Arthur C Clarke - A Mini Biography

Arthur C Clarke was born in Minehead, Somerset in 1917. He attended Huish's Grammar School in Taunton where, at the age of 11, he bought his first science fiction magazine, Amazing Stories – a purchase that was to change his life. It set him off on a journey that saw him become one of the world's most celebrated science fiction writers.

Before he was to attain literary fame however, he spent time in the real world. While working as a radar instructor and technician with the RAF, he suggested that such technology could be used to enable instant worldwide communications. He published his theory in the magazine Wireless World, under the title Extra-Terrestrial Relays. That was in 1945, and today, over a century later, the communication satellites that Clarke envisioned are central to the global communication network. Clarke is often asked if he's sorry he didn't patent the communications satellite to which he recently replied: 'I'm not sure I could have done, but in any event I am fond of saying 'a patent is a licence to be sued.''

His satellite theory is considered to have been so important that the original paper is housed in the National Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC. It has won Clarke many prestigious awards over the years, such as the Marconi International Fellowship Award for scientific achievement and the Lindbergh Award for technological advancement. The International Astronomical Union even call the 42,000 kilometre satellite orbit position 'Clarke Orbit' in his honour – he was the first to recognize the potential usefulness of this position for orbiting satellites.

In 1945 Clarke also published his first sci-fi story, Rescue Party, in the magazine Astounding Science. He continued his education at King's College, London though and went on to receive a first class honours degree in Physics and Mathematics. The same college later made him a Fellow.In 1945 Clarke also published his first sci-fi story, Rescue Party, in the magazine Astounding Science. He continued his education at King's College, London though and went on to receive a first class honours degree in Physics and Mathematics. The same college later made him a Fellow.

In 1948 Clarke became Assistant Editor of Physics Abstracts at the Institution of Electrical Engineers. He said 'All of the world's leading scientific journals passed over my desk, and I had to mark the ones that appeared important.' For a science fiction writer like Clarke, it was a dream job.

In 1952 Clarke published the novel Exploration of Space – it became a best-seller. A year later, he published Childhood's End, a novel involving an alien occupation of Earth. It quickly became a classic and many still believe it to be his finest work.

Space odyssey

In 1964 Clarke met Stanley Kubrick, the director of Dr Strangelove. Kubrick wanted to make a science fiction movie and, with Clarke's agreement, decided to use one of Clarke's earlier short stories, The Sentinel (1948), as a model. They began working on a screenplay together. The result was the film classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, released in 1968. A few months later Clarke also released the novel.

The film is seen by many as a masterpiece. The two men received an Oscar nomination for the screenplay. The opening sequence, involving ape-like humans and a mysterious black monolith, was recently voted the second greatest science fiction moment of all time (closely behind Darth Vader's parental confession to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars). Even Nasa acknowledged the film. When the Apollo 8 crew landed on the Moon, they said they were 'tempted to radio back the discovery of a large black monolith.'

In 2001: A Space Odyssey, Clarke foresaw space stations, laptops and e-mail and a sentient super-computer (called HAL 9000). And while this last creation is not yet a reality, Clarke has been proven correct more than once and with the continuing advances in artificial intelligence his vision may yet come true.

2001: A Space Odyssey is also notable for another of Clarke's great foresights. In the novel, the space travellers use Jupiter as a 'gravitational slingshot' to boost their ship towards the outer solar system. Eleven years later, Voyager II used just this technology as it passed Neptune. He wasn't always right, however. In the 1951 story The Sands of Mars he stated 'there are no mountains on Mars', a claim he later came to regret.

Clarke also wrote three sequels to his 2001 classic – 2010: Odyssey Two (1982), 2061: Odyssey Three (1986) and 3001: The Final Odyssey (1996). He was involved in making the film of 2010, with director Peter Hyams. He even took a cameo role. But the movie failed to reproduce the success of the first film.

More accolades

Clarke became so respected in the field of science that he was asked by CBS to co-broadcast the Apollo 11, 12 and 15 lunar missions, with newsman Walter Cronkite and astronaut Wally Schirra. It was the Apollo 11 mission that carried the first men to the Moon, in 1969.
In addition to his prolific writing he has made many TV and radio appearances. His 1980s TV series on strange phenomena around the world, Mysterious World and World of Strange Powers, were global successes.

The accolades came thick and fast. He was named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1986. He won the Hugo Award twice and also the Nebula Award, both are received in recognition of achievement in science fiction. Perhaps most impressively he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994 for his 1945 paper Extra-Terrestrial Relays. He was also awarded a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) from Queen Elizabeth II in 1998.

Clarke today

Clarke has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956, where until recently, he spent much of his time indulging his passion for diving. Unfortunately, since the 1980s he has been heavily affected by post-polio syndrome and is now wheelchair-bound.

He is still active in scientific debate, however, and in 2001 he spoke at the Wernher von Braun Memorial Lecture series held at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. He stated his belief that new images of Mars clearly showed the red planet had vegetation on it: 'Something is actually moving and changing with the seasons.' Whether he is correct or not remains to be seen, but it is clear that despite old age and sickness, the great brain behind communications satellites, Childhood's End and 2001: A Space Odyssey is still hard at work.

Find out more at these websites:

Arthur C Clarke
www.lsi.usp.br/~rbianchi/clarke
Fan-based site dedicated to the science fiction author, with views and information on his life and work.

Arthur C Clarke
www.kirjasto.sci.fi/aclarke.htm
A short biography of the writer, including a comprehensive list of his best known works.

The Sir Arthur C Clarke Institute for Telecommunications and Information www.clarkeinstitute.com
Website of institute whose mission is 'to seek to solve 21st century problems through electronic networking of leading researchers and educators around the globe.'