Herman Bang (April 20, 1857 – January 29, 1912) was a Danish writer and a major proponent of Modern Breakthrough, the strong movement of naturalism which replaced romanticism in Scandinavia near the end of the 19th century. In 1880 he published his novel Haabløse Slægter (Families Without Hope). The main character was a young man who had a relationship with an older woman. The book was considered obscene at the time and was banned. During a lecture tour of the United States he was taken ill on the train and died in Ogden, Utah.