Robert CromieRobert Cromie (1855-1907) was a Belfast journalist and novelist. He was the third son of Dr. Cromie of Clough where he was born on July 17, 1855. Cromie was educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution where, according to one article, he claied "an unbeaten record in the matter of examinations, having never once failed, by reason...of having never once entered." A Plunge into Space, a science fiction novel, was published in 1890. This work predates H. G. Wells's The First Men in the Moon by some 10 years, but contains a number of similarities. Cromie pointed these out in letters to the Academy journal. Cromie's 1895 novel The Crack of Doom was his most successful and contains the first description of an atomic explosion. Read More Read Less