Arthur C. Clarke

Arthur Clarke was born in Somerset, England in 1917, the oldest of four children. He spent his childhood on a farm, looking at the stars through a homemade telescope and reading science fiction magazines, including the literary magazine Amazing Stories, which he credited as a major influence on his own entrance into science fiction. During World War II, Clarke was a member of the Royal Air Force for five years, working as a radar specialist and helping to develop new guidance systems. After the war’s end, Clarke attended King’s College in London, studying physics and mathematics. He continued working as a writer and editor, and was also the president of the British Interplanetary Society during two different periods. Clarke was a large influence on the development of geostationary satellites, foreseeing that they someday could make powerful relay points for telecommunication. He also wrote several nonfiction titles about futurism and the implications of space travel on society. During this period of his life, Clarke began to gain a reputation as a science fiction author, beginning with the novella, Against the Fall of Night. The publication of Childhood’s End, his third science fiction novel, made him as one of the most popular authors of his time. Clarke wrote many more Hugo and Nebula Award-winning novels, developed the screenplay of 2001: A Space Odyssey with Stanley Kubrick, and hosted a number of TV shows dedicated to exploration of the paranormal. Clarke and Robert Heinlein, two of the “Big Three” authors of 20th century science fiction (the third being Isaac Asimov), became good friends until political disagreements drove them apart in the 1980s. During his final years, Clarke was knighted for his contributions to science. He died in 2008, named by many as the greatest science fiction author of all time, with well over 100 novels, essays, and short stories to his credit.