| Hari Seldon | |
|---|---|
| Foundation character | |
_by_Michael_Whelan.png) Hari Seldon, as depicted on the 1986 US reprint cover of Foundation. Art by Michael Whelan. | |
| First appearance | "Foundation" (1942) |
| Last appearance | Foundation's Triumph (1999) |
| Created by | Isaac Asimov |
| Portrayed by | Jared Harris Foundation (2021–present) |
| Voiced by | William Eedle The Foundation Trilogy (1973) |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation |
|
| Affiliation |
|
| Spouse |
|
| Children | Raych Seldon (adopted) |
Hari Seldon is a fictional character in the Foundation series of novels by Isaac Asimov. In his capacity as mathematics professor at Streeling University on the planet Trantor, Seldon develops psychohistory, an algorithmic science that allows him to predict the future in probabilistic terms. On the basis of his psychohistory he is able to predict the eventual fall of the Galactic Empire and to develop a means to shorten the millennia of chaos to follow.
In the first five books of the Foundation series, Hari Seldon made only one in-the-flesh appearance, in the first part of the first book (Foundation), although he did appear at other times in pre-recorded messages to reveal a "Seldon Crisis". After writing five books in chronological order, Asimov retroactively added two books to expand on the genesis of psychohistory. The two prequels—Prelude to Foundation and Forward the Foundation—describe Seldon's life in considerable detail. He is also the central character of the Second Foundation Trilogy written after Asimov's death (Foundation's Fear by Gregory Benford, Foundation and Chaos by Greg Bear, and Foundation's Triumph by David Brin), which are set after Asimov's two prequels.
Seldon is voiced by William Eedle in several episodes of the 1973 BBC Radio 4 adaptation The Foundation Trilogy, and portrayed by Jared Harris in the 2021 Apple TV+ television series adaptation Foundation.