death_date death_place birth_place influences nationality notableworks birth_date spouse genre image article_title name occupation
23 august 1999 portstewart , belfast , northern ireland , united kingdom belfast , northern ireland , united kingdom e. heinlein e. `` doc '' smith , robert a. british sector escape orbit '' , also titled '' open prison '' general series '' second ending '' '' the 7 april 1928 margaret 1955 -- -rrb- -lrb- `` peggy '' -rrb- sarah martin -lrb- science fiction james white 01.png james white -lrb- author -rrb-
 james white author
james white -lrb- author -rrb-

james white -lrb- 7 april 1928 -- 23 august 1999 -rrb- was a northern irish author of science fiction novellas , short stories and novels .
he was born in belfast and returned there after spending some early years in canada .
after a few years working in the clothing industry , he worked at short brothers ltd. , an aircraft company based in belfast , from 1965 until taking early retirement during 1984 as a result of diabetes .
white married margaret sarah martin , another science fiction fan , during 1955 and the couple had three children .
he died of a stroke .
he became a fan of science fiction during 1941 and co-wrote two fan magazines , from 1948 to 1953 and 1952 to 1965 .
encouraged by other fans , white began publishing short stories during 1953 , and his first novel was published during 1957 .
his best-known novels were the twelve of the sector general series , the first published during 1962 and the last after his death .
white also published nine other novels , two of which were nominated for major awards , unsuccessfully .
white abhorred violence , and medical and other emergencies were the sources of dramatic tension in his stories .
some critics regarded him as a second-rank writer , who occasionally produced first-rank works , and felt his plots and writing could be formulaic .
however , the `` sector general '' series is regarded as defining the genre of medical science fiction , and as introducing a memorable crew of aliens .
although missing winning the most prestigious honours four times , white gained other awards for specific works and for contributions to science fiction .
he was also guest-of-honour of several conventions .
