H. G. Wells publishes The Time Machine

In May 1895, H. G. Wells published The Time Machine as a serial and later in book form. In addition to being Wells’ first major novel, The Time Machine is celebrated as one of the earliest examples of the science fiction genre and for popularizing “time travel.” Despite its futuristic premise, Wells used the novel to comment on the very real issues of class, industrialization, and capitalism that he saw in Victorian society.

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Time-Machine