Arthur C. Clarke, a science fiction author, has
had a very interesting life.
Arthur was born on December 16, 1917, in
Minehead, England. He was the oldest of four children. His two brothers
were Frederick and Michael, and his
sister's name was Mary. As a child, he
enjoyed science very much. He lived on a small farm, and enjoyed frequent trips
to the nearby ocean. When he was 13 years old, he constructed his own
telescope, and changed a bike light to transmit sound along the path of light
it gave off. Arthur made his first literary connections by writing in the
school newspaper.
He attended elementary, Middle, and high school
in his home town, and then later went to King's College in London, where he made honors in Math and in
Physics in 1948.
After Arthur had finished college, he became a
member of the Royal Air Force.Then later he became the assistant editor of
Science Abstracts, a science magazine. After quitting his job as the assistant
editor, he decided to become a full-time science fiction author.
Arthur has never been married, and still, to
this day, is a bachelor.
Clarke is a very successful writer. In fact, he
is considered to be one of the most successful science fiction authors ever! He
has written many books, including: Hammer of god; 2001, a space Odyssey;
Prelude to Space; The Sands of Mars; Islands in the Sky; Against the Fall of
Night; Childhood's End; Expedition to Earth; Going into Space; and Earthlight.
Arthur has also written a few Nonfiction books, like Interplanetary Flight, and
The Exploration of Space. Also, one day, he had an argument with a colleague,
and said, " When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that
something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that
something is impossible, he is very probably wrong." (Science Digest
)
Arthur has won many prestigious awards,
including the UNESCO Kalinga Prize, The Franklin Institute gold medal, the
Robert S. Ball award, and the Aviation/Space Writers Association Award.
An interesting fact is that Clarke proposed a
belt of communication satellites, and now they exist. He also helped make the
idea of space travel popular in the sixties. For some army history, Arthur
joined the RAF in 1941. He specialized in radar, and was put in charge of the
Ground Controlled Approach unit when it was still in its experimental stages.
I think he said it best - "I don't pretend
that we have the answers, but the questions are certainly worth thinking
about." ( OMNI)
Arthur now resides in Sri Lanka, and has not
left the country for many years. He has recently finished making a computer
with a fellow science fiction author, and has finished his sequel to his book
"2001- A Space Odyssey". The sequel is "3001 - A Space
Odyssey".
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