Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (Minehead, Somerset, 6 December 1917 – Colombo, Sri Lanka, 19 March 2008) was a British writer and inventor. He was most famous for his science fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for working with director Stanley Kubrick on the movie of the same name. Clarke and Isaac Asimov were probably the two best-known science fiction writers of their day.

Some of Clarke's novels include Childhood's End, A Fall of Moondust, The Songs of Distant Earth, The Sands of Mars, and Meeting with Medusa. He also wrote many short stories, and several serious works on science.Clarke, Arthur C. 1950. Interplanetary flight: an introduction to astronautics. London: Temple Press.Clarke, Arthur C. 1951. The exploration of space. London: Temple Press, 1951. Updated/revised 1959 and 1979 (with a new introduction).Clarke, Arthur C. 1962. Profiles of the future. London: Gollancz, and Pan Books.

Clarke served in the Royal Air Force as a radar instructor and technician from 1941 to 1946. He proposed a satellite communication system in 1945 which won him the Franklin Institute Gold Medal in 1963.The 1945 Proposal by Arthur C. Clarke for Geostationary Satellite Communications

He was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1947 to 1950 and again from 1951 to 1953.

Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving; That year, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998, and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, Sri Lankabhimanya, in 2005.Government Notification—National Honours , November 2005. Retrieved on 20 October 2008

Clarke died from heart and respiratory failure at the age of 90.

Related pages
 Arthur C. Clarke Award

 References 

 Other websites 
 Arthur C. Clarke Awards Official site 
 Arthur C. Clarke links & image archive

Category:1917 births
Category:2008 deaths
Category:English science fiction writers
Category:English inventors
Category:English LGBT writers
Category:English novelists
Category:English science writers
Category:Gay men
Category:Nebula Award winning writers
Category:Writers from Somerset