Douglas Adams

As a boy attending prep school in Essex, England, Douglas Adams was known for his height – he stood six feet tall at age 12 – and for his creative writing talent. After studying English at St. John’s College, Cambridge, Adams moved to London, where he worked as a writer for the Monty Python series. Adams also did other radio and TV work. His most famous work, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, began in 1978 as a BBC radio series before it was developed into a bestselling book series. In addition to his writing work, Adams was also an environmental activist and staunch atheist. He died in 2001, at age 49, of a heart attack.