Forrest J. Ackerman ( born Forrest James Ackerman ; November 24, 1916 – December 4, 2008 ) was an American collector of science fiction books and movie memorabilia and a science fiction fan.

Ackerman was a Los Angeles, California-based magazine editor, science fiction writer and literary agent, a founder of science fiction fandom and possibly the world's most avid collector of genre books and movie memorabilia.

Also called " Forry ," " The Ackermonster ," " 4e " and " 4SJ ," Ackerman was central to the formation, organization, and spread of science fiction fandom, and a key figure in the wider cultural perception of science fiction as a literary, art and film genre.

Ackerman was born Forrest James Ackerman ( though he would refer to himself from the early 1930s on as " Forrest J Ackerman " with no period after the middle initial ) on November 24, 1916 in Los Angeles, to Carroll Cridland ( née Wyman ; 1883 – 1977 ) and William Schilling Ackerman ( 1892 – 1951 ).

Ackerman was fluent in the international language Esperanto, and claimed to have walked down Hollywood Boulevard arm-in-arm with Leo G. Carroll singing La Espero, the hymn of Esperanto.

Ackerman was an early member of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League, and became so active in and important to the club, that in essence he ran it, including after the name change the Los Angeles Science Fantasy Society, a prominent regional organization, as well as the National Fantasy Fan Federation ( N3F ).

Ackerman was credited with nurturing and even inspiring the careers of several early contemporaries like Ray Bradbury, Ray Harryhausen, Charles Beaumont, Marion Zimmer Bradley and L. Ron Hubbard.

He kept all of the stories submitted to his magazine, even the ones he rejected ; Stephen King has stated that Ackerman showed up to a King book signing with a copy of a story King had submitted for publication when he was 11.

The particles were never observed to rise above 6 km and when combined with scavenging by clouds gave the smoke a short residency time in the atmosphere and localized its effects ; Professor Carl Sagan of the Turco, Toon, Ackerman, Pollack, Sagan ( TTAPS ) study hypothesized in January 1991 that enough smoke from the fires " might get so high as to disrupt agriculture in much of South Asia ...." Sagan later conceded in his book The Demon-Haunted World that this prediction did not turn out to be correct: " it was pitch black at noon and temperatures dropped 4 °– 6 ° C over the Persian Gulf, but not much smoke reached stratospheric altitudes and Asia was spared.

Bradbury was invited by Forrest J. Ackerman to attend the Los Angeles Science Fiction Society, which at the time met at Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

Though much of the dialogue in Curb Your Enthusiasm is improvised, the plot was scripted, and the Seinfeld special that aired within the show was scripted and directed by Seinfeld regular Andy Ackerman, making this the first time since Seinfeld went off the air that the central cast appeared together in a scripted show.

It was originally described in detail by Yale Law School professors Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres in their 2004 book Voting with Dollars: A new paradigm for campaign finance.

Jon D. Levenson, Susan Nidditch and Susan Ackerman have stated that at least some Israelites believed child sacrifice was a legitimate part of ancient Israelite religion.

An island in the middle of the Arkansas River, named Ackerman Island was home to an amusement park, and a dance pavilion.

It was incorporated under a city manager government in 1968, the first city manager being J. M. Ackerman.

The act was a hit and convinced CBS executive Harry Ackerman that a Ball-Arnaz pairing would be a worthwhile venture.

Meeting Burke " was not purely kismet ," as Wexler and Ertegun were aware of Burke and his talent, as " Wexler ’ s former mentor at Billboard, Paul Ackerman, had been urging him to sign Burke for several years ," but were waiting for Burke's contract with Apollo Records to expire.

CBS liked the Culver version better, and Ackerman was told to proceed.

Taft assumed chairmanship of the board in January 2009, succeeding Peter Ackerman.

Charter group number four, in Los Angeles, had an active member in Forrest J. Ackerman, who missed the first few meetings ( he was living in San Francisco with his parents ), but whose enthusiasm and imagination provided a focus for the group.

Among the 2003 Board of Directors was Jack DuVall, who had two years earlier created the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict together with Council on Foreign Relations Board member Peter Ackerman.

In 1995, U. S. representatives Bill McCollum of Florida and Gary Ackerman of New York distributed the documentary to every member of the House of Representatives, accompanied by a letter urging them to watch the film before the House began debating anti-terrorism legislation that summer.

During his tenure in the Assembly, Ackerman served as Assistant Republican Leader, Republican Caucus Whip, Vice Chair of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee, Vice Chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, a member of Appropriations Committee, and a member of the Legislative Ethics Committee.

A past chair of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education, Ackerman is vice chairman of the Rollins College Board of Trustees and a former member of the Board of Governors for the Society of Sloan Fellows of MIT.

Ackerman invited Ray Bradbury to attend the Los Angeles Chapter of the Science Fiction League, then meeting weekly at Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles.

* Science Fiction Worlds of Forrest J Ackerman

* Expanded Science Fiction Worlds of Forrest J Ackerman and Friends, PLUS, 205pp, hardbound and trade paperback, 2002, Sense of Wonder Press, James A.

In 1982, the so-called TTAPS team ( Richard P. Turco, Owen Toon, Thomas P. Ackerman, James B. Pollack and Carl Sagan ) undertook a computational modeling study of the atmospheric consequences of nuclear war, publishing their results in Science in December 1983.

In July 1939, Forrest J. Ackerman gave nineteen year old Ray Bradbury the money to head to New York for the First World Science Fiction Convention in New York City, and funded Ray Bradbury's fanzine, titled Futuria Fantasia.

But as Chu points out, there are plenty of examples of science fiction poetry and verse by writers including Diane Ackerman, Emily Dickinson, Suzette Haden Elgin ( who founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association and authored The Science Fiction Poetry Handbook ), Ruth Fainlight, Robert Frazier, Cathy Park Hong, Andrew Joron, and Frederick Turner, among many others.

According to the Church of Satan historiography, other LaVey associates from this time include noted Science Fiction and Horror writers Anthony Boucher, August Derleth, Robert Barbour Johnson, Reginald Bretnor, Emil Petaja, Stuart Palmer, Clark Ashton Smith, Forrest J. Ackerman, and Fritz Leiber Jr.

Bradbury and Harryhausen joined a Los Angeles-area Science Fiction League formed by Forrest J. Ackerman in 1939, and the three became lifelong friends.

* D. Shortle and M. Ackerman, Persistence of native-like topology in a denatured protein in 8 M urea, Science 293 ( 2001 ), pp. 487 – 489

* The short story " Forever and Amen " by Robert Bloch, from Elwood's 1972 anthology And Walk Now Gently Through the Fire and Other Science Fiction Stories was chosen by Forrest J. Ackerman for inclusion in his Best Science Fiction for 1973 compilation.

" A year later, Weisinger, Schwartz and Allen Glasser joined fellow-future professional editor Forrest J. Ackerman in founding The Time Traveller, which they styled " Science Fiction's Only Fan Magazine ".

While the wearing of costumes — and even a costume competition ( known in the United States as a " masquerade ")— has been an occasional feature of traditional science-fiction conventions since Forrest J Ackerman wore one during the First World Science Fiction Convention in 1939, this has never been the dominant feature of such events.

Several relevant books were published during this time as well: Sandra Ackerman ’ s Hard Science, Hard Choices: Facts, Ethics and Policies Guiding Brain Science Today ( Dana Press ), Michael Gazzaniga ’ s The Ethical Brain ( Dana Press ), Judy Illes ’ edited volume, Neuroethics: Defining the Issues in Theory, Practice and Policy ( both Oxford University Press ), Dai Rees and Steven Rose ’ s edited volume “ The New Brain Sciences: Perils and Prospects ( Cambridge University Press ) and Steven Rose ’ s The Future of the Brain ( Oxford University Press ).

Social Justice in the Liberal State is a book written by Bruce A. Ackerman, recipient of the French Order of Merit, Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale, and the author of fifteen books that have had a broad influence in political philosophy, constitutional law, and public policy.

Academic Buildings: John A. H. Keith Hall ( History, Political Science ), Joseph Uhler Hall ( Psychology, Criminology, Languages ), Zink Hall ( Health, Physical Education ), Davis Hall ( Journalism, Education ), Edna Sprowls Hall ( Art ), Hamlin E. and Dorothy Cogswell Hall ( Music ), Andrew W. Wilson Hall ( Criminology ), Jane Leonard Hall ( English, Geography ), Jean R. McElhaney Hall ( Economics, Sociology, Anthropology ), Reschini House ( Center for Career and Technical Personnel Preparation ), Patrick J. Stapleton Jr Library ( Main Library ), Rhodes R. Stabley Library ( Media, Children's Library ), Jeannie Ackerman Hall ( Fashion, Family and Consumer Science, Interior Design ), Eicher Hall ( Writing Center ), Eberly College of Business, Stright Hall ( Mathematics, Computer Sciences, Graduate School ), Sally B. Johnson Hall ( Safety Sciences, Nursing ), Weyandt Hall ( Geoscience, Physics, Chemistry, Biology ), Matthew J. Walsh Hall ( Physics, Chemistry, Biology ), Pierce Hall ( ROTC ), George A. Stouffer Hall ( Counseling, Communications, Education, Languages ).

* Bruce Ackerman, Law and Political Science

* Bruce A. Ackerman ( 1967 – 1968 ), Sterling Professor of Law and Political Science, Yale Law School