The golden age is generally recognized as beginning in the late thirties and extending to the mid sixties. Despite the dialect of the time and cultural mores these stories still entertain the SciFi enthusiast as much as they did when new.
John Campbell is acknowledged, by most critics, as the catalyst of the golden age. When he took over Astounding Science Fiction in 1938 most science fiction was juvenile pulp, more in the genre of action/adventure. His higher standard set the stage and launched the careers of writers like Issac Asimov, Robert Heinlein, and A.E. van Vogt whose Black Destroyer story was published in the July 1939 issue of Astounding. This issue is considered the first serious science fiction periodical publication.
Many great writers like, Murray Leinster, William Tenn, Theodore Sturgeon, just to name a few, began their careers in the late thirties and early forties. Most went on to be successful authors. However, some did not. I will attempt to document some of these writers work as well as the better known scribes of the period.
Gnostic Science Fiction 