Emmett Lathrop "Doc" Brown, Ph.D., is the inventor of the first time machine, built out of a 1981 DeLorean sports car. He possesses great admiration for scientists from previous eras, naming successive pet dogs Copernicus and Einstein, and having portraits of Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein in his laboratory. His favorite author is Jules Verne and his family name was originally "von Braun" before World War I. Emmett's work is highly regarded, having won a number of awards, however, he is quite absent-minded at times. Loud and sprightly, he often speaks with wide-eyed expressions and broad gestures with "Great Scott!" being one of his well-known catchphrases. Doc has been involved with illegal and criminal enterprises (albeit as a means to obtain items for his inventions he could not purchase legally) but he is naive and care-free about the consequences of his actions. Doc and his good friend Marty actually met several years prior to the events of the first time travel experiment when Marty, out of curiosity, snuck into Doc's lab. The timeline of their friendship is of course confusing, and neither Doc nor Marty are certain of the true order of events.
