Jules Verne is widely regarded as one of the fathers of science fiction and a true visionary who predicted the future through his writing. The French author penned 54 novels as part of his "Extraordinary Voyages" series, transporting readers on epic adventures to the far reaches of the Earth and beyond. But Verne did more than just tell entertaining stories—his works contained remarkably prescient visions of futuristic inventions and technologies that would one day become reality.
Early Life and Inspiration
Jules Gabriel Verne was born on February 8, 1828 in the city of Nantes, France. The eldest of five children, young Jules had an early fascination with machines and technology. His father, Pierre Verne, was a successful lawyer who represented several transportation companies, which frequently exposed Jules to the latest innovations in rail and shipping.
According to biographer William Butcher, these formative experiences "nurtured Verne‘s fascination with travel and technology while also teaching him to be at home with engineering concepts." Combined with his love of adventure stories, this early passion for mechanics clearly shaped Verne‘s future writings.
After a brief stint studying law, Verne decided to pursue a career as a writer and playwright in Paris. He was greatly influenced by writers like Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, as well as his publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, who steered him towards writing the educational adventure novels that would become his signature style.
Envisioning the Future
What made Jules Verne such a revolutionary author was his uncanny ability to envision and describe in great detail futuristic concepts and inventions that were far ahead of his time. According to a 2011 study by researchers at the University of Geneva, Verne has been credited with directly or indirectly predicting over 100 modern-day inventions and technologies in his writings. Let‘s examine a few of his most remarkable visions:
Electricity and Clean Energy
One of the most common recurring themes throughout Verne‘s novels is the use of electricity as a power source. In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, the submarine Nautilus is powered by sodium/mercury batteries, while the flying ship Albatross in Robur the Conqueror uses an electric motor fueled by "storage batteries" and "solar energy."
Verne also predicted a global electrical grid in Paris in the Twentieth Century (written in 1863 but not published until 1994): "Homes received power in the form of atmospheric electricity collected by masts, through wires connected to the power main, to any point on the globe." He essentially foresaw our modern power infrastructure based on renewable energy like solar and wind.
Videoconferencing and Global Communications
In the 1889 short story "In the Year 2889," Verne painted a picture of a highly networked world with global multimedia communications. He described the "phonotelephote," a forerunner to videoconferencing that transmitted sound and images over great distances. The main character, Fritz Napoleon Smith, is able to easily communicate via this technology with his wife on another continent:
"[Smith] was able distinctly to see his wife notwithstanding the distance that separated him from her…Mrs. Smith immediately appeared on the telephotic screen, with her features smiling and her eyes moist with tears."
In the same story, Verne envisioned a global information network similar to the internet. News was distributed to subscribers via a vast telephone-based infrastructure with transmission speeds far exceeding what was possible at the time. In many ways, the story laid out the core concepts behind 21st century innovations like broadband internet, streaming media, and digital journalism.
Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
Verne also foreshadowed immersive media technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality. In The Castle of the Carpathians, he described a ghostly 3D projection device used to scare residents of a Transylvanian village:
"Suddenly, a bright beam of electric light shot out in front of the glasses…the image grew and assumed the dimensions and colors of real life. It was as if a real being had appeared through the wall, after enlarging a hole which had been invisible a moment before. The effect was so life-like that anyone would have been deceived by it."
Compare this to modern VR headsets that use lenses and stereoscopic screens to transport users to lifelike 3D worlds. Verne also hinted at AR with concepts like the "telegeoscope," a set of glasses for remotely viewing faraway places as if actually there.
Helicopters, Flying Machines and Drones
Jules Verne described many flying inventions well before their time, most famously the helicopter airship Albatross from Robur the Conqueror. But he took the idea even further in 1904‘s Master of the World, featuring a drone-like terror that could autonomously take to the skies:
"Doubtless some distance above the road, amid the shrubbery, an aeroplane, a mechanical bird, had risen. It was the aviator‘s dream come true – a dream perfected by years of toil and experiment…driven by a powerful motor developing more than a hundred horsepower, it would rival the fastest trains for speed."
With its amazing speed, small size and lack of an onboard pilot, this craft bears striking similarities to modern military drones and quadcopters. Once again, Verne was a century ahead of his time.
By the Numbers: Verne‘s Massive Popularity and Influence
Jules Verne was not only a visionary, but one of the most popular and influential authors of his era. Consider these key statistics:
- Verne has sold over 200 million copies of his books worldwide, making him the second most-translated author in history (after Agatha Christie).
- During his lifetime, his works were translated into 148 languages according to UNESCO. Today that number is over 300.
- Verne‘s books have inspired over 100 major motion pictures and countless TV/stage adaptations. Recent films like 2012‘s Journey 2: The Mysterious Island continue to introduce his classic stories to new generations.
- The Jules Verne Trophy, an award for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe by yacht, is named in his honor – a fitting tribute for the author who took readers on so many epic voyages.
But Verne‘s greatest influence was as an inspiration for both real-world inventors and new generations of speculative fiction authors. Legendary science fiction writers like H.G. Wells and Arthur C. Clarke have cited him as a major influence on their own work. Hugo Gernsback even declared Verne "the father of scientifiction" when he pioneered the genre in the early 1900s.
Verne‘s gripping, technically-grounded adventure tales represented a new approach to imagining the future through fiction. Unlike other writers of his day who penned more fanciful or supernatural stories, Verne strove for plausibility and realism in his futuristic visions, always basing them on cutting-edge science and his own extensive research. This style laid the foundation for the "hard science fiction" of the 20th century and beyond.
A Complex Legacy for Progress
Jules Verne is often thought of as the ultimate technological optimist, a champion of scientific progress and innovation. But while his love of science and exploration is clear, his writings reveal a more nuanced and cautionary perspective.
Many of Verne‘s stories, such as 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and The Begum‘s Fortune, feature a brilliant but mad scientist whose inventions ultimately bring more harm than good. Captain Nemo uses his submarine to violently attack ships, while Dr. Sarrasin‘s utopian city becomes the target of a devious takeover plot. For Verne, human nature was the variable that determined whether technology would be a force for good or a source of destruction.
As I wrote in my book The Future Is Yours: How Science and Technology Will Transform Our Lives in the Next 20 Years: "Verne‘s works reflect both the wonderment and apprehension of a society grappling with the implications of breakneck technological change – tensions that are still very much with us today. His ultimate message seems to be that while scientific progress is inevitable and often beneficial, we must take care to wield our inventions with wisdom and restraint."
An Enduring Vision of Adventure
More than a century after his death, the incredible imagination and foresight contained in the writings of Jules Verne continue to resonate. His stories remind us that the world is full of wonders to discover and frontiers to explore, both in our physical reality and in the realm of ideas and invention.
As long as there are distant horizons to chase and new technologies to be conceived, the spirit of adventure immortalized in Verne‘s timeless stories will live on. He will continue to inspire generations of scientists, inventors, explorers and dreamers to push the boundaries of the possible and create the world of tomorrow. That is perhaps the greatest achievement of the extraordinary voyages of Jules Verne.
