Arthur Charles Clarke was born at the coast town of Minehead, Somerset, England on December 16, 1917, to Charles Wright Clarke & Nora Mary (Willis) as the eldest of four children. He became interested in science in early age, and constructed his first telescope at thirteen. Clarke's father died when he was fourteen and his mother, left with her children, gave riding lessons to augment the family income.
While in school Clarke started to write "fantastic" stories and read eagerly the magazine Astounding Stories. He also read works from such writers as H. G. Wells and Jules Verne and looked at the stars through his homemade telescopes. In the start of 1930's was published two books which had influenced Clarke's writings substantially: "Last and First Men" by Olaf Stapledon and "The Conquest of Space" by David Lasser. The first book is a philosophical science fiction and second is a non-fictional book about interplanetary flights. In 1934 he joined with "British Interplanetary Society". In 1936 he moved to London after attending Huish's Grammar School in Taunton 1927-36. He worked in the H. M. Exchequer & Audit Department in London. In 1938 Clarke moved into a flat at 88 Gray's Inn Road, Bloomsbury (near the British museum) with fellow science fiction writer William F. Temple. This apartment became the Headquarters of the "British Interplanetary Society".
From 1941 to 1946 Clarke served in the Royal Air Force, becoming a radar instructor and technician. While in the service he published his first science-fiction stories.
In December 1937 was published Clarke's first science fiction story "Travel by Wire" in magazine Amateur Science Stories. Next year in March published same magazine his new story "Retreat from Earth". In 1940 was published his story "At the Mountains of Murkiness" in fanzine Satellite 4th number. This story was a parody of H. P. Lovecraft's creation. In 1942 was printed his story "The Awakening" in well-known fanzine Zenith. Same year Fantasiae magazine published Clarke's short-story "Whacky". All these five stories were published in English amateur magazines and author didn't get money of them. Only value of these stories is they are the first stories written by Arthur C. Clarke.
In 1945 Clarke wrote for Wireless World an article entitled "Extra-Terrestrial Relays", predicting in detail a communications satellite system that would relay radio and television signals all over the world. The reaction of even specialized readers was sceptical. Twenty years later satellites were actually launched. So Arthur C. Clarke is sci-fi writer, whose prognosis has come true in author's lifetime. In 1946 Clarke sold his story - "Rescue Party" - to "Astounding Science Fiction", it was first time he get money for his story.
After the war Clarke entered King's College, London, and took his B.Sc. with honours in physics and mathematics in 1948. And in 1949 he became chairman of "British Interplanetary Society". In November of 1948 was published Clarke's first novel "Against the Fall of Night". This short novel became a prototype of his later novel "The City and the Stars" (1956). From 1949 to 1951 he was an assistant editor of Physics Abstracts. In 1950 was published his first book "Interplanetary Flight", which is non-fictional. Clarke's second novel "Prelude of Space" was published in 1951 and which he had written in 1947. Same year were also published other novels: "The Sands of Mars" and magazine version of "Earthlight". Same year was also published scientific book "The Exploration of Space". The book won International Fantasy Award as the best non-fictional book. Since 1952 Clarke has been a full-time writer. In 1952 Clarke spent several month in New York and his book "The Exploration of Space" was selected by the "book of the month club".
1953 was to be an eventful year for Clarke. Balitine books bought three of his novels "Childhood's End", "Expedition to Earth" and "Prelude of Space". On June 15, 1953 he married Marilyn Mayfield, an American. 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".
In the middle of 1950s Clarke developed an interest in undersea exploration. In 1954 Clarke set sail for Australia to dive on the Great Barrier Reef and in 1955 dived off the coast of Sri Lanka. 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 - weightlessness." He moved to Ceylon in 1956. Due to tax laws in Ceylon Clarke had to spend several months out of the country a year and in 1958 he did an extensive lecture tour in the USA (48 lectures in 15 states). In September of 1956 Arthur C. Clarke took part in Worldcon. There Clarke won his first bigger award--his short story "The Star" was elected as the best story of the year by sci-fi fans and got famous Hugo award.
He wrote "Dolphin Island" as his farewell to the sea. 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, which are formulated as follows:
First Law. 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.
Clarke defines the adjective "elderly" as: "In physics, mathematics and astronautics it means over thirty; in other disciplines, senile decay is sometimes postponed to the forties. There are of course, glorious exceptions; but as every researcher just out of college knows, scientists of over fifty are good for nothing but board meetings, and should at all costs be kept out of the laboratory".
Second Law. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
Third Law. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Thought he wrote after the laws that "Since three laws was sufficient for both the Isaacs - Newton and Asimov - I have decided to stop here", he continued to write laws.
69th Law. Reading computer manuals without the hardware is as frustrating as reading sex manuals without the software.
Clarke started his cooperation with the director Stanley Kubrick in a sci-fi movie script. While he was writing a movie script, he same time started to write a novel in same subject. In 1968 was screened Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi film "2001: A Space Odyssey". Which is called one of the best sci-fi film ever. This film made Arthur C. Clarke world-famous science fiction writer. In 1969 he got with Stanley Kubrick OSCAR Nomination for "2001: A Space Odyssey" screenplay. He co-broadcasted "Apollo 11", "Apollo 12" and "Apollo 15" missions to Moon for CBS. And he travelled all over the world and so only thing, he didn't have time for, was writing.
In 1973 Clarke receives all three of the major Sci-Fi awards (the Hugo, the Nebula Awards and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award) and BSFA award for his novel "Rendezvous with Rama".
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. In 1981 he wrote "2010: Odyssey Two" (and the film of the book was released in 1987). Also in 1986 was introduced to Gentry Lee, they collaborated on the novel and the result was "Cradle", Clarke's first collaboration (but not his last as with Lee he would go on to write three sequels to "Rendezvous with Rama").
In 1986 Clarke is diagnosed as suffering with "Lou Gehrig's" disease (a motor neuron disease of the spinal cord and brain) and is given fifteen months to live. Clarke pushes to produce four books over the next year and a half before getting a second opinion in 1988; Clarke is re-diagnosed as having post-polio syndrome, which is not terminal. He is now completely wheelchaired. In 1989 (aged 72) Clarke receives a CBE from the Queen and later in 1998 is knighted for his services to literature. In 1994 he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. His later novels are "2061: Odyssey Three" (1987) and "3001: The Final Odyssey" (1997) as sequels for "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "The Hammer of Good" (1993).
Arthur C. Clarke - one of the grand masters of science fiction, who could be also remembered as the inventor of communication satellite, an idea he first expounded in a 1945 article entitled "Extraterrestrial Relays".