William Tenn is the pseudonym of Philip Klass, who was born in 1920. Although he was born in London, he spent most of his life in America, teaching writing and sf at Pennsylvania State College from 1966. He began writing after serving in the Second World War and published his first story, 'Alexander the Bait' in Astounding Science Fiction in 1946. Stories like 'Down Among the Dead Men', 'The Liberation of Earth' and 'The Custodian' quickly established him as a fine, funny and thoughtful satirist. In 1999 William Tenn was selected the Science Fiction Writers of America's Author Emeritus.