Hydra Club

The Hydra Club was a social organization of science fiction professionals and fans. It met in New York City during the 1940s and 1950s.

It was founded October 25, 1947 in the apartment of Judith Merril and Frederik Pohl on Grove Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York. As nine founders were present, the club took its name from the legendary nine-headed monster, the Hydra.

Among its members were Lester del Rey, David A. Kyle, Frederik Pohl, Judith Merril, Martin Greenberg, Robert W. Lowndes, Philip Klass, Jack Gillespie, David Reiner, L. Jerome Stanton, Fletcher and Inga Pratt, Willy Ley, George O. Smith, Basil Davenport, Sam Merwin, Harry Harrison, Jerome Bixby, Groff Conklin, Bea Mahaffey, Murray Leinster, Jack Coggins, and J. Harry Dockweiler.[1]

An article by Merril about the club in the November 1951 Marvel Science Fiction was accompanied by Harry Harrison's drawing caricaturing 41 members. [2] Members caricatured include:

  1. Lois Miles Gillespie
  2. H. Beam Piper
  3. David A. Kyle
  4. Judith Merril
  5. Frederik Pohl
  6. Philip Klass
  7. Richard Wilson
  8. Isaac Asimov
  9. James A. Williams
  10. Sam Merwin, Jr.
  11. Martin Greenberg
  12. Walter I. Bradbury
  13. Bruce Elliott
  14. L. Jerome Stanton
  15. Jerome Bixby
  16. Basil Davenport
  17. Robert W. Lowndes
  18. Olga Ley
  19. Oswald Train
  20. Charles Dye
  21. Frank Belknap Long
  22. Damon Knight
  23. Thomas S. Gardner
  24. Harry Harrison
  25. Sam Bowne
  26. Groff Conklin
  27. Larry T. Shaw
  28. Lester Del Rey
  29. Frederic Brown
  30. Margaret Bertrand
  31. Evelyn Harrison
  32. L. Sprague de Camp
  33. Theodore Sturgeon
  34. George C. Smith
  35. Hans Stefan Santesson
  36. Fletcher Pratt
  37. Willy Ley
  38. Katherine MacLean Dye
  39. Daniel Keyes
  40. H. L. Gold
  41. Walter Kubilius

Harrison's caption adds, "The remaining twenty-odd members showed up too late at the meeting."

References

  1. David A. Kyle. "The Legendary Hydra Club". Mimosa 25. Rich and Nikki Lynch. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  2. Judith Merril. "The Hydra Club". Marvel Science Fiction November 1951, p. 126-129. Blogger user "Sleestak". Retrieved 7 August 2014.

External links