Cordwainer Smith
He wove a strange, haunting future history of humanity, blending psychological warfare insights with mythic, poetic science fiction.
1913–1966 (age 53)·American science fiction writer·Birthday: July 11·The Greatest Generation
Biography
Cordwainer Smith wrote 'Scanners Live in Vain,' a story that helped redefine science fiction in the 1950s. Born Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger in 1913, he earned a PhD by age 23 and became a key advisor to governments on East Asian affairs and psychological operations. His science fiction emerged not from pulp conventions but from personal experience and literary ambition. He constructed the Instrumentality of Mankind, a vast future history populated by underpeople and strange technologies. Smith's prose was hypnotic and almost biblical, setting his work apart from contemporaries. He died in 1966. His small body of work retains a cult following within the genre.
The Greatest Generation
1901–1927
Grew up during the Depression, fought World War II, and built the postwar economic boom. Defined by shared sacrifice, institutional trust, and a belief that hard work and loyalty would be rewarded.
Cordwainer was born in 1913, placing them squarely in The Greatest Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Cordwainer Was Born
The biggest hits of 1913
Cordwainer's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1913Born
The Federal Reserve is established
President: Woodrow Wilson
1918Started school
World War I ends; Spanish flu pandemic kills millions
President: Woodrow Wilson
1926Became a teenager
Robert Goddard launches the first liquid-fueled rocket
President: Calvin Coolidge"Baby Face" — Jan Garber
1929Could drive
Wall Street crashes, triggering the Great Depression
Gas: $0.21/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Singin' in the Rain" — Cliff EdwardsBest Picture: The Broadway Melody
1931Could vote
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1934Turned 21
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stars Fell on Alabama" — Jack TeagardenBest Picture: It Happened One Night
1943Turned 30
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1953Turned 40
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1963Turned 50
JFK assassinated in Dallas; Martin Luther King's 'I Have a Dream' speech
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,100Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Sugar Shack" — Jimmy Gilmer & The FireballsBest Picture: Tom Jones
1966Died at 53
Star Trek premieres on television
Gas: $0.32/galHome: $14,200Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"The Ballad of the Green Berets" — SSgt Barry SadlerBest Picture: A Man for All Seasons
Key Achievements
- Created the expansive and influential 'Instrumentality of Mankind' future history in his science fiction.
- Authored the seminal short story 'Scanners Live in Vain,' a cornerstone of psychological sci-fi.
- Served as a psychological warfare expert for the U.S. government, advising during the Korean War.
- Wrote under multiple pen names, including Cordwainer Smith for fiction and 'Felix C. Forrest' for political works.
Did You Know?
He was the godson of Sun Yat-sen, the founding father of the Republic of China.
He wrote a definitive textbook on psychological warfare that was used by the U.S. Army.
His pen name 'Cordwainer' is an archaic term for a shoemaker, a trade practiced by his ancestors.
He spoke six languages, including Chinese, and taught at Johns Hopkins University.
“The pain of reading the meter is more than the pain of living outside of time.”
