René Barjavel (January 24, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was a
French author, journalist and critic who may have been the first to think of the
grandfather paradox in
time travel. He was born in
Nyons, a town in the
Drôme department in southeastern France. He is best known as a
science fiction author, whose work often involved the fall of civilisation due to
technocratic hubris and the madness of war, but who also favoured themes emphasising the durability of love.