Jules Gabriel Verne (French: [ˈjuːl ˈvɛnə]; 8 February 1828 – 24 March 1905) was a French novelist, poet, and playwright best known for his adventure novels and his profound influence on science fiction.

Verne was born to bourgeois parents in the port of Nantes, where he trained as a lawyer following in his father’s footsteps, but left his profession early to devote himself to writing magazines and plays. He collaborated with Pierre-Jules Hertz in publishing to write the widely popular series of meticulously researched adventure novels, such as Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and Around the World in Eighty Days.

Verne is generally regarded as a major literary author in France and most of Europe, having had a wide influence on the literary avant-garde and surrealism. His reputation varies markedly in English-speaking regions, where he is often described as a fantasy or children’s writer, due to the abridged translations of his novels that have been reprinted.

Verne has been the second most translated writer in the world since 1979, behind only Agatha Christie and William Shakespeare; he is said to have been the most translated writer during the 1960s and 1970s.

In English he is one of the so-called science fiction genres, a title given to H. G. Wells and Hugo Greensback.