Arthur C. Clarke Biography

Fast Facts

• Was honored with a knighthood for his contributions to both science and literature by Queen Elizabeth II in 1998
• His first science fiction work, a short story called "Rescue Party," was published in 1945 in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, the same publication that had sparked his love for science when he was a boy
• Published his first science fiction novel, "Against the Fall of Night," in 1953
• Quote: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic․"
• Quote: "Most technological achievements were preceded by people writing and imagining them ․․․ I'm rather proud of the fact that I know several astronauts who became astronauts through reading my books․"
• Quote: "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible․"
• Best known as a science fiction author of almost 100 books who co-wrote the screenplay for "2001: A Space Odyssey" with director Stanley Kubrick
• His influence on public opinions about space exploration was acknowledged by several American astronauts and Russian cosmonauts, as well as the astronomer Carl Sagan
• Gene Roddenberry, the creator of "Star Trek," credited his writings with giving him the courage to face ridicule from television executives who scoffed at his project
• Served in the British Royal Air Force during World War II, where his assignment working with a team of American scientists on the first radar-controlled airplane landing system inspired his only non-science fiction novel, 1963's "Glide Path․"