16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008
"Sometimes I think we're alone in the universe, and sometimes I
think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering."
think we're not. In either case the idea is quite staggering."
One of science fiction's greatest writers has died, at the age of 90, after suffering from breathing problems.
Arthur C. Clarke was the brains behind such classics as The Sentinel (which he expanded to become 2001: A Space Odyssey as part of Stanley Kubrick's film project), Childhood's End and Rendezvous With Rama. He wrote over 30 fictional novels, over 40 non-fiction books on a range of scientific topics, and 13 collections of short stories. He was regarded as one of the fathers of science fiction, alongside such luminaries as H.G Wells, Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
Clarke was also a credited with having propagated the idea of geo-stationery satellites (which became a reality), and was a notable deep sea researcher. He became particularly well-known to people through his 1980s television programmes Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World and Arthur C. Clarke's World Of Strange Powers.
He was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome in 1988, a condition that eventually left him wheelchair-bound and unable to leave Sri Lanka (where he had emigrated to from the UK in 1956). Clarke leaves behind a rich legacy of ideas, creativity and scientific knowledge, for future generations to enjoy and be inspired by.
