John Wyndham, English soldier and author (b. 1903)
John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 – 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names, such as John Beynon and Lucas Parkes. Some of his works were set in post-apocalyptic landscapes. His best known works include The Day of the Triffids (1951), filmed in 1962, and The Midwich Cuckoos (1957), filmed in 1960 as Village of the Damned and again in 1990 under the same title.
Wyndham was born in Warwickshire and spent most of his childhood in private education in Devon and Hampshire. He tried several careers before publishing a novel and several short stories. He saw action during World War II and went back to writing afterwards, publishing several very successful novels, and influencing a number of other writers who followed him. Wyndham married Grace Wilson in 1963; he had known her for more than 20 years. They lived in Petersfield, Hampshire, where he died in 1969.