Sci-Fi History: The Time Machine by H.G. Wells (1895)

The Time Machine popularized the idea of time travel. In the work, an inventor creates a time machine and travels to 802,701 A.D. The people he meets reflect Wells’ political views. One group, the Eloi, are peaceful and childlike. They live in paradise and do no work. The other group, the Morlocks, live underground and only come out at night. The Morlocks represent the working class and their underground layer represents a factory. It turns out, the Morlock feed on the Eloi, whom are herded like cattle. After leaving this period, he witnesses the end of the world before returning home in a depression. Since The Time Machine's publication, several science fiction entities ranging from Star Trek to the Twilight Zone have developed stories centering on time travel and scientists have studied the feasibility of time travel.