Douglas Adams (1952-2001) was an English author, scriptwriter, essayist, humorist, satirist and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy—which yielded the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything¿42. Hitchhiker's Guide originated in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books. Adams also wrote Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, in addition to three stories for the TV show Doctor Who.