Arthur C. Clarke
“I became operational at the H.A.L. lab in Urbana, Illinois on the 12th of January, 1992.” Arthur C. Clarke became operational in 1917, in England. Although his first job was as an auditor in the British civil service, it was while working as a radar instructor in World War II, in 1945, that Clarke wrote a paper proposing to use satellites for communications across the globe. In fact, his writing career has been as notable for his non-fiction essays as it has been for creating some of our most enduring science fiction. His first two science fiction stories were published in 1946. His first novel, the appropriately titled Prelude to Space, was published in 1951. With a body of work now numbering over six hundred articles and short stories, and seventy-five novels, it was his 1953 short story, The Sentinel, that would bring world renown to Arthur C. Clarke. In 1968, that short story became 2001: A Space Odyssey. The screenplay was written by Clarke and the film’s director Stanley Kubrick, both of whom received an Oscar nomination for their work. Clarke has expanded the story further with 2010: Odyssey Two (1982), 2061: Odyssey Three (1988), and 3001: The Final Odyssey (1997). Other major novels include Earthlight (1955), Rendezvous with Rama (1973), and The Fountains of Paradise (1979). His memoir, Astounding Days: A Science Fictional Autobiography, was published in 1989. Clarke, a scuba diving fanatic, has lived in Sri Lanka since 1956. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998. “My instructor was Mr. Langley and he taught me to sing a song. If you’d like to hear it, I can sing it for you...It’s called ‘Daisy’.”
