James H. Schmitz (1911-1981) was born to American parents in Hamburg, Germany. He lived the majority of his life in the US and published extensively in magazines and with major publishing houses. He is best known for his Hub Series which Legacy is part of. During the 1950s and 60s the very idea of the Space Opera and Schmitz's work became synonymous. He is generally considered among the strongest science fiction writers of his generation. Schmitz passed away in the 1981 in Los Angeles, California at the age of 69.
