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Doc Smith was the first of the novas of science fiction (as categorized by Isaac Asimov). His The Skylark of Space, when it appeared in 1928, instantly catapulted him to the forefront of the genre, while stretching that front a long distance. He was, I think, the foremost exponent of "space opera" -- big stories on a big stage about things that completely changed everything.

Professionally, he was a food chemist, and apparently made some important advances in donut batter. Later in life he was an executive, which is a much rarer thing among SF writers than his PhD. I think his management sequences in later Lensman books and in the Subspace books benefit from careful reading.