I don't understand something. Only 13 members of the Forum contributed to this thread. I would have thought that considering that the majority of the members of the Forum have a scientific bent and kind of l
live in sci fi, that more members would have contributed to this thread. When I decided about a year ago to take on projects to promote my grandfather's legacy, I had no idea how difficult that would be until met with the guy who is trying to create a Museum of Science Fiction here in Washington, DC.
When I began following his blog I began to realize that he had no idea who Hugo Gernsback was. Having a disdain for social media and dreading the though of having to start both a Facebook and Twitter accounts for the projects, I left the task to challenging him to my companion of over thirty five years, one Bogie B. Bogarté who does have a Facebook page knowing that she would do a great job skewering him. (For details of her infamous exploits, search Facebook for Bogie B. Bogarté, click About, then Details about You.)
Bogie B. Bogarte
To make a long story short, she managed to show publicly that he had no idea who the Father of Science Fiction was. I eventually met with him to discuss helping him raise money for the Museam since I have to raise money for my projects as well. I asked him if he would consider naming the Museum the Gernsback Museum of Science Fiction. He declined. One would have thought that having a grandson of Gernsback working with him would have been to his advantage. He did not accept my offer to help n any way with promoting the Museum!
There is some controversy about gernsback some saying that he did not pay some of his writers. One writer even called him "Hugo the rat." My research suggests that his writers were paid but not always on time and the issue of payment is complicated and lost to time. That said, considering the fact that there are fifty linear square feet of his publications held by the special collections of the Syracuse University Library reflecting the vast number of his publications, a lot of writers received exposure that they never would have received.
What people don't know is in addition to the Hugo Award he is known for other things as well; being an inventor, publisher, promoter of amateur radio and science in general, sear, friend/colleague of Tesla, Edison, Marconi, Sarnoff (founder of RCA/NBC,) DeForest, and Godard among many others. Had he not published Tesla's
My Inventions, Tesla's autobiography in his magazine,
The Electrical Experimenter, the world would know nothing of Tesla's early life and wold have no idea what Wardenclyff Tower looked like. Here is the picture by Frank R. Paul Gernsbak's artist and friend.
Frank R. Paul's art work is iconic and there will never be anyone like him again. Paul's ability to put to life my grandfather's imagination was quite remarkable. His images were burned into my memory as a child. If you are interested, a well known sci fic artist, Frank Wu has dedicated part of his website to Paul and you can view his art here:
Artwork of Frank R. Paul
Now, if only I could get someone to help me build a laser host that looks like the Hugo Award rocket....or perhaps a unique laser/phaser....that would be most appreciated!
It is one of my favorite science fiction movies now though. 
