Lester del Rey (photo ©Dd-b) was born on June 2, 1915 in Saratoga, Minnesota, USA. He claimed that this was a part of his full, much longer, name, provided in various versions, but his sister revealed that his real name was Leonard Kapp. He was a famous science fiction and fantasy writer also very active as a magazine editor. He died on May 10, 1993, leaving a mixed literary legacy ranging from great quality stories to others of much lower level but also a very important contribution in the editorial and publishing field.