Douglas Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was a writer, whose best known work was The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, a work which bounces between the genres of humor and sci-fi. An atheist, humanist, and defender of wildlife, Adams influenced a wide range of people, including Richard Dawkins who dedicated The God Delusion to him. Extremely smart and funny, he has been so often quoted to the effect of making the uninitiated scratch their heads in wonder and the rest of us double over in laughter.
Some good articles on Adams:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-weinkauf/thirteen-reasons-i-adore-_b_2852307.html
http://io9.com/5659984/today-is-the-ultimate-answer-to-the-ultimate-question-of-life-the-universe-and-everything
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/09/afterliff-douglas-adams-jon-canter
Some good articles on Adams:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gregory-weinkauf/thirteen-reasons-i-adore-_b_2852307.html
http://io9.com/5659984/today-is-the-ultimate-answer-to-the-ultimate-question-of-life-the-universe-and-everything
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/09/afterliff-douglas-adams-jon-canter