Arthur C. Clarke

British science fiction writer, inventor, and futurist (1917-2008) · United Kingdom · Writers · Died at 90

Arthur C. Clarke is read about 3,345 times a day, in 90 languages.

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He sketched the satellite grid that would wire the planet decades before the first one launched, then co-wrote the film that redefined what science fiction could be on screen.

Writers Scientist Screenwriting Fiction Chemistry Literature Physics United Kingdom

A life in dates

2008Died19 March 20082005Sri LankabhimanyaAward2004Retro Hugo Award for Best Short StoryAward1997Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of FameAward1994Knight BachelorAward1989Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward1986Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master AwardAward1980Nebula Award for Best NovelAward1974Hugo Award for Best NovelAwardJohn W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction NovelAwardNebula Award for Best NovelAward1973BSFA Award for Best NovelAward1963Stuart Ballantine MedalAward1961Kalinga PrizeAward1956“Somewhere back at the beginning I was chosen to be Jester, and there is only one Jester at a time in Diaspar. Most people think that is one too many.”In their wordsCh. 5, p. 33Read the whole statement

“Khedron was content with the order of things as it was. True, he might upset that order from time to time - but only by a little. He was a critic, not a revolutionary.”In their wordsCh. 7, p. 44Read the whole statement

1953“Science can destroy religion by ignoring it as well as by disproving its tenets.”In their wordsChildhood's End (1953), p. 15Read the whole statement

“Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out.”In their wordsRead the whole statement

1952International Fantasy Award for Best Non FictionAward1951“Others, one suspects, are afraid that the crossing of space, and above all contact with intelligent but nonhuman races, may destroy the foundations of their religious faith.”In their wordsThe Exploration of Space (1951)Read the whole statement

1948“I can never look now at the Milky Way without wondering from which of those banked clouds of stars the emissaries are coming.”In their words"The Sentinel" (1948), originally titled "Sentinel of Eternity".Read the whole statement

1917Born16 December 1917

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Arthur C. Clarke 1965

2001 A Space Odyssey (1968)

304 Romana LL 72x49cm oil on board

A Fall of Moondust (1961)

Against the Fall of Night (1954)

Arthur C Clarke typewriter

Arthur C. Clarke - Le sabbie di Marte (The Sands of Mars) - I Romanzi di Urania Mondadori 10 ottobre 1952

Arthur C. Clarke Plaque

In their own words 10

Arthur C. Clarke

10 statements, newest first

If the artist did not know his goal, even the most miraculous of tools could not find it for him.
1956, Ch. 2, p. 13, Own words
Somewhere back at the beginning I was chosen to be Jester, and there is only one Jester at a time in Diaspar. Most people think that is one too many.
1956, Ch. 5, p. 33, Own words
There still remained, for all men to share, the linked worlds of love and art.
1956, Ch. 5, p. 37, Own words

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Awards

Geffen Award for Best Translated Science Fiction Novel2005

Sri Lankabhimanya2005

Retro Hugo Award for Best Short Story2004

Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame1997

Theodore von Kármán Award1996

Knight Bachelor1994

Commander of the Order of the British Empire1989

International Space Hall of Fame1989

Damon Knight Memorial Grand Master Award1986

Marconi Prize1982

Nebula Award for Best Novel1980

Hugo Award for Best Novel1980

Nebula Award for Best Novel1974

Hugo Award for Best Novel1974

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel1974

Locus Award for Best Novel1974

Nebula Award for Best Novella1973

BSFA Award for Best Novel1973

Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation1969

Stuart Ballantine Medal1963

Kalinga Prize1961

Hugo Award for Best Short Story1956

International Fantasy Award for Best Non Fiction1952

In their orbit

Spouse: Marilyn Mayfield

About this person

Clarke joined the British Interplanetary Society as a teenager in 1934 and in 1945 proposed a satellite communication system using geostationary orbits - a concept that would underpin global telecommunications. His science fiction writing, which earned him Hugo and Nebula awards and a UNESCO Kalinga Prize in 1961, placed him alongside Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov in the genre's "Big Three." The 1968 screenplay he co-wrote for 2001: A Space Odyssey became one of the most influential films ever made. In 1956 he moved to Ceylon to dive, discovered underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram Temple in Trincomalee, and stayed. He hosted Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World in the 1980s, was knighted in 1998, and received Sri Lanka's highest civil honour in 2005, seven years before his death.

Country

United Kingdom

In common with Arthur

Stanley KubrickAlso in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Helen MirrenAlso in 2010 (1984)

Kay LenzAlso in Trapped in Space (1994)

Keir DulleaAlso in 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Syd MeadAlso in 2010 : The Odyssey Continues (1984)

Malini FonsekaAlso in Baddegama (1980)

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