Changes

[[File:Clarke cropped.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Sir Arthur C. Clarke at his home in 2005]]

{{Infobox writer|image=Clarke cropped.jpg|caption=Arthur C. Clarke in 2005|pseudonym=Charles Willis<br/>E. G. O'Brien|birth_name=Arthur Charles Clarke|birth_date={{Birth date|1917|12|16|df=yes}}|birth_place=[[Minehead]], Somerset, England|death_date={{death date and age|2008|3|19|1917|12|16|df=yes}}|death_place=[[Colombo]], Sri Lanka|occupation={{flatlist|

 

Sir '''Arthur Charles Clarke''' ([[Minehead]], [[Somerset]], 6 December 1917 – [[Colombo]], [[Sri Lanka]], 19 March 2008) was a [[British people|British]] [[writer]] and [[inventor]]. He was most famous for his [[science fiction]] [[novel]] ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', and for working with [[movie director|director]] [[Stanley Kubrick]] on the movie of the same name. Clarke and [[Isaac Asimov]] were probably the two best-known science fiction writers of their day.

* futurist}}|alma_mater=[[King's College London]]|spouse={{marriage|Marilyn Mayfield<br/>|1953|1964|end=div}}|period=1946–2008|genre=[[Science fiction]]<br/>[[Popular science]]|subject=Science|notableworks=''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]''|website={{URL|http://clarkefoundation.org/}}|honorific prefix=[[Sir]]|honorific suffix={{postnom|country=GBR|size=100|CBE|FRAS}}}}Sir '''Arthur Charles Clarke''' ([[Minehead]], [[Somerset]], 6 December 1917 – [[Colombo]], [[Sri Lanka]], 19 March 2008) was a [[British people|British]] [[writer]] and [[inventor]]. He was most famous for his [[science fiction]] [[novel]] ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', and for working with [[movie director|director]] [[Stanley Kubrick]] on the movie of the same name. Clarke and [[Isaac Asimov]] were probably the two best-known science fiction writers of their day.

Some of Clarke's novels include ''[[Childhood's End]]'', ''[[A Fall of Moondust]]'', ''[[The Songs of Distant Earth]]'', ''[[The Sands of Mars]]'', and ''[[Meeting with Medusa]]''. He also wrote many [[short story|short stories]], and several serious works on science.<ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1950. ''Interplanetary flight: an introduction to astronautics''. London: Temple Press.</ref><ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1951. ''The exploration of space''. London: Temple Press, 1951. Updated/revised 1959 and 1979 (with a new introduction).</ref><ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1962. ''Profiles of the future''. London: Gollancz, and Pan Books.</ref>

Some of Clarke's novels include ''[[Childhood's End]]'', ''[[A Fall of Moondust]]'', ''[[The Songs of Distant Earth]]'', ''[[The Sands of Mars]]'', and ''[[Meeting with Medusa]]''. He also wrote many [[short story|short stories]], and several serious works on science.<ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1950. ''Interplanetary flight: an introduction to astronautics''. London: Temple Press.</ref><ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1951. ''The exploration of space''. London: Temple Press, 1951. Updated/revised 1959 and 1979 (with a new introduction).</ref><ref>Clarke, Arthur C. 1962. ''Profiles of the future''. London: Gollancz, and Pan Books.</ref>

Clarke served in the [[Royal Air Force]] as a [[radar]] instructor and technician from 1941 to 1946. He proposed a [[satellite (artificial)|satellite]] communication system in 1945 which won him the [[Franklin Institute]] Gold Medal in 1963.<ref>[http://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww The 1945 Proposal by Arthur C. Clarke for Geostationary Satellite Communications]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clarkefoundation.org/archives/1996.php |title=The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation |access-date=2011-09-23 |archive-date=2011-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725175706/http://www.clarkefoundation.org/archives/1996.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Clarke served in the [[Royal Air Force]] as a [[radar]] instructor and technician from 1941 to 1946. He proposed a [[satellite (artificial)|satellite]] communication system in 1945 which won him the [[Franklin Institute]] Gold Medal in 1963.<ref>[http://lakdiva.org/clarke/1945ww The 1945 Proposal by Arthur C. Clarke for Geostationary Satellite Communications]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.clarkefoundation.org/archives/1996.php |title=The Arthur C. Clarke Foundation |access-date=2011-09-23 |archive-date=2011-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725175706/http://www.clarkefoundation.org/archives/1996.php |url-status=dead }}</ref>

He was the [[chairman]] of the [[British Interplanetary Society]] from 1947 to 1950 and again in 1953.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/092/clarke-nobel-prize.html |title=Moon Miners' Manifesto: Arthur C Clarke nominated for Nobel |access-date=2011-09-23 |archive-date=2008-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010183429/http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/092/clarke-nobel-prize.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>Benford G. 2008. Obituary: Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008). ''Nature'' '''452''' (7187): 546–546. [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/452546a.html] PMID 18385726</ref>

He was the [[chairman]] of the [[British Interplanetary Society]] from 1947 to 1950 and again from 1951 to 1953.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/092/clarke-nobel-prize.html |title=Moon Miners' Manifesto: Arthur C Clarke nominated for Nobel |access-date=2011-09-23 |archive-date=2008-10-10 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010183429/http://www.asi.org/adb/06/09/03/02/092/clarke-nobel-prize.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Benford|first=Gregory|date=2008|title=Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008)|url=https://www.nature.com/articles/452546a|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=452|issue=7187|pages=546–546|doi=10.1038/452546a|issn=1476-4687}}</ref>

Clarke emigrated to [[Sri Lanka]] in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in [[scuba diving]];<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.natureseychelles.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=326&Itemid=106 | title = Remembering Arthur C. Clarke | accessdate = 2008-03-27 | archive-date = 2008-06-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080620051133/http://www.natureseychelles.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=326&Itemid=106 | url-status = dead }}</ref> That year, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient [[Koneswaram temple]] in [[Trincomalee]]. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death. He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in 1998,<ref name=BBCsfknight>{{cite news | title = The new knight of science fiction | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/43739.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 1 January 1998 | accessdate = 26 August 2009}}</ref><ref name=BBCknighted>{{cite news | title = Arthur C Clarke knighted | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/765385.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 26 May 2000 | accessdate = 26 August 2009}}</ref> and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, [[Sri Lankabhimanya]], in 2005.<ref name=SriLankabhimanya>[http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca200511/National_Honours_Gazette_Notification.pdf Government Notification—National Honours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724105414/http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca200511/National_Honours_Gazette_Notification.pdf |date=2010-07-24 }}, November 2005. Retrieved on 20 October 2008</ref>

Clarke emigrated to [[Sri Lanka]] in 1956 largely to pursue his interest in [[scuba diving]];<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.natureseychelles.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=326&Itemid=106 | title = Remembering Arthur C. Clarke | accessdate = 2008-03-27 | archive-date = 2008-06-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080620051133/http://www.natureseychelles.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=326&Itemid=106 | url-status = dead }}</ref> That year, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient [[Koneswaram temple]] in [[Trincomalee]]. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death. He was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] in 1998,<ref name=BBCsfknight>{{cite news | title = The new knight of science fiction | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/43739.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 1 January 1998 | accessdate = 26 August 2009}}</ref><ref name=BBCknighted>{{cite news | title = Arthur C Clarke knighted | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/765385.stm | work = BBC News | publisher = BBC | date = 26 May 2000 | accessdate = 26 August 2009}}</ref> and was awarded Sri Lanka's highest civil honour, [[Sri Lankabhimanya]], in 2005.<ref name=SriLankabhimanya>[http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca200511/National_Honours_Gazette_Notification.pdf Government Notification—National Honours] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724105414/http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/Current_Affairs/ca200511/National_Honours_Gazette_Notification.pdf |date=2010-07-24 }}, November 2005. Retrieved on 20 October 2008</ref>