Paul Freehafer
(July 16, 1916 – March 25, 1944)
Paul Robinson Freehafer was an early fan, originally from Idaho, who moved to Los Angeles to attend Cal Tech and remained there the rest of his short life. He started reading sf with the April 1932 Astounding and found fandom later that year when he subscribed to Science Fiction Digest.
He was an important early LASFAn, joining the SFL on September 16, 1937 (at its 13th meeting), and becoming director of the club in 1943. The meeting place in any LASFS Clubhouse is, by tradition, named "Freehafer Hall" in his memory and LASFS annually awards the Evans-Freehafer Trophy. He was treasurer of the Pacificon Society.
He seems to have been a rarity at the time, a politically uninvolved, sensible fan. He is described as "modest and self-effacing" and as having resisted "Technocracy, socialism, communism, atheism, Esperanto, simplified spelling and what have you..."
He was editor of the fanzine Polaris (1939–41) and The Letters of Henry S. Whitehead for FAPA. He also had letters published in Amazing and Weird Tales.
Paul returned to Idaho where he died of a heart condition at the age of 27. He had never been in good health. After his death, Forrest J Ackerman, who considered Freehafer to be his best friend, published a loving memory of him in the tributezine Polaris: Paul Freehafer, The Good Die Young (see below for link).
- Polaris: Paul Freehafer, The Good Die Young
- Early short biography in Who's Who in Fandom 1940, p. 6.
- His photo appears twice in Harry Warner's All Our Yesterdays (1969).
- FindAGrave.
- The Letters of Henry S. Whitehead (for FAPA)
- Polaris [1939–41]
- Presenting Ronald Clyne [1943]
| Person | 1916—1944 |
| This is a biography page. Please extend it by adding more information about the person, such as fanzines and apazines published, awards, clubs, conventions worked on, GoHships, impact on fandom, external links, anecdotes, etc. See Standards for People and The Naming of Names. |
