Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur C. Clarke was born in Somerset in 1917. He authored or co-authored over 100 books of science fiction and science fact, and conceived satellite communications in 1945. Among his science fiction classics was the short story ‘The Sentinel’ that formed the basis for 2001: A Space Odyssey, which he co-wrote with Stanley Kubrick with whom he shared an Oscar nomination for the screenplay.
His honours include several Doctorates in science and literature, a Franklin Institute Gold Medal, the Marconi Fellowship, the Charles A. Lindbergh Award, the UNESCO-Kalinga Prize. In 1989 the Queen awarded him a CBE, and in 1998 he was knighted in the New Year’s Honours List.
He lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 and died there in March 2008, at his home, shortly after completing his final book, The Last Theorem.
