Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875?1950) was an American novelist whose adventure, science-fiction, and fantasy stories had a major influence on the development of modern popular fiction. He became widely known after publishing A Princess of Mars and Tarzan of the Apes in 1912, and the figure of Tarzan soon expanded beyond novels into film, comics, radio, and other forms of popular entertainment. Burroughs continued to create imaginative series such as the Barsoom novels, the Pellucidar stories, and the Venus series, building exotic worlds filled with lost civilizations, dangerous journeys, romance, and fast-moving adventure. His fiction helped shape later space opera, adventure fantasy, and heroic storytelling, making him one of the most influential and recognizable writers of twentieth-century popular literature.