●Fabulous World of Jules Verne

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Today, Verne is widely regarded as a prophetic writer who imagined many modern technologies decades before their times. Can you tell what modern Inventions Jules Verne foresaw?

Electric Submarines

In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, Verne's Captain Nemo travels the world's oceans in a giant electric submarine.

Aside from its organ, formal dining room, and other luxuries, the Nautilus isn't all that different from some modern subs, such as the circa-1964, three-passenger Alvin (pictured), which is powered by lead-acid batteries. Like Alvin, the Nautilus was fully powered by electricity, "which at that time had a kind of magical aura,"

Newscasts

In an 1889 article, "In the Year 2889," Jules Verne described an alternative to newspapers: "Instead of being printed, the Earth Chronicle is every morning spoken to subscribers, who, from interesting conversations with reporters, statesmen and scientists, learn the news of the day."

Solar Sails

In his 1865 science fiction classic, From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne speculated about light-propelled spacecraft. Today, the technology has a name: solar sails. Today, Verne is widely regarded as a prophetic writer who imagined many modern technologies decades before their times.

Lunar Modules

In From the Earth to the Moon, Verne described "projectiles" that could be used to carry passengers to the Moon. He imagined "a big gun going off, and you get enough force to break through gravity."

Videoconferencing

In "In the Year 2889" Jules Verne describes the "phonotelephote"—a forerunner to today's videoconferencing technologies.

The phonotelephote allowed "the transmission of images by means of sensitive mirrors connected by wires," Verne wrote.

Taser

In Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, he described a gun that delivers a strong electric jolt, much like a Taser "electronic control device." Of his device, Verne wrote: "The balls sent by this gun are not ordinary balls, but little cases of glass. These glass cases are covered with a case of steel, and weighted with a pellet of lead; they are real Leyden bottles"—18th-century devices used to store static electricity—"into which the electricity is forced to a very high tension. With the slightest shock they are discharged, and the animal, however strong it may be, falls dead."

Splashdown Spaceship

In From the Earth to the Moon, Verne imagined a spacecraft landing in the ocean and floating—just like this Mercury capsule.

●Do you know?

When and where was Jules Verne born?

Jules Verne was born on the 8th of February, 1828 in Île Feydeau, in the city of Nantes, France. His full name was Jules Gabriel Verne, and he was the first of five children born from the marriage between his father, Pierre Verne, a Parisian lawyer, who came from a lineage of jurists of the city of Provence and his mother, Sophie Allotte de la Fuÿe, of Breton and Scottish origin.

Which countries did Jules Verne travel to?

In 1859, he made a trip to England and Scotland. In 1861, Jules Verne went to Scandinavia, specifically to Norway and Denmark. In 1867, Jules Verne embarked on the Great Eastern for a journey to the United States. His impressions are given in the novel A floating city. In 1872, he visited London and Woolwich. Between 1871 and 1873 he went to Jersey, Guernsey, and Sark (invited by Hetzel). In 1876, he made a trip to the coastal England. In 1878, Verne made a large trip on his yacht. He visited Lisbon, Tanger, Gibraltar and Algiers.

In 1879, he sailed to England and Scotland. In 1880, he went to Ireland, Scotland and Norway. In 1881, he made a trip to the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, on board of the Saint-Michel III. Paul Verne wrote about this trip in the short story From Rotterdam to Copenhagen. In 1884, Verne cruised the Mediterranean with his Saint-Michel III, visiting Algeria, Malta, Italy and other countries. In 1887, Jules Verne made a tour through Belgium and the Netherlands, where he read his short story The Rat family.

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