John Michael Crichton pronounced /ˈkraɪtən/, (October 23, 1942 – November 4, 2008) was an American author, producer, director, screenwriter, and physician, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 150 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted into films. In 1994 he became the only creative artist to ever have works simultaneously charting at #1 in television, as creator of ER; in film, with the adaptation of Jurassic Park; and in book sales, with Disclosure.

His literary works were usually based on the action genre and heavily feature technology. His novels epitomised the techno-thriller genre of literature, often exploring technology and failures of human interaction with it, especially resulting in catastrophes with biotechnology. Many of his future history novels have medical or scientific underpinnings, reflecting his medical training and science background.

He was the author of The Andromeda Strain, Congo, Disclosure, Rising Sun, Sphere, Timeline, State of Fear, Airframe, Prey, Next (the final book published before his death), Pirate Latitudes (to be published November 24, 2009), a final unfinished techno-thriller to be released sometime in the fall of 2010, and Travels. . John Michael Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois, to John Henderson Crichton, a journalist and Zula Miller Crichton on October 23 1942. He was raised on Long Island, in Roslyn, New York., and had three siblings, two sisters, Kimberly and Catherine, and a younger brother, Douglas.

Crichton showed a keen interest in writing from a young age and at the age of just 14 had a column related to travel published in the New York Times. Crichton had always planned on becoming a writer and commenced his studies at Harvard College in 1960. During his undergraduate study in literature, Crichton conducted an experiment to catch off guard a professor who he believed was giving him abnormally low marks and criticising his own literary style.

Informing another professor of his suspicions, Crichton plagiarized a work by George Orwell and submitted it as his own. Unaware, the paper was received by his professor with a mark of "B−". His issues with the English Department led Crichton to switch his course to biological anthropology as an undergraduate, obtaining his bachelor's degree summa cum laude in 1964.

Crichton was also initiated into the Phi Beta Kappa Society. He went on to become the Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellow from 1964 to 1965 and Visiting Lecturer in Anthropology at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom in 1965.

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