Frank Herbert

Frank Herbert, American journalist, photographer, and author (died 1986)

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Born: October 8, 1920
Died: February 11, 1986
Zodiac sign: Libra
Birth year: 1920

About Frank Herbert

Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and five sequels to it. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer. Dune is one of the best-selling science fiction novels of all time, and the series is a classic of the science-fiction genre. The series has been adapted numerous times, including the feature film David Lynch's Dune (1984), the miniseries Frank Herbert's Dune (2000) and Children of Dune (2003), and a motion picture trilogy currently in production, with Denis Villeneuve's Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024) having been released. == Biography == === Early life === Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was born on October 8, 1920, in Tacoma, Washington, to Franklin Patrick Herbert Sr. and Eileen (née McCarthy) Herbert. His paternal grandparents had come west in 1905 to join Burley Colony in Kitsap County, one of many utopian communes springing up in Washington State beginning in the 1890s. His upbringing included spending a lot of time on the rural Olympic and Kitsap Peninsulas.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Career and life highlights

Herbert's first science fiction story, "Looking for Something", was published in the April 1952 issue of Startling Stories, then a monthly edited by Samuel Mines.
It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965 and shared the Hugo Award in 1966 with...And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny.

Frank Herbert timeline

1920Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920 – February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune and five sequels to it.
1952Herbert's first science fiction story, "Looking for Something", was published in the April 1952 issue of Startling Stories, then a monthly edited by Samuel Mines.
1965It won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965 and shared the Hugo Award in 1966 with...And Call Me Conrad by Roger Zelazny.

The world when Frank Herbert was born

Frank Herbert was born in 1920. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1920

#1 song"Swanee" – Al Jolson
Top movieThe Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Best-selling bookThe Age of Innocence – Edith Wharton

Headlines and milestones

Major sports momentBabe Ruth sold to the New York Yankees
Top headlineWomen win the right to vote with the 19th Amendment
Technology milestoneFirst commercial radio broadcasts
Defining fadFlappers and the Jazz Age
Notable inventionBand-Aid adhesive bandages
World population1.86 billion

United States snapshot

U.S. leaderWoodrow Wilson
Sports championCleveland Indians (World Series)
U.S. population106.0M

1920 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Frank Herbert's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure	1920	2026
Gas	$0.30	$3.45/gal
Average home	$6,296	$435,000
Average income	$3,269	$67,500
Movie ticket	$0.15	$11.95
Postage stamp	$0.02	$0.73
Population	106.0M	341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, Encyclopaedia Britannica, Library of Congress, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.