Sir Arthur Charles ClarkeCBEFRAS (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was an Englishscience fiction writer, science writer,futurist,[3] inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
Clarke was a science fiction writer, an avid populariser of space travel, and a futurist of distinguished ability. He wrote many books and many essays for popular magazines. In 1961, he received theKalinga Prize, aUNESCO award for popularising science. Clarke's science and science fiction writings earned him themoniker "Prophet of the Space Age".[4] His science fiction writings in particular earned him a number ofHugo andNebula awards, which along with a large readership, made him one of the towering figures of the genre. For many years Clarke,Robert Heinlein, andIsaac Asimov were known as the "Big Three" of science fiction.[5] Clarke co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film2001: A Space Odyssey, widely regarded as one of the most influential films of all time.[6][7]
Clarke emigrated toCeylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1956, to pursue his interest inscuba diving.[10] That year, he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient originalKoneswaram Temple inTrincomalee. Clarke augmented his popularity in the 1980s, as the host of television shows such asArthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World. He lived in Sri Lanka until his death.[11]
In his teens, he joined the Junior Astronomical Association and contributed toUrania, the society's journal, which was edited inGlasgow by Marion Eadie. At Clarke's request, she added an "Astronautics" section, which featured a series of articles written by him on spacecraft and space travel. Clarke also contributed pieces to the "Debates and Discussions Corner", a counterpoint to aUrania article offering the case against space travel, and also his recollections of the Walt Disney filmFantasia. He moved to London in 1936 and joined theBoard of Education as a pensions auditor.[18] He and some fellow science fiction writers shared a flat inGray's Inn Road, where he got the nickname "Ego" because of his absorption in subjects that interested him,[19] and later named his office filled with memorabilia as his "ego chamber".[20]
During theSecond World War from 1941 to 1946, he served in theRoyal Air Force as a radar specialist and was involved in theearly-warning radar defence system, which contributed to the RAF's success during theBattle of Britain. Clarke spent most of his wartime service working onground-controlled approach (GCA) radar, as documented in the semiautobiographicalGlide Path, his only non-science fiction novel. Although GCA did not see much practical use during the war, after several years of development it proved vital to theBerlin Airlift of 1948–1949. Clarke initially served in the ranks and was acorporal instructor on radar at No.2 Radio School,RAF Yatesbury in Wiltshire. He was commissioned as apilot officer (technical branch) on 27 May 1943.[21] He was promoted toflying officer on 27 November 1943.[22] He was appointed chief training instructor atRAF Honiley in Warwickshire and wasdemobilised with the rank offlight lieutenant.
Although he was not the originator of the concept ofgeostationary satellites, one of his most important contributions in this field was his idea that they would be ideal telecommunications relays. He advanced this idea in a paper privately circulated among the core technical members of the British Interplanetary Society in 1945. The concept was published inWireless World in October of that year.[8] Clarke also wrote a number of nonfiction books describing the technical details and societal implications of rocketry and space flight. The most notable of these may beInterplanetary Flight: An Introduction to Astronautics (1950),The Exploration of Space (1951), andThe Promise of Space (1968). In recognition of these contributions, thegeostationary orbit 36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) above the equator is officially recognised by theInternational Astronomical Union as theClarke Orbit.[28]
His 1951 book,The Exploration of Space, was used by the rocket pioneerWernher von Braun to convince PresidentJohn F. Kennedy that it was possible to go to the Moon.[29]
Following the 1968 release of2001, Clarke became much in demand as a commentator on science and technology, especially at the time of theApollo space program. On 20 July 1969, Clarke appeared as a commentator for theCBS News broadcast of theApollo 11 Moon landing.[30][31]
Clarke lived in Sri Lanka from 1956 until his death in 2008, first inUnawatuna on the south coast, and then inColombo.[32] Initially, he and his friend Mike Wilson travelled around Sri Lanka, diving in the coral waters around the coast with the Beachcombers Club. In 1957, during a dive trip offTrincomalee, Clarke discovered the underwater ruins of a temple, which subsequently made the region popular with divers.[33] He described it in his 1957 bookThe Reefs of Taprobane. This was his second diving book after the 1956The Coast of Coral.[34] Though Clarke lived mostly in Colombo, he set up a small dive school and a simple dive shop near Trincomalee. He dived often atHikkaduwa, Trincomalee, andNilaveli.[35]
The Sri Lankan government offered Clarke resident guest status in 1975.[36] He was held in such high esteem that when fellow science fiction writerRobert A. Heinlein came to visit, theSri Lanka Air Force provided ahelicopter to take them around the country.[37] In the early 1970s, Clarke signed a three-book publishing deal, a record for a science fiction writer at the time. The first of the three wasRendezvous with Rama in 1973, which won all the main genre awards[38] and spawned sequels that along with the2001 series formed the backbone of his later career.
In 1994, Clarke appeared in ascience fiction film; he portrayed himself in the filmWithout Warning, an American production about an apocalyptic alien first-contact scenario presented in the form of a faux newscast.
Clarke also became active in promoting the protection of gorillas and became a patron of theGorilla Organization, which fights for the preservation of gorillas.[41] Whentantalum mining for mobile phone manufacture threatened the gorillas in 2001, he lent his voice to their cause.[42] The dive shop that he set up continues to operate from Trincomalee through the Arthur C Clarke Foundation.[43]
On a trip to Florida in 1953,[1] Clarke met and quickly married Marilyn Mayfield, a 22-year-old American divorcee with a young son. They separated permanently after six months, although the divorce was not finalised until 1964.[44] "The marriage was incompatible from the beginning", said Clarke.[44] Marilyn never remarried and died in 1991.
Clarke also never remarried, but was close to a Sri Lankan man, Leslie Ekanayake (13 July 1947 – 4July 1977), whom Clarke called his "only perfect friend of a lifetime" in the dedication to his novelThe Fountains of Paradise.[a] Clarke is buried with Ekanayake, who predeceased him by three decades, inKanatte Cemetery, Colombo's main burial ground andcrematorium.[45] In his biography ofStanley Kubrick,John Baxter cites Clarke's homosexuality as a reason why he relocated, due to more tolerantlaws with regard to homosexuality in Sri Lanka.[46] Journalists who enquired of Clarke whether he was gay were told, "No, merely mildly cheerful."[32] However,Michael Moorcock wrote:
Everyone knew he was gay. In the 1950s, I'd go out drinking with his boyfriend. We met his protégés, western and eastern, and their families, people who had only the most generous praise for his kindness. Self-absorbed he might be and ateetotaller, but an impeccable gent through and through.[47]
In an interview in the July 1986 issue ofPlayboy magazine, when asked if he had had a bisexual experience, Clarke stated, "Of course. Who hasn't?"[48] In his obituary, Clarke's friendKerry O'Quinn wrote: "Yes, Arthur was gay ... AsIsaac Asimov once told me, 'I think he simply found he preferred men.' Arthur didn't publicise his sexuality – that wasn't the focus of his life – but if asked, he was open and honest."[49]
Clarke accumulated a vast collection of manuscripts and personal memoirs, maintained by his brother Fred Clarke inTaunton, Somerset, England, and referred to as the "Clarkives". Clarke said some of his private diaries will not be published until 30 years after his death. When asked why they were sealed, he answered, "Well, there might be all sorts of embarrassing things in them."[3]
On 26 May 2000, he was made aKnight Bachelor "for services to literature" at a ceremony in Colombo.[14][b][50] The knighthood had been awarded in the 1998New Year Honours list,[13][51] but investiture with the award had been delayed, at Clarke's request, because of an accusation by the tabloid theSunday Mirror of paying boys for sex.[52][53] The charge was subsequently found to be baseless by the Sri Lankan police.[54][55] According toThe Daily Telegraph, theSunday Mirror subsequently published an apology, and Clarke chose not to sue fordefamation.[56]The Independent alleged that a similar story was not published[where?] because Clarke was a friend of newspaper tycoonRupert Murdoch.[57] Clarke himself said, "I take an extremely dim view of people mucking about with boys", and Rupert Murdoch allegedly promised him the reporters responsible would never work inFleet Street again.[58]
Although he and his home were unharmed by the2004 Indian Ocean earthquaketsunami, his "Arthur C. Clarke Diving School" (now called "Underwater Safaris")[59] atHikkaduwa near Galle was destroyed.[60] He made humanitarian appeals, and the Arthur C. Clarke Foundation worked towards better disaster notification systems.[61]
Because of his post-polio deficits, which limited his ability to travel and gave himhalting speech, most of Clarke's communications in his last years were in the form of recorded addresses. In July 2007, he provided a video address for theRobert A. Heinlein Centennial in which he closed his comments with a goodbye to his fans. In September 2007, he provided a video greeting forNASA'sCassini probe's flyby ofIapetus (which plays an important role in the book of2001: A Space Odyssey).[62] In December 2007 on his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video message to his friends and fans bidding them good-bye.[63]
Clarke died in Colombo on 19 March 2008, at the age of 90.[32][64][65][66] His aide described the cause as respiratory complications and heart failure stemming from post-polio syndrome.[67]
Just hours before Clarke's death, a majorgamma-ray burst (GRB) reached Earth. Known asGRB 080319B, the burst set a new record as the farthest object that can be seen from Earth with thenaked eye.[68] It occurred about 7.5 billion years ago, the light taking that long to reach Earth.[68] Larry Sessions, a science writer forSky and Telescope magazine blogging on earthsky.org, suggested that the burst be named the "Clarke Event".[69][70]American Atheist Magazinewrote of the idea: "It would be a fitting tribute to a man who contributed so much, and helped lift our eyes and our minds to a cosmos once thought to be province only of gods."[71]
A few days before he died, he had reviewed the manuscript of his final work,The Last Theorem, on which he had collaborated by e-mail with contemporaryFrederik Pohl.[72] The book was published after Clarke's death.[73] Clarke was buried in Colombo in traditional Sri Lankan fashion on 22 March. His younger brother, Fred Clarke, and his Sri Lankan adoptive family were among the thousands in attendance.[74]
On 8 January 2024, a sample of Clarke's DNA was launched on thePeregrine Mission One to the Moon.[77] The Peregrine spacecraft failed to land on the Moon, and the spacecraft disintegrated in the Earth's atmosphere on 19 January 2024.[78][79]
While Clarke had a few stories published infanzines, between 1937 and 1945, his first professional sale appeared inAstounding Science Fiction in 1946: "Loophole" was published in April, while "Rescue Party", his first sale, was published in May.[c] Along with his writing, Clarke briefly worked as assistant editor ofScience Abstracts (1949) before devoting himself in 1951 to full-time writing.
Clarke began carving out his reputation as a "scientific" science fiction writer with his first science fiction novel,Against the Fall of Night, published as a novella in 1948. It was very popular and considered ground-breaking work for some of the concepts it contained. Clarke revised and expanded the novella into a full novel, which was published in 1953. Clarke later rewrote and expanded this work a third time to becomeThe City and the Stars in 1956, which rapidly became a definitive must-read in the field. His third science fiction novel,Childhood's End, was also published in 1953, cementing his popularity. Clarke capped the first phase of his writing career with his sixth novel,A Fall of Moondust, in 1961, which is also an acknowledged classic of the period.
During this time, Clarke corresponded withC. S. Lewis in the 1940s and 1950s and they once met in an Oxford pub,the Eastgate, to discuss science fiction and space travel. Clarke voiced great praise for Lewis upon his death, sayingThe Ransom Trilogy was one of the few works of science fiction that should be considered literature.[80]
Clarke's novelette "Jupiter Five" was cover-featured on the May 1953 issue ofIf.
In 1948, he wrote "The Sentinel" for aBBC competition. Though the story was rejected, it changed the course of Clarke's career. Not only was it the basis for2001: A Space Odyssey, but "The Sentinel" also introduced a more cosmic element to Clarke's work. Many of Clarke's later works feature a technologically advanced but still-prejudiced mankind being confronted by a superior alien intelligence. In the cases ofChildhood's End, and the2001 series, this encounter produces a conceptual breakthrough that accelerates humanity into the next stage of its evolution. This also applies in the far-distant past (but our future) inThe City and the Stars (and its original version,Against the Fall of Night).
In Clarke's authorised biography, Neil McAleer writes: "many readers and critics still considerChildhood's End Arthur C. Clarke's best novel."[44] But Clarke did not useESP in any of his later stories, saying, "I've always been interested in ESP, and of course,Childhood's Endwas about that. But I've grown disillusioned, partly because after all this time, they're still arguing about whether these things happen. I suspect that telepathy does happen."[81]
Clarke as depicted inAmazing Stories in 1953Clarke's novelette "The Songs of Distant Earth", the cover story for the June 1958 issue ofIf, was expanded to novel length almost three decades later.
For much of the later 20th century, Clarke,Isaac Asimov, andRobert A. Heinlein were informally known as the "Big Three" of science fiction writers.[5] Clarke and Heinlein began writing to each other afterThe Exploration of Space was published in 1951, and first met in person the following year. They remained on cordial terms for many years, including during visits to the United States and Sri Lanka.
Clarke and Asimov first met in New York City in 1953, and they traded friendly insults and gibes for decades. They established an oral agreement, the "Clarke–Asimov Treaty", that when asked who was better, the two would say Clarke was the better science fiction writer and Asimov was the better science writer. In 1972, Clarke put the "treaty" on paper in his dedication toReport on Planet Three and Other Speculations.[44][83]
In 1984, Clarke testified before Congress against theStrategic Defense Initiative (SDI).[84] Later, at the home ofLarry Niven in California, a concerned Heinlein attacked Clarke's views on United States foreign and space policy (especially the SDI), vigorously advocating a strong defence posture. Although the two later reconciled formally, they remained distant until Heinlein's death in 1988.[44]
2061: Odyssey Three involves a visit toHalley's Comet on its next plunge through theInner Solar System and a spaceship crash on the Jovian moonEuropa. The whereabouts of astronaut Dave Bowman (the "Star Child"), the artificial intelligenceHAL 9000, and the development of native life on Europa, protected by the alienMonolith, are revealed.
Finally, in3001: The Final Odyssey,astronaut Frank Poole'sfreeze-dried body, found by a spaceship beyond the orbit ofNeptune, is revived by advancedmedical science. The novel details the threat posed to humanity by the alien monoliths, whose actions are not always as their builders had intended.
Clarke's first venture into film was2001: A Space Odyssey, directed byStanley Kubrick. Kubrick and Clarke had met in New York City in 1964 to discuss the possibility of a collaborative film project. As the idea developed, they decided to loosely base the story on Clarke's short story, "The Sentinel", written in 1948 as an entry in a BBC short-story competition. Originally, Clarke was going to write the screenplay for the film, but Kubrick suggested during one of theirbrainstorming meetings that before beginning on the actual script, they should let their imaginations soar free by writing a novel first, on which they would base the film. "This is more or less the way it worked out, though toward the end, novel and screenplay were being written simultaneously, with feedback in both directions. Thus, I rewrote some sections after seeing the movie rushes – a rather expensive method of literary creation, which few other authors can have enjoyed."[85] The novel ended up being published a few months after the release of the movie.
Due to the hectic schedule of the film's production, Kubrick and Clarke had difficulty collaborating on the book. Clarke completed a draft of the novel at the end of 1964 with the plan to publish in 1965 in advance of the film's release in 1966. After many delays, the film was released in the spring of 1968, before the book was completed. The book was credited to Clarke alone. Clarke later complained that this had the effect of making the book into anovelisation, and that Kubrick had manipulated circumstances to play down Clarke's authorship. For these and other reasons, the details of the story differ slightly from the book to the movie. The film contains little explanation for the events taking place. Clarke, though, wrote thorough explanations of "cause and effect" for the events in the novel.James Randi later recounted that upon seeing the premiere of2001, Clarke left the theatre at the intermission in tears, after having watched an eleven-minute scene (which did not make it into general release) where an astronaut is doing nothing more than jogging inside the spaceship, which was Kubrick's idea of showing the audience how boring space travels could be.[86]
In 1972, Clarke publishedThe Lost Worlds of 2001, which included his accounts of the production, and alternative versions of key scenes. The "special edition" of the novelA Space Odyssey (released in 1999) contains an introduction by Clarke in which he documents the events leading to the release of the novel and film.
In 1982, Clarke continued the2001 epic with a sequel,2010: Odyssey Two. This novel was also made into a film,2010, directed byPeter Hyams for release in 1984. Because of the political environment in America in the 1980s, the film presents aCold War theme, with the looming tensions ofnuclear warfare not featured in the novel. The film was not considered to be as revolutionary or artistic as2001, but the reviews were still positive.
Clarke's email correspondence with Hyams was published in 1984.[87] TitledThe Odyssey File: The Making of 2010, and co-authored with Hyams, it illustrates his fascination with the then-pioneering medium of email and its use for them to communicate on an almost daily basis at the time of planning and production of the film while living on opposite sides of the world. The book also included Clarke's personal list of the best science fiction films ever made.
Clarke appeared in the film, first as the man feeding the pigeons whileDr. Heywood Floyd is engaged in a conversation in front of the White House. Later, in the hospital scene withDavid Bowman's mother, an image of the cover ofTime portrays Clarke as the American President and Kubrick as the Soviet Premier.
In 1996,Sierra Entertainment createdRama as a point and click adventure game in the style ofMyst. Along with highly detailed graphics, Arthur C. Clarke also appeared in the game as the guide for the player. This game featured details fromRendezvous with Rama and characters from theRama II novel.[88]
Rendezvous with Rama wasoptioned for filmmaking in the early 21st century[89][90] but this motion picture has remained in "development hell". After a drawn-out development process, which actorMorgan Freeman attributed to difficulties in getting financing, it appeared in 2003 that this project might be proceeding.[89] The film was to be produced by Freeman's production company,Revelations Entertainment, withDavid Fincher being touted as the film's director.[90] After years of no progress, in late 2008, Fincher stated the movie is unlikely to be made, given Morgan Freeman's health.[91] In 2010, though, the film was still planned for future production and both Freeman and Fincher mentioned it as still needing a worthy script.[92] In late 2021,Denis Villeneuve was introduced as director.[93]
Clarke published a number of nonfiction books with essays, speeches, addresses, etc. Several of his nonfiction books are composed of chapters that can stand on their own as separate essays.
In particular, Clarke was a populariser of the concept of space travel. In 1950, he wroteInterplanetary Flight, a book outlining the basics of space flight for laymen. Later books about space travel includedThe Exploration of Space (1951),The Challenge of the Spaceship (1959),Voices from the Sky (1965),The Promise of Space (1968, rev. ed. 1970), andReport on Planet Three (1972) along with many others.
His books on space travel usually included chapters about other aspects of science and technology, such as computers and bioengineering. He predictedtelecommunication satellites (albeit serviced by astronauts in space suits, who would replace the satellite'svacuum tubes as they burned out).[94]
His many predictions culminated in 1958 when he began a series of magazine essays which eventually becameProfiles of the Future, published in book form in 1962.[95] A timetable[96] up to the year 2100 describes inventions and ideas including such things as a "global library" for 2005. The same work also contained "Clarke's First Law" and text that becameClarke's three laws in later editions.[44]
In a 1959 essay, Clarke predicted global satellite TV broadcasts that would cross national boundaries indiscriminately and would bring hundreds of channels available anywhere in the world. He also envisioned a "personal transceiver, so small and compact that every man carries one". He wrote: "the time will come when we will be able to call a person anywhere on Earth merely by dialing a number." Such a device would also, in Clarke's vision, include means for global positioning so "no one need ever again be lost". Later, inProfiles of the Future, he predicted the advent of such a device taking place in the mid-1980s.[95]
1974ABC interview with Clarke in which he describes a future of ubiquitous computing reminiscent of the modern Internet
Clarke described a global computer network similar to the modernWorld Wide Web in a 1964 presentation for theBBC'sHorizon programme, predicting that, by the 21st century, access to information and even physical tasks such as surgery could be accomplished remotely and instantaneously from anywhere in the world using internet and satellite communication.[97]
In a 1974 interview with theAustralian Broadcasting Corporation, the interviewer asked Clarke how he believed the computer would change the future for the everyday person, and what life would be like in the year 2001. Clarke accurately predicted many things that became reality, includingonline banking,online shopping, and other now commonplace things. Responding to a question about how the interviewer's son's life would be different, Clarke responded: "He will have, in his own house, not a computer as big as this, [points to nearby computer], but at least, a console through which he can talk, through his friendly local computer and get all the information he needs, for his everyday life, like his bank statements, his theatre reservations, all the information you need in the course of living in our complex modern society, this will be in a compact form in his own house ... and he will take it as much for granted as we take the telephone."[98]
An extensive selection of Clarke's essays and book chapters (from 1934 to 1998; 110 pieces, 63 of them previously uncollected in his books) can be found in the bookGreetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds! (2000), together with a new introduction and many prefatory notes. Another collection of essays, all previously collected, isBy Space Possessed (1993). Clarke's technical papers, together with several essays and extensive autobiographical material, are collected inAscent to Orbit: A Scientific Autobiography (1984).
Clarke contributed to the popularity of the idea thatgeostationary satellites would be ideal telecommunications relays. He first described this in a letter to the editor ofWireless World in February 1945[99] and elaborated on the concept in a paper titledExtra-Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give Worldwide Radio Coverage?, published inWireless World in October 1945.[8] Thegeostationary orbit is sometimes known as theClarke orbit or theClarke belt in his honour.[100][101][102]
It is not clear that this article was actually the inspiration for the modern telecommunications satellite. According toJohn R. Pierce, ofBell Labs, who was involved in theEcho satellite andTelstar projects, he gave a talk upon the subject in 1954 (published in 1955), using ideas that were "in the air", but was not aware of Clarke's article at the time.[103] In an interview given shortly before his death, Clarke was asked whether he had ever suspected that one day communications satellites would become so important; he replied: "I'm often asked why I didn't try to patent the idea of a communications satellite. My answer is always, 'A patent is really a licence to be sued.'"[104]
Though different from Clarke's idea of telecom relay, the idea of communicating via satellites in geostationary orbit itself had been described earlier. For example, the concept of geostationary satellites was described inHermann Oberth's 1923 bookDie Rakete zu den Planetenräumen (The Rocket into Interplanetary Space), and then the idea of radio communication by means of those satellites inHerman Potočnik's (written under the pseudonym Hermann Noordung) 1928 bookDas Problem der Befahrung des Weltraums[105]), sections:Providing for Long Distance Communications and Safety,[d] and (possibly referring to the idea of relaying messages via satellite, but not that three would be optimal)Observing and Researching the Earth's Surface, published in Berlin.[106][e] Clarke acknowledged the earlier concept in his bookProfiles of the Future.[f]
Clarke was an avid scuba diver and a member of theUnderwater Explorers Club. In addition to writing, Clarke set up several diving-related ventures with his business partner Mike Wilson. In 1956, while scuba diving, Wilson and Clarke uncovered ruined masonry, architecture, and idol images of the sunken original Koneswaram temple – including carved columns with flower insignia, and stones in the form of elephant heads – spread on the shallow surrounding seabed.[107][108] Other discoveries includedChola bronzes from the original shrine, and these discoveries were described in Clarke's 1957 bookThe Reefs of Taprobane.[109]
In 1961, while filming off Great Basses Reef, Wilson found awreck and retrieved silver coins. Plans to dive on the wreck the following year were stopped when Clarke developed paralysis, ultimately diagnosed as polio. A year later, Clarke observed the salvage from the shore and the surface. The ship, ultimately identified as belonging to theMughal Emperor,Aurangzeb, yielded fused bags of silverrupees, cannon, and other artefacts, carefully documented, became the basis forThe Treasure of the Great Reef.[44][110] Living in Sri Lanka and learning its history also inspired the backdrop for his novelThe Fountains of Paradise in which he described aspace elevator. This, he believed, would make rocket-based access to space obsolete, and more than geostationary satellites, would ultimately be his scientific legacy.[111] In 2008, he said in an interview with IEEE Spectrum, "maybe in a generation or so the space elevator will be considered equally important" as the geostationary satellite, which was his most important technological contribution.[112]
Themes ofreligion and spirituality appear in much of Clarke's writing. He said: "Any path to knowledge is a path to God – or Reality, whichever word one prefers to use."[113] He described himself as "fascinated by the concept of God".J. B. S. Haldane, near the end of his life, suggested in a personal letter to Clarke that Clarke should receive a prize in theology for being one of the few people to write anything new on the subject, and went on to say that if Clarke's writings had not contained multiple contradictory theological views, he might have been a menace.[114] When he entered the Royal Air Force, Clarke insisted that his dog tags be marked "pantheist" rather than the default,Church of England,[44] and in a 1991 essay entitled "Credo", described himself as alogical positivist from the age of 10.[114] In 2000, Clarke told the Sri Lankan newspaper,The Island, "I don't believe in God or an afterlife",[115] and he identified himself as an atheist.[116] He was honoured as a Humanist Laureate in the International Academy of Humanism.[117] He has also described himself as a "crypto-Buddhist", insistingBuddhism is not a religion.[118] He displayed little interest about religion early in his life, for example, only discovering a few months after marrying that his wife had strongPresbyterian beliefs.[citation needed]
Later in his life, Clarke began to hold a more hostile view of religion. A famous quotation of Clarke's is often cited: "One of the great tragedies of mankind is that morality has been hijacked by religion."[118] He was quoted inPopular Science in 2004 as saying of religion: "Most malevolent and persistent of all mind viruses. We should get rid of it as quick as we can."[119] In a three-day "dialogue on man and his world" withAlan Watts, Clarke said he was biased against religion and could not forgive religions for what he perceived as their inability to prevent atrocities and wars over time.[120] In his introduction to the penultimate episode ofMysterious World, entitled "Strange Skies", Clarke said, "I sometimes think that the universe is a machine designed for the perpetual astonishment of astronomers", reflecting the dialogue of the episode, in which he stated this concept more broadly, referring to "mankind". Near the very end of that same episode, the last segment of which covered theStar of Bethlehem, he said his favourite theory[121] was that it might be apulsar. Given that pulsars were discovered in the interval between his writing the short story, "The Star" (1955), and makingMysterious World (1980), and given the more recent discovery of pulsarPSR B1913+16, he said: "How romantic, if even now, we can hear the dying voice of a star, which heralded theChristian era."[121]
Despite his atheism, themes of deism are a common feature within Clarke's work.[122][123] Clarke left written instructions for a funeral: "Absolutely no religious rites of any kind, relating to any religious faith, should be associated with my funeral."[124]
Regardingfreedom of information Clarke believed, "In the struggle for freedom of information, technology, not politics, will be the ultimate decider."[125] Clarke also wrote, "It is not easy to see how the more extreme forms of nationalism can long survive when men have seen the Earth in its true perspective as a single small globe against the stars."[125] Clarke opposed claims of sovereignty over space stating "There is hopeful symbolism in the fact that flags do not wave in a vacuum."[125] Clarke was ananti-capitalist, stating that he did not fear automation because, "the goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. That's why we have to destroy the present politico-economic system."[126]
Regarding human jobs being replaced byrobots, Clarke said: "Any teacher that can be replaced by a machine should be!"[125] Clarke supported the use ofrenewable energy, saying: "I would like to see us kick our current addiction to oil, and adopt clean energy sources... Climate change has now added a new sense of urgency. Our civilisation depends on energy, but we can't allow oil and coal to slowly bake our planet."[125]
About intelligent life and theFermi paradox, Clarke stated:
The best proof that there's intelligent life in outer space is the fact that it hasn't come here... the fact that we have not yet found the slightest evidence for life—much less intelligence—beyond this Earth does not surprise or disappoint me in the least. Our technology must still be laughably primitive; we may well be like jungle savages listening for the throbbing oftom-toms, while the ether around them carries more words per second than they could utter in a lifetime.[125] Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not... Both are equally terrifying.[125]
Early in his career, Clarke had a fascination with theparanormal and said it was part of the inspiration for his novelChildhood's End. Citing the numerous promising paranormal claims that were later shown to be fraudulent, Clarke described his earlier openness to the paranormal having turned to being "an almost total sceptic" by the time of his 1992 biography.[44] Similarly, in the prologue to the 1990 Del Rey edition ofChildhood's End, he writes: "after ... researching myMysterious World andStrange Powers programmes, I am an almost total skeptic. I have seen far too many claims dissolve into thin air, far too many demonstrations exposed as fakes. It has been a long, and sometimes embarrassing, learning process."[127] During interviews, both in 1993 and 2004–2005, he stated that he did not believe inreincarnation, saying there was no mechanism to make it possible, though "I'm always paraphrasing J. B. S. Haldane: 'The universe is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than wecan imagine.'"[128][129] He described the idea of reincarnation as fascinating, but favoured a finite existence.[130]
Clarke was known for hosting several television series investigating the unusual:Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World (1980),Arthur C. Clarke's World of Strange Power (1985), andArthur C. Clarke's Mysterious Universe (1994). Topics examined ranged from ancient, man-made artefacts with obscure origins (e.g., theNazca lines orStonehenge), tocryptids (purported animals unknown to science), or obsolete scientific theories that came to have alternate explanations (e.g.,Martian canals).
InArthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World, he describes three kinds of "mysteries":
Mysteries of the First Kind: Something that was once utterly baffling but is now completely understood, e.g. a rainbow.
Mysteries of the Second Kind: Something that is currently not fully understood and can be in the future.
Mysteries of the Third Kind: Something of which we have no understanding.[131][full citation needed]
Clarke's programmes on unusual phenomena were parodiedin a 1982 episode of the comedy seriesThe Goodies, in which his show is cancelled after it is claimed that he does not exist.[citation needed]
Clarke's work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind's exploration of the Solar System and the world's oceans. His images of the future often feature aUtopian setting with highly developed technology, ecology, and society, based on the author's ideals.[132] His early published stories usually featured the extrapolation of a technological innovation or scientific breakthrough into the underlying decadence of his own society.
A recurring theme in Clarke's works is the notion that the evolution of an intelligent species would eventually make them something close to gods. This was explored in his 1953 novelChildhood's End and briefly touched upon in his novelImperial Earth. This idea of transcendence through evolution seems to have been influenced byOlaf Stapledon, who wrote a number of books dealing with this theme. Clarke has said of Stapledon's 1930 bookLast and First Men that "No other book had a greater influence on my life ... [It] and its successorStar Maker (1937) are the twin summits of [Stapledon's] literary career."[133]
Clarke was well known as an admirer of Irish fantasy writerLord Dunsany, also having corresponded with him until Dunsany's death in 1957. He described Dunsany as "one of the greatest writers of the century".[134] He also listedH. G. Wells,Jules Verne, andEdgar Rice Burroughs as influences.[32]
Clarke won the 1963Stuart Ballantine Medal from theFranklin Institute for the concept of satellite communications,[135][136] and other honours.[137] He won more than a dozen annual literary awards for particular works of science fiction.[38]
In 1986, he was elected to the AmericanNational Academy of Engineering "For conception of geosynchronous communications satellites, and for other contributions to the use and understanding of space".
In 1988, he was awarded an honorary degree (Doctor of Letters) by theUniversity of Bath.[149]
Readers of the British monthlyInterzone voted him the all-time second best science fiction author in 1988–1989.[38]
He received a CBE in 1989,[12] and wasknighted in 2000.[13][50][51] Clarke's health did not allow him to travel to London to receive the latter honour personally from theQueen, so the United Kingdom'sHigh Commissioner to Sri Lanka invested him as a Knight Bachelor at a ceremony in Colombo.[14]
In 2003, Clarke was awarded the Telluride Tech Festival Award of Technology, where he appeared on stage via a 3-D hologram with a group of old friends includingJill Tarter,Neil Armstrong, Lewis Branscomb,Charles Townes,Freeman Dyson,Bruce Murray, and Scott Brown.
In 2004, Clarke won theHeinlein Award for outstanding achievement in hard or science-oriented science fiction.[153]
On 14 November 2005 Sri Lanka awarded Clarke its highest civilian award, theSri Lankabhimanya (The Pride of Sri Lanka), for his contributions to science and technology and his commitment to his adopted country.[15]
Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction writing, awarded annually in the United Kingdom.
In 1986, Clarke provided a grant to fund the prize money (initially £1,000) for the Arthur C. Clarke Award for the best science fiction novel published in the United Kingdom in the previous year. In 2001 the prize was increased to £2001, and its value now matches the year (e.g., £2005 in 2005).
In 2005 he lent his name to the inauguralSir Arthur Clarke Award, for achievements in space, dubbed the "Space Oscars", awarded annually in the United Kingdom. His brother attended the awards ceremony, and presented an award specially chosen by Arthur (and not by the panel of judges who chose the other awards) to theBritish Interplanetary Society.
Arthur C. Clarke Foundation awards: "Arthur C. Clarke Innovator's Award" and "Arthur C. Clarke Lifetime Achievement Award"[154]
The Sir Arthur C. Clarke Memorial Trophy Inter School Astronomy Quiz Competition, held in Sri Lanka every year and organised by the Astronomical Association ofAnanda College, Colombo. The competition started in 2001 as "The Sir Arthur C. Clarke Trophy Inter School Astronomy Quiz Competition" and was renamed after his death.[155][156]
Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society
Anasteroid was named in Clarke's honour,4923 Clarke (the number was assigned prior to, and independently of, the name – 2001, however appropriate, was unavailable, having previously been assigned toAlbert Einstein).
A species ofceratopsian dinosaur, discovered inInverloch in Australia, was named after Clarke,Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei. The genus name may also be an allusion to his adopted country, Sri Lanka, one of whose former names isSerendib.
The Learning Resource Centre atRichard Huish College, Taunton, which Clarke attended when it was Huish Grammar School, is named after him.
Clarke was a distinguished vice-president of theH. G. Wells Society, being strongly influenced byWells as a science fiction writer.
'The Clarke Event' is a proposed name forGRB 080319B, a gamma-ray burst detected just hours before Clarke's death which set a new record for the most intrinsically bright object ever observed by humans in the universe. The name would honour Clarke and his award-winning short story "The Star".
Clarke Montes, a mountain onPluto's moonCharon, is named after Clarke.[160]
^Full dedication reads: "To the still unfading memory of LESLIE EKANAYAKE (13 JuIy 1947 – 4July 1977) only perfect friend of a lifetime, in whom were uniquely combined Loyalty, Intelligence and Compassion. When your radiant and loving spirit vanished from this world, the light went out of many lives."
^ISFDB catalogues one "Letter" toAmazing Stories published in 1935, 10 more nonfiction items ("Essays") published 1938 to 1945, and five "Shortfiction" published 1937 to 1942.[2]
^"Intelsat, the International Telecommunications Satellite Organisation which operates the global system, has started calling it the Clarke orbit. Flattered though I am, honesty compels me to point out that the concept of such an orbit predates my 1945 paper 'Extra Terrestrial Relays' by at least twenty years. I didn't invent it, but only annexed it."[95]: 205
^abcClarke, Arthur C. (October 1945). "Extra-Terrestrial Relays – Can Rocket Stations Give World-wide Radio Coverage?".Wireless World. Vol. 51, no. 10. pp. 305–308. "– via lsi.usp.br.org". Archived fromthe original on 5 February 2007. Retrieved8 February 2007. "– via sciencemuseum.org". Archived fromthe original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved8 February 2007. "– via clarkeinstitute.org"(PDF). Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education. October 1945.Archived(PDF) from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved1 January 2021.
^Clarke, Arthur C., 1983, Of Sand and Stars: New York Times Book Review, 6March 1983, reprinted in Clarke, Arthur C., 1984, 1984: Spring / A Choice of Futures: New York, Ballantine Books, p. 151–157.
^McAleer, Neil (2010)."20".Sir Arthur C. Clarke: Odyssey of a Visionary: A Biography. Clarke Project.ISBN978-0615-553-22-1.Archived from the original on 7 May 2021. Retrieved24 August 2017.
^"Diving at Trncomalee".www.underwatersafari.org. Underwaer safaris. Archived fromthe original on 25 February 2021. Retrieved21 September 2018.
^abcdefghiMcAleer, Neil. "Arthur C. Clarke: The Authorized Biography", Contemporary Books, Chicago, 1992.ISBN0-8092-3720-2
^Wilson, Scott.Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons, 3d ed.: two (Kindle Locations 8622–8623). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.
^"It Doesn't Do Any Harm ... Most of the Damage Comes from Fuss Made by Hysterical Parents".Sunday Mirror. 1 February 1998.
^Schaverien, Tracy; Insall, Roger (8 February 1998). "SMIRK OF A PERVERT AND A LIAR; Police probe links Clarke to international child sex ring".Sunday Mirror.
^Clarke, Arthur C. (February 2005)."Letter from Sri Lanka".Wired. Vol. 13, no. 2. San Francisco: Condé Nast.ISSN1059-1028.Archived from the original on 28 October 2009. Retrieved17 August 2009.
^Pohl, Frederik (5 January 2009)."Sir Arthur and I".The Way the Future Blogs. Archived fromthe original on 23 January 2009. Retrieved22 January 2009.
^"Last odyssey for sci-fi guru Arthur C. Clarke". Agence France-Presse. 18 March 2008.Archived from the original on 24 March 2008. Retrieved6 February 2010.Just a few days before he died, Clarke reviewed the final manuscript of his latest novel, "The Last Theorem" co-written with American author Frederik Pohl, which is to be published later this year.
^"Clarke, Arthur C".SFE: The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. 26 March 2018.Archived from the original on 17 March 2015. Retrieved15 March 2015.
^Seiler, Edward & Jenkins, John H. (1994–2009)."Isaac Asimov FAQ".Isaac Asimov Home Page.Archived from the original on 16 October 2012. Retrieved26 January 2010.
^abcClarke, Arthur C. (1984) [1st pub. 1962, rev. 1973, 1984, 1999].Profiles of the Future: An Inquiry Into the Limits of the Possible. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Wilson.ISBN0-03-069783-2.
^Clarke, Arthur C. (February 1945)."Peacetime Uses for V2"(JPG).Wireless World. p. 58.Archived from the original on 15 March 2007. Retrieved8 February 2007.
^Earl, Michael A. (9 January 2006)."A sea of satellite dishes". The Royal Astronomical Society of Canada. Archived fromthe original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved13 July 2010.
^Greig, Doreen E. (1987).The Reluctant Colonists: Netherlanders Abroad in the 17th and 18th Centuries. Assen, The Netherlands; Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, United States. p. 227.ISBN978-9-02322-227-9.OCLC14069213.
^abClarke, Arthur C. (1999) [1991]. "Credo".Greetings, Carbon-Based Bipeds!. First appearing inLiving Philosophies, Clifton Fadiman, ed. (Doubleday). New York: St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 358–363.ISBN978-0-312-26745-2.Archived from the original on 21 June 2013. Retrieved8 January 2010.
^Clarke, Arthur C.;Watts, Alan (January 1972). "At the Interface: Technology and Mysticism".Playboy. Vol. 19, no. 1. Chicago, Ill.: HMH Publishing. p. 94.ISSN0032-1478.OCLC3534353.
^Robinson, Andrew (10 October 1997)."The cosmic godfather".Times Higher Education. London: TSL Education.ISSN0049-3929.Archived from the original on 8 January 2012. Retrieved17 August 2009.
^Riddihough, Guy (4 July 2008). "Cities Not Built to Last".Science.321 (5885):42–43.doi:10.1126/science.1161705.S2CID161480315.What marks the book out are Clarke's sweeping vistas, grand ideas, and ultimately optimistic view of humankind's future in the cosmos.
^"Arthur C. Clarke". The Franklin Institute. 10 January 2014.Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved25 October 2014.
^"Arthur C Clarke nominated for Nobel".Moon Miners' Manifesto (#92). Artemis Society International. February 1996.Archived from the original on 10 October 2008. Retrieved20 March 2008.
^Peebles, Curtis (2 February 1978)."Names of US manned spacecraft".Spaceflight. Vol. 20. Archived fromthe original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved6 August 2008 – via Epizody Kosmonavtiki.
^"1997 Inductees".Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. Mid American Science Fiction and Fantasy Conventions. Archived fromthe original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved24 March 2013.
.jpg)
.jpg)
