Bill (Merl. W, Jr.) Baldwin (June 6, 1935 – October 14, 2015) was an American

science fiction writer This is a list of noted science-fiction authors (in alphabetical order): A *Dafydd ab Hugh (born 1960) * Alexander Abasheli (1884–1954) *Edwin Abbott Abbott (1838–1926) *Kōbō Abe (1924–1993) *Robert Abernathy (1924–1990) *Dan Abn ...

. He wrote militaristic space opera. His main series is about a male protagonist named Wilf Ansor Brim. He graduated from The Mercersburg Academy and the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the univers ...

, where he earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

in Journalism and a Master of Letters degree. He served as a lieutenant at the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

Missile Test Center. He worked at

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeedi ...

Cape Canaveral, Florida Cape Canaveral ( es, Cabo Cañaveral, link=) is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 9,912 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne– Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. History After ...

supporting

Project Mercury Project Mercury was the first human spaceflight program of the United States, running from 1958 through 1963. An early highlight of the Space Race, its goal was to put a man into Earth orbit and return him safely, ideally before the Soviet U ...

as Chief of the Reports Division. Later, Baldwin served as a contractor for the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center. He was the president of the Wooden Boat Association of north Texas. He was also the managing editor of the magazine ''The Brass Bell'' of the Chris-Craft Antique Boat Club. He and others helped create the Lawson Boating Heritage Center on

Chautauqua Lake Chautauqua Lake is located entirely within Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The lake is approximately long and wide at its greatest width. The surface area is approximately . The maximum depth is about . The shoreline is about of wh ...

, Bemus Point, New York.

Published works

The Helmsman Saga

*''The Helmsman'' (1985) *''Galactic Convoy'' (1987) *''The Trophy'' (1990) *''The Mercenaries'' (1991) *''The Defenders'' (1992) *''The Siege'' (1994) *''The Defiance'' (1996) *"Last Ship to Haefdon" (2002, a short story taking place decades after the novels' events) *''The Turning Tide'' (2011) Several books of the original Helmsman saga, ''The Siege'', ''The Defenders'' and ''The Defiance'' in particular, were influenced by the World War II autobiography titled ''The Big Show'' (written by

Pierre Clostermann Pierre Henri Clostermann (28 February 1921 – 22 March 2006) was a World War II French fighter pilot. During the conflict he achieved 33 air-to-air combat victories, earning the accolade "France's First Fighter" from General Charles de Gau ...

). Baldwin's work contains allusions to other science fiction works. For example, ''Galactic Convoy'' mentions a planet named Throon (the capital world in the Star Kings books). ''The Turning Tide'' features a freighter captain named Verger Antillies. This series began in 1985 but was later reprinted in "Director's Cut Special Editions" by Timberwolf Press. Also, as of October 2012, rewritten versions of the first four books have been made available in both paper and electronic form.

Other works

*''Canby's Legion'' (1995) *''The Enigma Strategy'' (2006) At the time of his death, Bill was working on a novel entitled "Heisenberg's U-Boat" and was starting on a final Wilf Brim book.

External links

BiographyIn Memoriam: Merl “Bill” Baldwin, Jr.
*

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, Bill 1935 births 2015 deaths 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American science fiction writers University of Pittsburgh alumni 21st-century American male writers