When did science fiction begin?

From the Earth To the Moorn (l869 as I recall) by Verne. Old Jules never used the sobriquet ( science-fiction) though he founded the genre. Earlier Edgar Allen Poe did some way-out fantasies- the narrative of A.Gordon Pym which dealt with hollow-earth and reversed gravity fields near the polar regions-and as there was some element of scientific speculation there, that might be considered pioneer sci- fi There are even elements- such as a longer differential life span- 300 years for mermaids- in the fantasy novels of Hans Christian Andersen! Andersen also theorized the Mermaids dissolved into the water a the end of this period- neatly avoiding any bodies or fossils being found by explorers, a neat science-fictional touch!

Science fiction isn't anything new, only the classification is new. Science fiction can be found in the Legend of Daedalus all the way back in the bronze age.