H. G. Wells (1866-1946) was a prolific writer best known for his genre-defining science-fiction novels, in particular The War of the Worlds, The Invisible Man and The Time Machine. A socialist and a member of the Fabian Society, Wells was an outspoken political thinker, and his writings on human rights were incredibly influential - in particular his 1940 essay The Rights of Man, or, What Are We Fighting For? , which is widely acknowledged as laying the groundwork for the UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UK's Human Rights Act.