title: A possible first use of the word astrobiology?
abstract: The word astrobiology was possibly first used in 1935, in an article published in a French popular science magazine. The author was Ary J. Sternfeld (1905-1980), a pioneer of astronautics who wrote numerous scientific books and papers. The article is remarkable because his portrayal of the concept is very similar to the way it is used today. Here I review the 1935 article and provide a brief history of Sternfeld's life, which was heavily influenced by the tragic events of 20(th) century history.
authors.affiliation: Observatoire de Paris, 75014 Paris, France. danielle.briot@obspm.fr
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Briot
mesh_terms: D018559:Exobiology / Q000266:history*; D005602:France; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D011044:Poland; D012586:Science / Q000266:history; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014586:USSR