Robert Franklin Young (1915–1986) was an American science fiction writer whose career spanned over three decades. Born in Silver Creek, New York, Young spent the majority of his life in his home state, with the exception of three and a half years of military service in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. For most of his adult life, he maintained a quiet existence, owning property on Lake Erie and working as a janitor for the Buffalo public school system—a biographical detail that remained unknown to the wider science fiction community until near the end of his life.
Young began publishing science fiction in 1953, debuting in the magazine Startling Stories. Over the next thirty years, his work appeared in a variety of high-profile publications, including Playboy, The Saturday Evening Post, and Collier's. He was particularly celebrated for his short fiction, which featured a poetic, romantic style that frequently drew comparisons to the works of Ray Bradbury and Theodore Sturgeon. Although he remained relatively obscure to the general public both at home and abroad, his stories found a dedicated international readership, particularly through translations published in French magazines like Galaxie and Fiction, as well as the Italian science fiction journal Urania.
Among his most enduring works is the 1961 short story "The Dandelion Girl," a romantic time-travel tale that later exerted a significant influence on Japanese popular culture, including the anime series RahXephon. Another major milestone in his career was the short story "Little Dog Gone," which received a Hugo Award nomination for Best Short Story in 1965. Young continued to write fiction up until his death in 1986, leaving behind a legacy of lyrical and emotionally resonant science fiction.
