Frederic Arnold Kummer (August 5, 1873-November 22, 1943) was an American author, playwright and screen writer. Born in Maryland, he studied engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and worked as an engineer before turning to writing in 1907. He wrote in a variety of genres including romances and non-fiction. Under the pseudonym Arnold Fredericks he wrote a series of mysteries featuring the detective Richard Duvall. In the 1930's he turned to writing science fiction. In addition to his short stories and novels he was also a screen writer during the early days of motion pictures. On a c...