Conrad H. Ruppert

(November 12, 1912 -- August 28, 1997)

Conrad H. "Connie" Ruppert became a SF fan at age 10 when he was confined to bed with rheumatic fever and was given Gernsback's Science and Invention to read. He began reading every issue, and at age 12 applied for a card that made him a Science and Invention reporter.

During 1929-1930, while studying engineering at Indiana's Tri State College, he maintained an active correspondence with Raymond Palmer and Walter Dennis. In 1930 Gernsback gave him a prize for his contributions to SF. He was active in sponsoring Science Fiction Week.

Ruppert bought a small hand-operated press in the early 1930s and set up ARRA Publishers with a friend, Donald Alexander and reprinted an A. Merritt story. After getting a mimeoed copy of The Time Traveller from its editor Allen Glasser, he offered to print it which he did starting with the third issue, dated March 1932. He also printed all 18 issues of The Fantasy Fan. During 1932-1935 Ruppert produced some of the finest periodicals in SF. He also published Fantasy Magazine with Julius Schwartz. After Stanley Weinbaum died, the Milwaukee Fictioneers decided to print a memorial volume of his stories. Ruppert printed it at cost.

After attending Nycon 1, he was drafted in 1942 and discharged for medical reason in 1943. While continuing read SF, he had dropped out of fandom during the War, but returned fifty years later when he attended MagiCon. During the last five years of his life he corresponded once again with long-time friends and participated in First Fandom and attended conventions. In 1994 he received the Raymond Z. Gallun Award.

He was a member of First Fandom.

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Person

1912—1997

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