Louis Russell Chauvenet
(February 12, 1920 -- June 24, 2003)
Louis Russell Chauvenet started reading SF at age 11 with "Awlo of Ulm" by S. P. Meek (Amazing, September 1931). His first contact with other fans came with meeting R. D. Swisher in the 1930s and reading his fanzines.
He was one of the founders of SF Fandom and of The Stranger Club of Boston. (The Stranger Club was the FGoH of the 1989 Worldcon, Noreascon 3) With Damon Knight and Art Widner he also co-founded the N3F (he was President in 1941-1942 and at one time in 1944 he and Samuel J. Russell were the only members in good standing), and was a member of First Fandom.
In the October 1940 issue of his fanzine Detours Chauvenet coined the word "fanzine" and is generally also credited with coining the word prozine years later.
He was for many years a member of FAPA. Hokum House Publications' and Aimless Press were his publishing houses.
In mundane life, he became chess champion of the state of Virginia, 1942 through 1948, and of Maryland in 1963, 1969, and 1976. He was also an avid sailor, built his own Windmill class sailboat, and participated in regattas.
He became completely deaf in 1930 at age 10, after suffering cerebro-spinal meningitis. He attended Central Institute for the Deaf and Wright Oral School, before graduating from Belmont Hill Preparatory School. He went on to Harvard, Boston College and the University of Virginia, receiving a bachelor of science in biology in 1943 and a master of science in chemistry in 1948 from Virginia. From 1943-1946 he was employed by the Calco Chemical Company in New Jersey, after which he worked with computers as a civilian employee of the U.S. Department of Defense from 1948 until his retirement.
- He was the subject of a N3F Founders article by Jon D. Swartz in the July, 2015 (Volume 74, Number 7) issue of The National Fantasy Fan.
- For an early short biography, see Who's Who in Fandom 1940, page 4.
- A [1939] (Hokum House Publications)
- Detours [1940-98]
- Nachgemachte Schildkrotensuppe [1941]
- Fanzine Digest [1942]
- Sardonyx [1940-44] (Aimless Press)
- Silver Spring Science Fiction, Root Beer and Go Association [1965]
- Sinkrec [early 60s]
- Sizzle-Pop
- Spinnaker Reach [early ’60s] (for FAPA)
- Zizzle-Pop [early ’40s] (for FAPA)
| Person | 1920—2003 |
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