Arthur C. Clarke(1917-2008)
- Writer
- Actor
- Art Department
Arthur C. Clarke was born in the seaside town of Minehead, Somerset,
England in December 16, 1917. In 1936 he moved to London, where he
joined the British Interplanetary Society. There he started to
experiment with astronautic material in the BIS, write the BIS Bulletin
and science fiction. During World War II, as a RAF officer, he was in
charge of the first radar talk-down equipment, the Ground Controlled
Approach, during its experimental trials. His only non-science-fiction
novel, Glide Path, is based on this work. After the war, he returned to
London and to the BIS, which he presided in 46-47 and 50-53. In 1945 he
published the technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays" laying down
the principles of the satellite com- communication with satellites in
geostationary orbits - a speculation realized 25 years later. His
invention has brought him numerous honors, such as the 1982 Marconi
International Fellowship, a gold medal of the Franklin Institute, the
Vikram Sarabhai Professorship of the Physical Research Laboratory,
Ahmedabad, the Lindbergh Award and a Fellowship of King's College,
London. Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometers is named
The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union. The first
story Clarke sold professionally was "Rescue Party", written in March
1945 and appearing in Astounding Science in May 1946. He obtained first
class honors in Physics and Mathematics at the King's College, London,
in 1948.
In 1953 he met an American named Marilyn Torgenson, and married her
less than three weeks later. They split in December 1953. As Clarke
says, "The marriage was incompatible from the beginning. It was
sufficient proof that I wasn't the marrying type, although I think
everybody should marry once". Clarke first visited Colombo, Sri Lanka
(at the time called Ceylon) in December 1954. In 1954 Clarke wrote to
Dr Harry Wexler, then chief of the Scientific Services Division, U.S.
Weather Bureau, about satellite applications for weather forecasting.
Of these communications, a new branch of meteorology was born, and Dr.
Wexler became the driving force in using rockets and satellites for
meteorological research and operations. In 1954 Clarke started to give
up space for the sea. About the reasons, he said: "I now realise that
it was my interest in astronautics that led me to the ocean. Both
involve exploration, of course - but that's not the only reason. When
the first skin-diving equipment started to appear in the late 1940s, I
suddenly realized that here was a cheap and simple way of imitating one
of the most magical aspects of spaceflight - weightessness." In the
book Profiles of the Future (1962) he looks at the probable shape of
tomorrow's world. In this book he states his three Laws: 1."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." 2."The only way of discovering
the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into
the impossible." 3."Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic." In 1964, he started to work with Stanley
Kubrick in a SF (Science Fiction) movie script. After 4 years, he shared an Oscar Academy
Award nomination with him for the film version of 2001: A Space
Odyssey. He co-broadcasted the Apollo 11 , 12 and 15 missions with
Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra for CBS. In 1985, He published a
sequel to 2001 : 2010: Odyssey Two. He worked with Peter Hyams in the
movie version of 2010. They work was done using a Kaypro computer and a
modem, for Arthur was in Sri Lanka and Peter Hyams in Los Angeles.
Their communications turned into the book The Odyssey File - The Making
of 2010. His thirteen-part TV series Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious
World in 1981 and Arthur C. Clarke's World of strange Powers in 1984
has now been screened in many countries. He made part of other TV
series about the space, as Walter Cronkite's Universe series in 1981.
He has lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka since 1956 and has been doing
underwater exploration along that coast and the Great Barrier Reef. So
far it has been to over 70 books, almost as many non-fiction, as
science fiction. In March 1998, his latest, and probably last, novel:
3001: The Final Odyssey was released.
England in December 16, 1917. In 1936 he moved to London, where he
joined the British Interplanetary Society. There he started to
experiment with astronautic material in the BIS, write the BIS Bulletin
and science fiction. During World War II, as a RAF officer, he was in
charge of the first radar talk-down equipment, the Ground Controlled
Approach, during its experimental trials. His only non-science-fiction
novel, Glide Path, is based on this work. After the war, he returned to
London and to the BIS, which he presided in 46-47 and 50-53. In 1945 he
published the technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays" laying down
the principles of the satellite com- communication with satellites in
geostationary orbits - a speculation realized 25 years later. His
invention has brought him numerous honors, such as the 1982 Marconi
International Fellowship, a gold medal of the Franklin Institute, the
Vikram Sarabhai Professorship of the Physical Research Laboratory,
Ahmedabad, the Lindbergh Award and a Fellowship of King's College,
London. Today, the geostationary orbit at 36,000 kilometers is named
The Clarke Orbit by the International Astronomical Union. The first
story Clarke sold professionally was "Rescue Party", written in March
1945 and appearing in Astounding Science in May 1946. He obtained first
class honors in Physics and Mathematics at the King's College, London,
in 1948.
In 1953 he met an American named Marilyn Torgenson, and married her
less than three weeks later. They split in December 1953. As Clarke
says, "The marriage was incompatible from the beginning. It was
sufficient proof that I wasn't the marrying type, although I think
everybody should marry once". Clarke first visited Colombo, Sri Lanka
(at the time called Ceylon) in December 1954. In 1954 Clarke wrote to
Dr Harry Wexler, then chief of the Scientific Services Division, U.S.
Weather Bureau, about satellite applications for weather forecasting.
Of these communications, a new branch of meteorology was born, and Dr.
Wexler became the driving force in using rockets and satellites for
meteorological research and operations. In 1954 Clarke started to give
up space for the sea. About the reasons, he said: "I now realise that
it was my interest in astronautics that led me to the ocean. Both
involve exploration, of course - but that's not the only reason. When
the first skin-diving equipment started to appear in the late 1940s, I
suddenly realized that here was a cheap and simple way of imitating one
of the most magical aspects of spaceflight - weightessness." In the
book Profiles of the Future (1962) he looks at the probable shape of
tomorrow's world. In this book he states his three Laws: 1."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." 2."The only way of discovering
the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into
the impossible." 3."Any sufficiently advanced technology is
indistinguishable from magic." In 1964, he started to work with Stanley
Kubrick in a SF (Science Fiction) movie script. After 4 years, he shared an Oscar Academy
Award nomination with him for the film version of 2001: A Space
Odyssey. He co-broadcasted the Apollo 11 , 12 and 15 missions with
Walter Cronkite and Wally Schirra for CBS. In 1985, He published a
sequel to 2001 : 2010: Odyssey Two. He worked with Peter Hyams in the
movie version of 2010. They work was done using a Kaypro computer and a
modem, for Arthur was in Sri Lanka and Peter Hyams in Los Angeles.
Their communications turned into the book The Odyssey File - The Making
of 2010. His thirteen-part TV series Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious
World in 1981 and Arthur C. Clarke's World of strange Powers in 1984
has now been screened in many countries. He made part of other TV
series about the space, as Walter Cronkite's Universe series in 1981.
He has lived in Colombo, Sri Lanka since 1956 and has been doing
underwater exploration along that coast and the Great Barrier Reef. So
far it has been to over 70 books, almost as many non-fiction, as
science fiction. In March 1998, his latest, and probably last, novel:
3001: The Final Odyssey was released.