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When John W. Campbell took over as editor for Astounding Science-Fiction magazine he sought out new authors who could bring fiction values to their stories as well as write about gadgets. In his first year he introduced three new writers who would come to epitomize the golden age of science fiction: Robert A. Heinlein, A. E. Van Vogt and L. Sprague de Camp.

Lyon Sprague de Camp was born in 1907 in New York City. He wanted to be a paleontologist, but his father talked him into getting a degree in Aeronautical Engineering first. Then, once he had training that he could rely on to earn a living, he could go back an study paleontology. Unfortunately, he graduated in the middle of the great depression and didn't get much use out of either set of skills. What he did discover was that he had a flair for writing. He had a career spanning fifty years, writing SF, fantasy, historical fiction, biography, and some of the most interesting non-fiction of his time.

He was married to Catherine Crook de Camp, who described herself as "The dragon at gate" who kept fans from pestering Sprague too much, and who collaborated with him on several book. She was also a very charming lady.

He wrote a number of SF stories and novels, but is probably best remembered for Lest Darkness Fall. Written in the days before the start of WW II, it has a historian transported back to 6th century Rome, where he devotes himself to trying to halt the fall of civilization and the rise of the Dark Ages. This is in many ways the first Alternate History book, and set the stage for those that followed.

In fantasy, in collaboration with Fletcher Pratt, he wrote a series of stories about Harold Shea who could travel to fantasy worlds where magic worked. These are some of the funniest fantasy stories written and can be found collected in The Compleat Enchanter. He was also involved in collecting and editing the Conan stories of Robert E. Howard for their first paperback book publication. He and Lin Carter also rewrote some of Howard's other stories as Conan stories and wrote new ones to fill in the gaps. He has taken a lot of criticism for his work, but he was working from a time-line that Howard had written and was trying to make the stories match. In his autobiography, de Camp does say that he probably edited too much and wishes he had used a lighter touch.

He wrote a number of non-fiction books. Some of the most interesting are Citadels of Mystery and The Ancient Engineers about ancient people, and technology and Lost Continents which explores the myths of sunken lands. Looking at more recent events is The Great Monkey Trial about the Skopes Trial which brings the story to life.

In his spare time, he wrote five historical novels set in ancient times, biographies of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, poetry, as well as books on history and science. Ironically, while he had a fifty year career as an SF and fantasy writer, the only Hugo de Camp ever won was in 1997 for Time & Chance, his autobiography.

Catherine and L. Sprague de Camp both died in 2000, Catherine on April 9, and Sprague on November 6, Catharine's birthday. They were 92. There is obituary information here at Spacelight, another at the SFWA Journal and an interesting one at The Skeptical Inquirer.

As ljim and Custer have already mentioned, he has a fairly detailed Wikipedia entry. Also, be sure to check out his personal site. It has not been updated recently, but is maintained by his sons so the fans can visit it. Browse the site and you'll find things like family photos, biographical information and selected works.

NESFA Press is talking about getting all of L. Sprague de Camp's short fiction back into print. With the large body of work he produced, that's quite an effort. Right now they have Years in the Making, a collection of his time travel stories, currently in print. The Mathematics of Magic, a complete collection of the Harold Shea stories in collaboration with Fletcher Pratt, is scheduled to be released later this year.

L. Sprague de Camp was a man who accomplished a great deal in his life. In a single day, like this, we can barely scratch the surface his work.

Currently rereading The Ancient Engineers, one of de Camp's many non-fiction books. As he points out, political systems come and go, religions flourish and die away, art, music and literature rise and fall; the one thing that has been constant since the start of civilization is the rise of technology. He traces the growth of technology, the early engineers, and the cultures they were part of.

The book, first written in 1960, suffers from some limitations. de Camp mentions that a lot of technological advances weren't documented or the history has been lost, so we have to guess at them. For instance, we don't know when and where the lathe was invented. However, we can look at a Persian bas relief. From the legs of the chair the emperor is sitting in, we can determine that the lathe was in existence in the time of Emperor Darius.

Also, de Camp apologizes that most of what we know is centered in the Mediterranean and middle-east. Documentation may exist is in China, India and Africa, but most of it is still buried in archives. It hasn't been made public or translated.

All told, an interesting read. The book is aimed at the general reader with an interest in history and technology. It provides a very different look at history from the normal lists of kings, their kingdoms, and their wars.