a future war between the United States and Japan, a popular subject at the time. Like The Wreck of the Titan, Beyond the Spectrum bore some similarities with actual events. Japan does not declare war but instead launches sneak attacks on United States ships en route to the Philippines and Hawaii; an invasion fleet about to conduct a surprise attack on San Francisco is stopped by the hero using the weapon from a captured Japanese vessel. The title refers to an ultraviolet searchlight used by the Japanese (but invented by the Americans) to blind American crews. Some readers have compared the searchlight's effects (blindness, intense heat, and facial burns) to those of the atomic bomb. Year 1914 (MCMXIV) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Ultraviolet (disambiguation). ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ...

Robertson was the author of Primordial / Three Laws and the Golden Rule, a novella about shipwrecked children growing up together and falling in love on a desert island. Fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs acknowledge Robertson's contribution to the works of Henry De Vere Stacpoole, particularly The Blue Lagoon. They believe that both Robertson's and Stacpoole's writings influenced Burroughs in his creation of Tarzan of the Apes. [1] Edgar Rice Burroughs Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his creation of the jungle hero Tarzan, although he also produced works in many genres. ... Henry De Vere Stacpoole (April 9, 1863 — April 12, 1951) was a Victorian period author, born in Kingstown, Ireland. ... The Blue Lagoon may mean: The Blue Lagoon (novel), a novel by Henry De Vere Stacpoole The Blue Lagoon (1923 film), a silent film based on the novel The Blue Lagoon (1949 film), a film based on the novel The Blue Lagoon (1980 film), a remake of the above film... Tarzan of the Apes is a novel written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the first in a series of books about the title character Tarzan. ...

On March 24, 1915, Robertson was found dead in his room at the Alamac Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey. He was 53 years of age. It is believed that he died of an overdose of protiodide. is the 83rd day of the year (84th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday[1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Atlantic City redirects here. ... Protiodide is an iodide of Mercury and was a very commonly used drug in the 19th century, prescibed for everything from acne to kidney disease. ...

Books and Stories

• Where Angels Fear to Tread and Other Stories of the Sea containing:
  • Where angels fear to tread
  • The brain of the battle-ship
  • The wigwag message
  • The trade-wind
  • Salvage
  • Between the Millstones
  • The Battle of the Monsters
  • From the royal-yard down
  • Needs must when the devil drives
  • When Greek meets Greek
  • Primordial

• The Wreck of the Titan or Futility containing:
  • The wreck of the Titan
  • The Pirates
  • Beyond the Spectrum
  • In the Valley of the Shadow

• Down to the Sea containing:
  • The Closing of the Circuit
  • A Cow, Two Men, and a Parson
  • The Rivals
  • A Chemical Comedy
  • A Hero Of The Cloth
  • The Subconscious Finnegan
  • The Torpedo
  • The Submarine
  • Fidty Fathoms Down
  • The Enemies
  • The Vitality of Dennis
  • The Helix
  • The Shark
  • The Mutiny

• Three Laws and the Golden Rule containing:
  • The Three Laws and the Golden Rule
  • The Americans
  • Dignity
  • The Honeymoon Ship
  • The Third Mate
  • Through the Deadlight
  • The Hairy Devil
  • The Slumber of a Soul
  • Honor Among Thieves
  • The Survival of the Fittest
  • A Creature of Circumstance

This list is not necessarily complete

References

• Periscope Inventor Dead. Renfrew Mercury, Friday, April 2, 1915, p.7
• Titanic - Futility by Morgan Robertson.
• Wreck of The Titan/Futility by Morgan Robertson.
• Primordial, and Three Laws and the Golden Rule by Morgan Robertson.