Full record for Sturgeon's Law n.

Definition a humorous aphorism which maintains that most of any body of published material, knowledge, etc., or (more generally) of everything is worthless: based on a statement by Sturgeon, usually later cited as '90 per cent of everything is crap'
OED requirements antedating 1960
Earliest cite P.S. Miller in Analog
Comment The statement has a history going back to the early 1950's, and was for a while known as Sturgeon's Revelation; see the Theodore Sturgeon page FAQ for more details. It would appear from this account that citations for "Sturgeon's Law" ought to be findable from before 1972.

The web page referenced above gives a reference to a 1958 citation for "Sturgeon's Revelation", an early name for Sturgeon's Law. Mike Christie located this citation and submitted it; however this does not push back the earliest date for citations for "Sturgeon's Law". Bill Seabrook then submitted a 1968 citation from the blurb to Sturgeon's "A Way Home"; we have checked the 1956 edition and the blurb does not include the phrase. Alexx Kay checked the 1961 edition and it doesn't contain the phrase either.

Phil Klass's wife, Fruma Klass, sent in a note about the origin of the law (not the phrase "Sturgeon's Law", but the law itself). According to Phil Klass (William Tenn) Sturgeon made the remark to a talk at NYU around 1951.

Fred Galvin submitted cites from Judith Merril and Theodore Cogswell from the 1963 "The Proceedings; CHICON III". Fred Galvin submitted a 1957 cite for "Sturgeon's Revelation" in Venture Science Fiction. Fred Galvin submitted a 1957 cite for the phrase "Sturgeon's Law" but with the meaning "Nothing is always absolutely so" in Venture Science Fiction. Fred Galvin submitted a 1960 cite for the "90%" sense from P. Schulyer Miller in Analog.

We are still interested in cites before 1960 for "Sturgeon's Law" with the "90% of everything" meaning, and cites before 1957 for variant names for the law.

Added to the OED3 in March 2003; updated in June 2004 with an earliest cite of 1963 for "Sturgeon's Law" and a bracketed cite of 1958 for "Sturgeon's Revelation".
Last modified 6 July, 2008

Citations for Sturgeon's Law n.

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1958 ‘T. Sturgeon’ in Venture Sci. Fiction Mar. 66/2 It is in this vein that I repeat Sturgeon's Revelation, which was wrung out of me after twenty years of wearying defense of science fiction against the attacks of people who used the worst examples of the field for ammunition, and whose conclusion was that ninety percent of s f is crud. The Revelation: Ninety percent of everything is crud. Corollary 1: The existence of immense quantities of trash in science fiction is admitted and it is regrettable; but it is no more unnatural than the existence of trash anywhere. Corollary 2: The best science fiction is as good as the best fiction in any field.
1963 J. Merril Proceedings: Chicon III 35 I think it was probably the final statement which sort of eliminates this discussion but we will go ahead with it anyhow and that was the memorable Sturgeon Law that 90 per cent of everything is crud; including, we regret to say, science fiction.
1963 T. R. Cogswell Proceedings: Chicon III 38 Judy mentioned Sturgeon's Law; she was kind enough not to bring the new revisions which is that 9/10ths of all science fiction is bad enough to be written by Ted Cogswell.
1990 P. Anderson in Thrust Winter 16/2 Be it simply agreed that most of what appears to popular taste ranges from bad to abysmal. Sturgeon's Revelation, you know: Ninety percent of everything is crud. (This is usually quoted as Sturgeon's Law, but that, according to the man himself, reads ‘Nothing is every [sic] absolutely so’.)
1993 SFRA Rev. May–June 42 But that is no reason for literary scholars to avoid studying or reading them, (after all, [Theodore] Sturgeon's Law states ‘90% of everything is crap’).
1994 Sci. Fiction Age July 15/1 Well, look at it this way: Sturgeon's Law applies to the concept too.
1994 B. Bova Craft of Writing Sci. Fict. that Sells vi. 44 This is merely proof of Sturgeon's Law, coined many years ago by one of the best science fiction writers, Theodore Sturgeon: ‘Ninety-five percent of science fiction is crud; but then, ninety-five percent of everything is crud.’