Herbert George Wells, fourth and last child of Joseph Wells (a former domestic gardener, and at the time shopkeeper and cricketer) and his wife Sarah Neal (a former domestic servant), was born at Atlas House, 47 High Street, Bromley, in the county of Kent. H.G. had an accident in 1874, which left him bedridden with a broken leg. To pass the time he started reading books that his father brought him from the local library, and soon became devoted to the other worlds, with a stimulated desire to write. In his lifetime and after his death, Wells was considered a prominent socialist thinker. In later years, however, Wells' image has shifted and he is now regarded as one of the pioneers of science fiction. Wells was a co-founder in 1934 of what is now Diabetes UK, the leading charity for people living with diabetes in the UK.
