The Time Traveller is the fictional protagonist in H. G. Wells's The Time Machine, a novel published in 1895. It tells the story of an amateur inventor and scientist known only as "The Time Traveller". A protagonist is the main figure of a piece of literature or drama and has the main part or role. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. ... 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In "The Chronic Argonauts"

"The Chronic Argonauts" is an early story by H. G. Wells which later evolved into The Time Machine. The story is wildly different from the book, but one aspect is the same: an eccentric scientist builds a machine capable of traveling through time. Zapped One day Sunny and his friend Nelson were trying to write a short story for English whilst listening to their favorite band D12. ... Herbert George Wells (September 21, 1866 – August 13, 1946), better known as H. G. Wells, was an English writer best known for such science fiction novels as The Time Machine, The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Island of Doctor Moreau. ... The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. ...

In this story the scientist is named Dr. Moses Nebogipfel and is very different from the Time Traveller. Dr. Nebogipfel is portrayed as a mysterious recluse, obsessed with his work and only leaving his house when he needs to get supplies. The townsfolk in the story eventually become afraid of him and mob the old farmhouse in which he is living, shortly before he travels into the future.

It is debatable whether Dr. Nebogipfel can be considered as an earlier version or precursor of the same character as the Time Traveller or simply an entirely different character who Wells later replaced in the story.

In The Time Machine

The Time Traveler is an inventor and scientist who has created a time machine in late Victorian London. His story is told through the unnamed friend of the Time Traveler's. We first meet him while he is explaining to his dinner guests about time being a fourth dimension. He attempts to demonstrate his idea with a small model, and explains that a full size version, capable of carrying a man, is almost complete. His guests leave, unconvinced. Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Ascension to the Throne, 20 June 1837) gave her name to the historic era The Victorian era of the United Kingdom marked the height of the British industrial revolution and the apex of the British Empire. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... In literature and storytelling, a point of view is the related experience of the narrator — not that of the author. ... Cube with fourth-dimensional directions creating a hypercube. ...

The following Thursday, those same guests have returned for a dinner party. The Time Traveller enters the room looking a wreck, and explains how he got the machine to work. He has tested it and travelled to the year 802,701 A.D. and beyond, before returning to his own time.

In the future, humanity has evolved into two separate species. The happy and simple Eloi who live above ground, and the ugly, subterranean Morlocks. The Time Traveller develops a very close friendship with a female Eloi by the name of Weena. Look up Future in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Eloi are one of the two post-human races in H. G. Wells 1895 novel The Time Machine. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

He explores the world around him and notices no sign of any work or hardship - a veritable Paradise. However, he finds that although the Eloi appear to have no wants or difficulties, they are a degenerated and weak people. There is no sign of any culture except for the ruined dome-shaped buildings where the Eloi sleep, eat and live. They are also very afraid of the dark, although the Time Traveller eventually convinces Weena to sleep outside with him on one occasion.

There is a reason that the Eloi are afraid of the dark. There are several wells scattered about the land that lead underground. The Time Traveller descends into one of these wells and discovers the Morlocks. The Morlocks, it seems, are the remnants of the working classes, forced underground long ago to maintain the machinery of civilization, just as the Eloi appear to be descended from the upper classes. Having long ago exhausted their food supply, the Morlocks eventually turned to cannibalism. Due to their subterranean nature, they are completely intolerant of light and only depart their lair during the darkest nights to hunt the Eloi for food. These creatures also steal his time machine and hide it inside an abandoned Sphinx. The Great Sphinx of Giza, with the Pyramid of Khafre in the background For other uses, see Sphinx (disambiguation). ...

While camping in the woods with Weena one night, the Time Traveler and Weena are attacked by the Morlocks. The Time Traveller scares them off by starting a forest fire and only later finds that Weena has disappeared. Meanwhile, the Morlocks have deduced that the Time Machine belongs to the Traveller and have opened the Sphinx to lure him inside and capture him. Fighting off them off, the Traveller regains his machine and escapes further into the future before returning to his own time.

After hearing this incredible story, his guests depart once more, unsure of whether to believe him or not. The narrator returns the next day to find the Traveller about to embark on another journey, this time equipped with a camera and a satchel of supplies. Cheerfully explaining that he will be back before lunch with proof, the traveller departs for the far future. He is never seen again.

Film version

There have been two film interpretations of the novel. The Time Machine (1960), by George Pál, takes the basic premise of the original book and adds several key points to the plot - the Time Traveller is depicted as being much more of an action hero, the Eloi are given a greater level of humanity and the Morlocks are made more threatening. A romance between the Traveller and Weena is also included, probably to counter the original characters rather distant, purely scientific, motivations. Finally, when the traveller embarks on his second journey, it is with the understanding that he is attempting to rebuild the Eloi civilization alongside Weena. The film was hailed at the time for its pioneering use of stop-motion photography to depict the accelerated passage of time. The Time Machine is a novel by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895, later made into two films of the same title. ... The Time Machine (also sometimes known as to avoid confusion with the 2002 film of the same name) is a 1960 movie filmed by George Pál, who also made a famous 1953 modernized version of Wells The War of the Worlds. ... George Pál in 1979 George Pal (February 1, 1908 – May 2, 1980) (birth name: Györgi Pál Marczincsák) was a Hungarian-born animator and film producer, principally associated with the science fiction genre. ...

The Time Machine (2002), directed by Wells' great-grandson, Simon Wells, starred Guy Pearce and Jeremy Irons. This film can be thought of as a reworking of the 1960 film rather than an adaptation of the original book. The Traveller's motivation for building the machine, rather than pure scientific research, is now to travel back in time to save his fiancée from being killed. The idea of a temporal paradox is then explored at length and forms a major plot point. Major changes included a shift of setting from London to New York, the portrayal of the Eloi as almost identical to modern humans (Simon Wells commentated that this was to make the Eloi "worth saving") and the division of the Morlocks into castes, led by a super-intelligent Uber-Morlock. In a departure from both the book and the 1960 film, the Traveller sacrifices his machine to save the Eloi and never returns to his own time. Although not initially well received at the box office, the film has since been praised for its special effects and, in particular, the steampunk depiction of the Time Machine itself. The Time Machine is a 2002 science fiction film directed by Simon Wells as a remake of The Time Machine (1960), and starring Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons, Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Mark Addy, Sienna Guillory, and Phyllida Law with a cameo by Alan Young from the earlier film. ... Simon Wells is the great-great grandson of H.G. Wells. ... Guy Pearce in Memento (2000). ... Jeremy Irons (born September 19, 1948) is an Oscar, Tony and double-Emmy award winning English film, television and stage actor. ... Look up paradox in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Notable characteristics

The Time Traveller is often portrayed as a fairly eccentric inventor/scientist, who devotes himself to the construction of his time machine despite the improbability of success from such a project, as well as the criticism and ridicule from friends and colleagues.

Nevertheless, when in the future world of the Eloi and Morlocks, he becomes more of an explorer/hero; he takes long walks, exploring his new landscape and piecing together clues about the nature of the future world, and attempts to fight off hordes of Morlocks to protect the Eloi in the book. In the George Pál movie, he manages to teach the Eloi how to fight the Morlocks. In the Simon Wells' remake, he battles the Über-Morlock (Jeremy Irons) to the death aboard the Time Machine and destroys the Morlock habitat. Heroine (female hero) redirects here. ... The Time Machine (also sometimes known as to avoid confusion with the 2002 film of the same name) is a 1960 movie filmed by George Pál, who also made a famous 1953 modernized version of Wells The War of the Worlds. ... The Time Machine is a 2002 science fiction film directed by Simon Wells as a remake of The Time Machine (1960), and starring Guy Pearce, Jeremy Irons, Orlando Jones, Samantha Mumba, Mark Addy, Sienna Guillory, and Phyllida Law with a cameo by Alan Young from the earlier film. ...

In Stephen Baxter's authorized sequel to The Time Machine, The Time Ships, the Time Traveller's character is further delved into. He realizes that he may have held some undue prejudices against the Morlocks, as they remind him unconsciously of a childhood fear. He befriends a Morlock, however, and learns to take a more pacifistic approach to them, saying "Perhaps I shouldn't see them as monsters, but as potential Nebogipfels." Nebogipfel is also the name of the Morlock he befriends, presumably named after the main character in the Chronic Agronauts. Stephen Baxter at the Science-Fiction-Tage NRW in Dortmund, Germany, March 1997 Stephen Baxter (born in Liverpool, 13 November 1957) is a British hard science fiction author. ... The Time Ships is a 1995 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. ...

Character name

The Time Traveller's name is something of a mystery, as he is only referred to as 'The Time Traveller' throughout the original book. However, certain other sources have named him.

One popular theory, encouraged by movies like Time After Time and certain episodes of the hit show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, is that the Time Traveller is meant to be none other than H. G. Wells himself. Indeed, in the George Pál movie adaptation of The Time Machine, his name is given as George (also H. G. Wells' middle name). Due to the clarity of the DVD image, H.G. Wells' can be seen on the control panel of the device, further implying that the film's Time Traveller is H.G. Wells. Time After Time is the title of several things: Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song), a 1984 pop song written by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman Time After Time (1947 song), a jazz standard written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne Time After Time (1979 film), a science fiction film... Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ...

In Simon Wells' 2002 remake, the Time Traveller is named Alexander Hartdegen.

In The Time Ships, Stephen Baxter's sequel to The Time Machine, the Time Traveller encounters his younger self via time travel, who he nicknames 'Moses'. His younger self reacts with embarrassment to this, which implies that it may be a first name that he changed. This is a reference to H.G. Wells' story "The Chronic Argonauts", the story which grew into The Time Machine, in which the inventor of the Time Machine is named Dr. Moses Nebogefel.

The Hartford Manuscript, another sequel to The Time Machine, gives the Time Traveller's name as Robert James Pensley.

Another popular theory, encouraged by movies like Time After Time and certain episodes of the hit show Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, is that the Time Traveller is meant to be none other than H. G. Wells himself. Time After Time is the title of several things: Time after Time (Cyndi Lauper song), a 1984 pop song written by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman Time After Time (1947 song), a jazz standard written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne Time After Time (1979 film), a science fiction film... Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman was a live-action television series based on the Superman comic books. ...

The Time Traveller in sequels and other fiction

The Time Traveller's adventures have been continued in sequels to the book by many authors since the book was first written. In addition, the Time Traveller has made appearances in some books which aren't sequels to The Time Machine. Among those appearances are:

The Hartford Manuscript - by Richard Cowper
John Middleton Murry, Jr. ...

• The Time Traveller travels back to the time of the Black Plague.

Morlock Night - by K. W. Jeter
Kevin Wayne Jeter (born 1950) is an American science fiction and horror author known for his literary writing style, dark themes, and paranoid, unsympathetic characters. ...

• Morlocks copy the Time Machine and return to Victorian London. The Time Traveller is only mentioned in this story.

The Space Machine - by Christopher Priest
The Space Machine (ISBN 0-575-03994-9) is a science fiction novel authored by English writer Christopher Priest. ... The name Christopher Priest can refer to: Christopher Priest, British writer of science fiction Christopher Priest, American writer of comic books also known as Jim Owsley Categories: Disambiguation ...

• The Time Machine takes the Time Traveller on a voyage through space, to Mars.

The Time Ships - by Stephen Baxter (an authorized sequel to The Time Machine)
The Time Ships is a 1995 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. ... Stephen Baxter at the Science-Fiction-Tage NRW in Dortmund, Germany, March 1997 Stephen Baxter (born in Liverpool, 13 November 1957) is a British hard science fiction author. ...

• The Time Traveller attempts to return to the world of the Eloi and the Morlocks but finds a vastly different Morlock society.

The Man Who Loved Morlocks - by David Lake
David John Lake (born 1929 in India) is an Indian-born Australian science fiction writer and literary critic. ...

• The Time Traveller travels farther into the future than he had gone before, and falls in love with a Morlock woman there.

The Trouble With Weena - by David Lake
David John Lake (born 1929 in India) is an Indian-born Australian science fiction writer and literary critic. ...

• Weena accompanies the Time Traveller back to Victorian London.

Allan and the Sundered Veil - a back up story to the first volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen by Alan Moore The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin ONeill, published under the Americas Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. ... Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ...

• The Time Traveller brings together the heroes, John Carter of Mars, Randolph Carter and Allan Quatermain to combat Lovecraftian monsters.

The Dancers at the End of Time series - by Michael Moorcock.
John Carter and Dejah Thoris from the cover of the first edition of A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs, McClurg, 1917 John Carter of Mars may also refer to John Carter of Mars (novel) and John Carter of Mars (film). ... Randolph Carter is a frequently-occurring protagonist in Lovecrafts Dream-cycle works. ... Allan Quatermain is a fictional character, the protagonist of H. Rider Haggards King Solomons Mines and its various sequels and prequels. ... Howard Phillips Lovecraft (August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American author of fantasy, horror and science fiction. ... Bold textThe three books which form Dancers at the end of time are, An alien heat,The hollow lands and The end of all songs. ... Michael John Moorcock (born December 18, 1939, in London, England) is a prolific English writer primarily of science fiction and fantasy who has also published a number of literary novels. ...

Philip José Farmer has said that the Time Traveller is a member of the Wold Newton family. This is a family of humans that were genetically altered by passing a meteorite. He is said to be the great uncle of Doc Savage. Philip José Farmer (born January 26, 1918) is an American author, principally known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. ... The Wold Newton family. ... Wold Newton is a small Yorkshire Wolds village in the East Riding of Yorkshire. ... Doc Savage is a fictional character, one of the most enduring pulp heroes of the 1930s and 1940s, created by Lester Dent. ...

External sources

• A full e-text of The Chronic Argonauts
• An alternate e-text of "The Chronic Argonauts"
• The Time Machine, available at Project Gutenberg.
• Complete text of The Time Machine at WikiSource.
• The Time Machine (1960) at Internet Movie Database
• The Time Machine (2002) at Internet Movie Database