David A. Kyle (February 14, 1919 – September 18, 2016) was an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer and member of

science fiction fandom Science fiction fandom or SF fandom is a community or fandom of people interested in science fiction in contact with one another based upon that interest. SF fandom has a life of its own, but not much in the way of formal organization (although ...

Professional career

Kyle served as a reporter in the

Air Force Reserves The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commiss ...

with the rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

, writing

civil defense Civil defense ( en, region=gb, civil defence) or civil protection is an effort to protect the citizens of a state (generally non-combatants) from man-made and natural disasters. It uses the principles of emergency operations: prevention, mit ...

material, while working at radio station

WPDM WPDM (1470 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a country music format. Licensed to Potsdam, New York, United States. The station is owned by Martz Communications Group, through licensee Waters Communications Inc. History On May 18, 2015, WPDM ...

Potsdam, New York Potsdam ( moh, Tsi tewate’nehtararénies) is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The town population was 14,901 at the 2020 census. The ZIP Code is 13676. When SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University are in session, the popu ...

. With

Martin Greenberg Martin Greenberg (June 28, 1918 – October 20, 2013) was an American book publisher and editor of science fiction anthologies. Biography Greenberg married in 1941. He was in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1945 where he attained the rank of corporal ...

, Kyle founded

Gnome Press Gnome Press was an American small-press publishing company primarily known for publishing many science fiction classics. Gnome was one of the most eminent of the fan publishers of SF, producing 86 titles in its lifespan — many considered classic ...

in 1948. He wrote two pictorial histories of science fiction (''A Pictorial History of Science Fiction'' and ''The Illustrated Book of Science Fiction Ideas and Dreams'') and three licensed novels set in the

Lensman The ''Lensman'' series is a series of science fiction novels by American author E. E. "Doc" Smith. It was a runner-up for the 1966 Hugo award for Best All-Time Series, losing to the ''Foundation'' series by Isaac Asimov. Plot The series begins ...

universe (''The Dragon Lensman'', ''Lensman from Rigel'' and ''Z-Lensman''). He appeared with

Paul Levinson Paul Levinson (born March 25, 1947) is an American author, singer-songwriter, and professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. His novels, short fiction, and non-fiction works have been translated into ...

Greg Bear Gregory Dale Bear (August 20, 1951 – November 19, 2022) was an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work covered themes of galactic conflict ('' Forge of God'' books), parallel universes ('' The Way'' series), c ...

and many others on the

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney ...

's 2002 documentary, ''Fantastic Voyage: Evolution of Science Fiction''. He died at the age of 97 on September 18, 2016.

Fandom

Kyle, an active fan since the earliest days of organized

, was an original member of New York's Futurians. In 1936, he published ''The Fantasy World'', possibly the first

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

fanzine. He attended the first

Worldcon Worldcon, or more formally the World Science Fiction Convention, the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society (WSFS), is a science fiction convention. It has been held each year since 1939 (except for the years 1942 to 1945, durin ...

, and both wrote and printed the "

Yellow Pamphlet Yellow is the color between green and orange on the spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a dominant wavelength of roughly 575585 nm. It is a primary color in subtractive color systems, used in painting or color printing. In the RG ...

" condemning the organizers. The

manifesto A manifesto is a published declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party or government. A manifesto usually accepts a previously published opinion or public consensus or promotes a ...

led chairman

Sam Moskowitz Sam Moskowitz (June 30, 1920 – April 15, 1997) was an American writer, critic, and historian of science fiction. Biography As a child, Moskowitz greatly enjoyed reading science fiction pulp magazines. As a teenager, he organized a branch of ...

to ban several prominent members of the Futurians from that convention. Kyle chaired the 1956

14th World Science Fiction Convention The 14th World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon), also known as NyCon II or NEWYORCON, was held on 31 August–3 September 1956 at the Biltmore Hotel in New York City, United States. The chairman was David A. Kyle. Participants At ...

(NyCon II), an incident at which inspired the fan

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Dave Kyle says you can't sit here." He was created a Knight of The Order of Saint Fantony in 1961, and was awarded the

Big Heart Award Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

in 1973. Kyle was also Fan Guest of Honor at ConStellation, the

41st World Science Fiction Convention The 41st World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon), also known as ConStellation, was held on 1–5 September 1983 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The chairman was Michael J. Walsh. Participants A ...

, in 1983. In addition, he wrote hundreds of articles for various

fanzine A fanzine (blend of '' fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleasure of others who share ...

s, including regular articles for Richard and Nicki Lynch's ''

Mimosa ''Mimosa'' is a genus of about 590 species of herbs and shrubs, in the mimosoid clade of the legume family Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Greek word (''mimos''), an "actor" or "mime", and the feminine suffix -''osa'', "resemb ...

''. Kyle married another fan, Ruth Evelyn Landis (whom he had met through fandom), on August 31, 1957; for their

honeymoon A honeymoon is a vacation taken by newlyweds immediately after their wedding, to celebrate their marriage. Today, honeymoons are often celebrated in destinations considered exotic or romantic. In a similar context, it may also refer to the phase ...

they flew to England for the 1957 Worldcon there, together with 53 friends and in-laws, on a specially

chartered flight Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

. They remained married until her death on January 5, 2011. They had a son Arthur and a daughter Kerry."Obituaries: Ruth Evelyn Kyle, 81, formerly of Potsdam"
''NorthCountryNow.com'', January 6, 2011.

References

External links

* ttp://www.redjacketpress.com/books/dragon_lensman.html Information on Kyle's three authorized "Second Stage Lensman" novels
Articles about Futurians and old Fandom by David Kyle
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kyle, David 1919 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American novelists American male novelists American publishers (people) American science fiction writers Futurians People from St. Lawrence County, New York Science fiction editors Science fiction fans 20th-century American male writers Novelists from New York (state)