A human being should be able to change a diaper,
plan an invasion,
butcher a hog,
design a building,
write a sonnet,
set a bone,
comfort the dying,
take orders,
give orders,
solve equations,
pitch manure,
program a computer,
cook a tasty meal,
fight efficiently,
die gallantly.
Specialization is for insects.
-- Robert Heinlein
July 7, 1907 - May 8, 1988. Born in Butler, MO. Joined the U.S. Navy on graduation from high school, where he remained until he received a medical discharge (tuberculosis) in 1934. Married to Leslyn Macdonald, 1932; divorced 1947. Married Virginia Gerstenfeld 1948, to whom he remained married until his death. (Virginia was a Navy lieutenant, a biochemist, and spoke seven languages).
Heinlein is venerated as a Grand Master of Science Fiction, with 4 Hugos, the first Grandmaster Nebula, and a Sequoyah award. He stands in good company with such luminaries as Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur Clarke.