Editing George R. R. Martin (section)

== Early life ==
George Raymond Martin (he adopted the [[confirmation name]] ''Richard'' at 13 years old)<ref name="confirmation" /> was born on September 20, 1948,<ref>{{cite news|title=Monitor|newspaper=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=September 20–27, 2013|issue=1277/1278|page=36}}</ref> in [[Bayonne, New Jersey]],<ref>{{cite web| url= http://georgerrmartin.com/life/ |title=Life & Times of George R.R. Martin|website= George R.R. Martin (official website)|access-date=February 27, 2012}}</ref> the son of [[Dockworker|longshoreman]] Raymond Collins Martin and Margaret Brady Martin. His mother's family had once been wealthy, owning a successful construction business, but lost it all in the [[Great Depression]], something Martin was reminded about every day when he passed what used to be his family's dock and house.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nj.com/hudson/2018/11/george_rr_martin_mind_behind_game_of_thrones_makes.html|title=How George R.R. Martin's family history in Bayonne inspired this "Game of Thrones" character|first=Corey W. McDonald {{pipe}} The Jersey|last=Journal|date=November 21, 2018|website=nj}}</ref> He has two younger sisters, Darleen and Jane. He is predominantly of [[Irish people|Irish]] descent;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://grrm.livejournal.com/498526.html|title=A Salute to Immigrants|last=Martin|first=George R. R.|date=September 10, 2016|website=Not A Blog|access-date=September 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160911122422/http://grrm.livejournal.com/498526.html|archive-date=September 11, 2016}}</ref> a DNA test on the series ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'' showed him to be 53.6% "British and Irish", 22.4% [[Ashkenazi Jews|Ashkenazi Jewish]], and 15.6% "Broadly Northwestern European".<ref>{{Cite web |title=George R.R. Martin {{!}} Italian Roots |url=https://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/watch/extras/george-r-r-martin-italian-roots |access-date=October 26, 2022 |website=[[PBS]]: [[Finding Your Roots]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/game-of-thrones-creator-george-r-r-martin-discovers-hes-a-quarter-jewish/|title=Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin discovers he's a quarter Jewish|last=Schleier|first=Curt|website=www.timesofisrael.com|language=en-US|access-date=January 7, 2019}}</ref>

The family first lived in a house on Broadway belonging to Martin's great-grandmother. In 1953, they moved to a federal [[housing project]] near the [[Collins Park (Bayonne, New Jersey)|Bayonne docks]].<ref name=theheartofasmall>{{cite magazine |last1= Martin |first1= George R. R. |date= October 2004 |title= The Heart of a Small Boy |magazine= [[Asimov's Science Fiction]] |url= http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0410/theheartofasmall.shtml |access-date= March 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041019140503/http://www.asimovs.com/_issue_0410/theheartofasmall.shtml |archive-date= October 19, 2004}}</ref> During Martin's childhood, his world consisted predominantly of "First Street to Fifth Street", between his grade school and his home. This limited world made him want to travel and experience other places, but the only way of doing so was through his imagination, and he became a voracious reader.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/george-rr-martin/|title=NJM Q&A: George R.R. Martin|date=March 15, 2013|newspaper=New Jersey Monthly|access-date=February 18, 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

Martin began writing and selling monster stories for pennies to other neighborhood children, dramatic readings included. He had to stop once a customer's mother complained about her child's nightmares.<ref>{{Citation |title=George R. R. Martin: The World of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) | date=October 27, 2014 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcy-EhkHXnE |language=en |access-date=December 19, 2022}}</ref> He also wrote stories about a mythical kingdom populated by his pet turtles — the turtles died frequently in their toy castle, so he decided they were killing each other off in "sinister plots".{{r|berwick20120601}} Martin had a habit of starting "endless stories" that he never completed, as they did not turn out as well on paper as he had imagined them.<ref>{{Cite web|date=August 18, 2019|title=George RR Martin: 'Game of Thrones finishing is freeing, I'm at my own pace'|url=http://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/aug/18/george-rr-martin-interview-game-of-thrones-at-own-pace-now|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>

Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and later [[Marist High School (New Jersey)|Marist High School]]. While there, he became an avid comic-book fan, developing a strong interest in the superheroes being published by [[Marvel Comics]],<ref>{{cite news|author=Rutkoff, Aaron|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2011/07/08/garden-state-tolkien-qa-with-george-r-r-martin/ |title=Garden State Tolkien: Q&A With George R.R. Martin|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|date= July 8, 2011}} "Mr. Martin, 62 years old, says that he grew up in a federal housing project in Bayonne, which is situated on a peninsula... "My four years at Marist High School were not the happiest of my life," the author admits, although his growing enthusiasm for writing comics and superhero stories first emerged during this period."</ref> and later credited [[Stan Lee]] for being one of his greatest literary influences; "Maybe Stan Lee is the greatest literary influence on me, even more than Shakespeare or Tolkien."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20140826-who-inspired-george-rr-martin|title=Who inspired the Game of Thrones creator?|first=Fiona|last=Macdonald|website=www.bbc.com|date=October 21, 2014 }}</ref> A letter Martin wrote to the editor of ''[[Fantastic Four]]'' was printed in issue #20 (November 1963); it was the first of many sent, e.g., ''Fantastic Four'' #32, #34, and others. Fans who read his letters wrote him letters in turn, and through such contacts, Martin joined the fledgling comics [[fandom]] of the era, writing fiction for various [[fanzines]];<ref name="dent20120612">{{Cite AV media | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdSPFJcxCNM | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/MdSPFJcxCNM| archive-date=December 11, 2021 | url-status=live| title=Game Of Thrones – Interview with George R.R. Martin | publisher=YouTube | date=June 12, 2012 | people=Dent, Grace (interviewer); Martin, George R. R.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> he bought the first ticket to the world's first [[comic book convention|Comic-Con]], held in New York in 1964.<ref name="gustines20141003">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/nyregion/how-comic-conventions-were-born-in-new-york.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/03/nyregion/how-comic-conventions-were-born-in-new-york.html |archive-date=January 2, 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | title=In the Beginning, It Was All About Comics | work=The New York Times | date=October 3, 2014 | access-date=July 29, 2015 | author=Gustines, George Gene | pages=C28}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Jackson|first=Matthew|date=October 14, 2013|title=Who bought the first ticket to the first comics con in '64? George R.R. Martin!|url=https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/who-bought-first-ticket-first-comics-con-64-george-rr-martin|access-date=February 17, 2021|website=SYFY WIRE|language=en|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124183447/https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/who-bought-first-ticket-first-comics-con-64-george-rr-martin|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1965, Martin won comic fandom's [[Alley Award]] for Best Fan Fiction for his prose superhero story "Powerman vs. The Blue Barrier".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hahnlibrary.net/comics/awards/alley65.php|title=1965 Alley Awards|website=www.hahnlibrary.net}}</ref>

In 1970, Martin earned a [[Bachelor of Science|B.S.]] in [[journalism]] with a minor in history from [[Northwestern University]]'s [[Medill School of Journalism]] in [[Evanston, Illinois]], graduating ''[[summa cum laude]]''; he went on to complete his [[Master of Science|M.S.]] in Journalism in 1971, also from Medill.<ref name="D'Mmassa pages 388-390">D'Mmassa, Don "Martin, George" pages 388-390 from ''St. James Guide to Horror, Ghost and Gothic Writers'' edited by David Pringle, Detroit: St. James Press, 19978 page 388.</ref> Eligible for the [[Conscription in the United States|draft]] during the [[Vietnam War]], to which he [[Opposition to United States involvement in the Vietnam War|objected]], Martin applied for and obtained [[conscientious objector]] status;<ref>{{cite news|title=George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, interview with Martin|url= http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Shows/George_Stroumboulopoulos_Tonight/1595682788/ID=2209994735 |access-date=March 15, 2012|newspaper=[[George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight]]|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|date=March 14, 2012}}</ref> he instead did alternative service work for two years (1972–1974) as a [[AmeriCorps VISTA|VISTA]] volunteer, attached to the [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] Legal Assistance Foundation.<ref name="D'Mmassa pages 388-390" />