Arthur C. Clarke

Born in Minehead, Somerset in 1917, Arthur C. Clarke was a celebrated science fiction author. He is the author of more than sixty books with more than 50 million copies in print, and the winner of all the field's highest honors. He was named Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1986.

In 1945 he published the technical paper "Extra-terrestrial Relays", which in essence invented the principle of worldwide communication via geosynchronous satellite.

His well-known novels include Childhood's End; Against the Fall of Knight; 2001:A Space Odyssey; Rendezvous with Rama; Imperial Earth; The Fountains of Paradise; 2010: Odyssey Two; 2061: Odyssey Three, and 3001. In 1968, he collaborated with director Stanley Kubrick on the screenplay for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was derived from his story "The Sentinel."

He was awarded the CBE in 1989 and knighted in 1998.