Jules Verne stood on the steps of the Paris stock exchange announcing his new plan of becoming a writer to his coworkers. He said, "My boys, I believe that I'm about to desert you. I had the kind of idea Emile Girardin says every man must have to make a fortune. I've just written a new kind of novel, and if it succeeds it will be an unexplored gold mine."

    Their retort was laughter.

    This statement was made was in 1862 and over the next 43 years Verne would face more disbelieving laughter, as well as great popularity as a fiction writer. Many of his "farfetched" fiction novels could be considered foreshadowing of future scientific technologies. While writing in the 19th century Verne described submarines, flying machines, skyscrapers, and even landing on the moon.

    Many people think Verne was a scientist, or world traveler because of the elaborate detail about technology and travel in his books, however he was neither.

    Verne grew up in Nantes, France. His father sent him to Paris in order to study law, however, when Verne was there, he became interested in writing for the theatre. Much to his father's dismay, Verne quit studying law and began working on a series of plays. Soon after, he started working at the Paris Stock exchange so he could support his theatrical endeavors.

    So how did this ex-law student, playwright/stockbroker write such detailed works that inspired scientists worldwide? It was a mixture of imagination, creativity, and research. Verne was known to spend months in libraries studying periodicals and magazines, or discussing scientific breakthroughs with his knowledgeable friends. He also cited Edgar Allan Poe as an inspiration.

    After his first book, Five Weeks in a Balloon, was published, Verne realized that he finally found his niche. He threw himself into his writings. Over the years Verne wrote over 70 books including, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Around the World in Eighty Days, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Mysterious Island. In these books he created hundreds of memorable characters.

    In many of his writings the main characters are isolated in some way, and forced to survive in a closed universe, like a balloon basket, a cave, or a ship under water. They had to improvise with whatever materials were available in order to devise a solution to original problems.

    Many successful people adopted this tenacity and curiosity from reading Verne's books. Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury said, "...we are all, in one way or another, the children of Jules Verne." Admiral Richard Byrd said before his famous polar flight, "Jules Verne guides me." William Beebe, an underwater explorer, and Robert Goddard, considered the father of rocketry, both credit Verne's writings as an influence to their interests in science.

    As for Verne's fellow stockbrokers who laughed at his announcement of becoming a writer, Verne replied to them, "Laugh, friends, we'll see who laughs longest."

    With the many people Verne's books continue to inspire, his uncanny technological predictions, and the fact that his books are still printed and translated for readers around the world nearly 100 years after his death, who would you say had the last laugh?