What science fiction fan doesn’t know the name Arthur C. Clarke? If you count yourself among that group, then it’s time to bash your head in with a rock, because you don’t deserve to call yourself a sci-fi fan. Unfortunately there is bad news from the world of sci-fi books, as Arthur C. Clarke, author of many classics including “Childhood’s End” in 1953, “The City and The Stars” in 1956, “The Nine Billion Names of God” in 1967, “Rendezvous with Rama” in 1973, “Imperial Earth” in 1975, and “The Songs of Distant Earth” in 1986. His genius wasn’t just limited to books; he also co-wrote the 1968 screenplay for “2001: A Space Odyssey” with director with Stanley Kubrick.
More:
Arthur C. Clarke, a visionary science fiction writer who co-wrote “2001: A Space Odyssey” and won worldwide acclaim with more than 100 books on space, science and the future, died Wednesday, an aide said. He was 90.
Clarke, who had battled debilitating post-polio syndrome since the 1960s, died at 1:30 a.m. in his adopted home of Sri Lanka after suffering breathing problems, aide Rohan De Silva said.
More about Clarke’s accomplishments:
He was credited with the concept of communications satellites in 1945, decades before they became a reality. Geosynchronous orbits, which keep satellites in a fixed position relative to the ground, are called Clarke orbits.
He joined American broadcaster Walter Cronkite as commentator on the U.S. Apollo moonshots in the late 1960s.
Clarke’s non-fiction volumes on space travel and his explorations of the Great Barrier Reef and Indian Ocean earned him respect in the world of science, and in 1976 he became an honorary fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
RIP, Mr. Clarke. Your work will live on forever.
