Edgar Rice Burroughs (September 1, 1875 – March 19, 1950) was an American author, best known for his prolific output in the adventure, science fiction, and fantasy genres. Most well-known for creating the characters Tarzan and John Carter, he is also known for writing the Pellucidar series, the Amtor series, and the Caspak trilogy.
Tarzan was immediately popular, and Burroughs capitalized on it in every way possible, including a syndicated Tarzan comic strip, movies, and merchandise. Tarzan remains one of the most successful fictional characters to this day and is a cultural icon. Burroughs' California ranch is now the center of the Tarzana neighborhood in Los Angeles, which was named after his most famous character.
Burroughs strongly supported eugenics and scientific racism. Tarzan was meant to reflect this, with him being born to English nobles and then adopted by talking apes (the Mangani). In one Tarzan story, he finds an ancient civilization where eugenics has been practiced for over 2,000 years, where the solution to crime is to kill not only criminals but also their families. Burroughs explicitly supported these ideas throughout all of his work, both fiction and nonfiction. His views, though, were not uncommon for the time.
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