Arthur C. Clarke

Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 to 2008) was an English science fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer and television series host. He was an avid populariser of space travel and wrote many books and essays for popular magazines. His science fiction earned a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, and for many years he formed, with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, the Big Three of the genre. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. In 1945 he proposed a satellite communication system using geostationary orbits, and in 1956 he settled in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, where he lived until his death. He received the Kalinga Prize in 1961 and was knighted in 2000.