Author: Thomas N. Scortia
Alternate names: Scott Nichols, Gerald MacDow, Arthur R. Kurtz
Born: 29 August 1926
Died: 29 April 1986
Bio: Thomas Nicholas Scortia was born in Alton, Illinois. In 1949, he received a degree in chemistry from Washington University in St. Louis. He went on to work for a number of aerospace companies, while writing in his spare time. In the early 1970s, he left his job to write full-time. He died of leukemia in California in 1986.