A true original, visionary and well-loved author took leave of the planet this week, one Arthur C Clarke at the age of 90 suffering breathing problems and the long-term effects of Post-Polio Syndrome at his home in Sri Lanka.The English born Clarke had a long and varied career, originally educated at King's College attaining a degree in Physics and Mathematics after WWII. He served with the British Royal Air Force, during which time he wrote a now highly regarded memo predicting the idea of communications satellites. He became a prolific author of both science fiction and science fact, and after a series of explorations and writing about his adventures in The Great Barrier Reef, he permanently relocated to Sri Lanka in 1956. Although encumbered at times by Post-Polio Syndrome on land at times, Clarke found himself "perfectly operational" underwater, and he scuba-dived well into old age.
Among his most loved works were short stories like "The 9 Billion Names of God" and "The Sentinel" (originally written in 1948, this became the basis of Stanley Kubrick's classic film 2001: A Space Odyssey), novels like "Rendezvous With Rama", "Childhood's End" and "The City and The Stars" and of course, his novelization of the 2001 screenplay in collaboration with Stanley Kubrick. He was also very active as a lecturer, teacher, television commentator on science (I even remember him being part fo the on-air commentary of the first Apollo moon landing in 1969).
His final wishes included:
Launching hair with strands of his DNA into space, for Sri Lanka's raging civil war to end, for the world to embrace cleaner sources of energy and for evidence of extraterrestrial beings to be discovered.
News story HERE, and an excellent Wikipedia article on his life and career.
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