Happy Birthday Jules Verne!

Jules Verne would be celebrating his 183rd birthday today, had he not died in 1905.

Widely consider the father of modern science fiction, Verne authored such classic stories as Around the World in Eighty Days; Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; From Earth to the Moon; and Journey to the Center of the Earth.

Some of you might recall he was also the favorite author of Doc Emmett Brown from the Back to the Future trilogy.

Most importantly Verne made it ok for millions of people around the world to dream of a better future through science. He wrote stories that showed the dark side of technology, sure, but he also showed it went side-by-side with hope.

Google has a special doodle today which lets you control Verne's submarine and dive beneath the sea...very cool touch.

It pleases me to no end to see that today, more than 100 years after his death, people remember and people celebrate. Especially on Twitter. Verne himself likely would have loved that....

@wmsnedden Joyeux anniversaire Jules Verne! Born 8 Feb, 1828, the father of science-fiction.

@LUCASunscreen Happy Birthday Jules Verne, the Father of Science Fiction! Remember reading Around the World in 80 Days, Journey... http://fb.me/FjVRpI7D

@fercitauy @un_dato Jules Gabriel Verne (Nantes, 8 de febrero de 1828 – Amiens, 24 de marzo de 1905)

@keishalyubiana February 8: Jules Verne's day! He's an French author and I've read one of his books 'Around the World in Eighty Days' :D

@srivash By the way, happy birthday Jules Verne. Buddy, I told you you will make it on the Google homepage.

@dstarh todays google doodle is awesome - happy birthday jules verne

@TXPaladin Happy Jules Verne Day! #steampunk

@JanFHarvey How amazingly cool is #GOOGLE today referencing Jules Gabriel Verne author of Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea!

@christuttle Google celebrates Jules Verne with a very cool logo reminiscent of "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea" www.google.com

@zimmzimmerman Maar gelukkig schijnt vandaag ook de #zon en lijkt het wel #lente. Is Jules Verne in Qatar geweest? En Berlusconi kan ook zijn exit bereiden

@anapriscy Photo: A tribute to Jules Verne on Google. “Ah - what a journey - what a marvelous and extraordinary... http://tumblr.com/x8s1glrr8w

@bubblevicious Playing with the Jules Verne Google doodle.The (adapted-for-kids) 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was one of my favourite childhood reads.

@Flamengo17 Bonne Anivesario, éternelle écrivain, Jules Verne #france

@FlorencePorcel Ca fait 5 bonnes minutes que je m'amuse avec le Google Jules Verne. Une vraie môme.

@SaintStockler @doidivana É homenagem ao nascimento do Jules Verne. O logo (doodle) faz referência ao seu livro '20 mil léguas submarinas'.

@VisitGreecegr On Jules Verne's bday, we wish you all exciting travels of adventure+discovery, as those he wrote about, captivating our imagination!

@shawntkeating Google | 183rd birthday of Jules Verne | Logo http://post.ly/1ams4

@geistkellie Check out the "submarine" on Google.com today. Happy bday Jules Verne!