Jules Verne (1828тАУ1905) was a French author best known for his tales of adventure, including┬аTwenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea,┬аJourney to the Center of the Earth, and┬аAround the World in Eighty Days. A true visionary, Verne foresaw the skyscraper, the submarine, and the airplane, among many other inventions, and is now regarded as one of the fathers of science fiction.