Content deleted Content added
Added birthplace, based on his World War II draft registration (Ancestry.com) |
→Biography: His body was discovered on November 8 according to his Pennsylvania death certificate (Ancestry.com). |
||
Line 27:
Piper published his first short story, "Time and Time Again", in 1947 in ''[[Analog Science Fiction and Fact|Astounding Science Fiction]]''; it was adapted for the radio program ''[[Dimension X (radio program)|Dimension X]]'' and first broadcast in 1951, and was re-produced for ''[[X Minus One]]'' in 1956. He was primarily a short story author until 1961, when he made a productive, if short-lived, foray into novels. He collected guns and wrote one [[detective fiction|mystery]], ''[[Murder in the Gunroom]]''.
In 1964, his career apparently on the skids, and prevented by reticence and his Libertarian principles from asking anyone to assist him with his financial difficulties, Piper committed suicide.<ref>{{Cite book|title=H. Beam Piper : a biography |last=F. |first=Carr, John |date=2008 |publisher=McFarland & Co |isbn=9780786433759 |location=Jefferson, N.C. |pages=1 |oclc=173240831}}</ref><ref>[http://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/piper_h_beam "Piper, H Beam"]. ''The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction''. Retrieved April 22, 2018.</ref> The exact date of his death is unknown; the last entry in his diary was dated November 5 ("Rain 0930"), and
Some biographers attribute his act to financial problems, others to family problems; Pournelle wrote that Piper felt burdened by financial hardships in the wake of a divorce, and the mistaken perception that his career was foundering (his agent had died without notifying him of multiple sales). Editor [[George H. Scithers]], who knew Piper socially, has stated that Piper wanted to spite the ex-wife he despised: by killing himself, Piper voided his [[life insurance]] policy, and prevented her from collecting.
| |||