Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (born December 16, 1917, died March 19 2008)was an English author and inventor, most famous for his science-fiction novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, and for collaborating with director Stanley Kubrick on the film of the same name. Clarke is the last surviving member of what was sometimes known as the "Big Three" of science fiction, which had included Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov.
Clarke's work is marked by an optimistic view of science empowering mankind's exploration of the solar system — an obvious influence of the work of Olaf Stapledon. His early published stories would usually feature the extrapolation of a technological innovation or scientific breakthrough into something that helps resolve a human dilemma. The first manned mission to the moon 'Prelude to Space'', the colonization of Mars "The Sands of Mars" and life aboard a space station ''Islands in the Sky'' were all genre SF mainstays. Clarke's background as a technical writer showed in the early novels as a deliberate documentary style, and his characters reflect Clarke's experience by being mostly military or civil service types.
A recurring type of character is found in ''The Lion of Comarre","The City and the Stars>'', ''The Road to the Sea'', and other works. A young man in a superficially utopian society becomes dissatisfied and restless and seeks to expand his horizons, thereby discovering the underlying decadence of his own society.
''The Sentinel'' (1948) introduced a religious theme to Clarke's work, a theme that he later explored more deeply in "The Star". His interest in the paranormal was influenced by Charles Fort and embraced the belief that mankind may be the property of an ancient alien civilization. Surprisingly for a writer who is often held up as an example of hard science fiction's obsession with technology, three of Clarke's novels have this as a theme.
Clarke's three laws
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.
The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
In December 2007, the occasion of his 90th birthday, Clarke recorded a video message to his friends and fans, bidding them good-bye.
Clarke died in Sri Lanka at 1:30am on March 19, 2008 local time (UTC+5:30), after suffering from breathing problems, according to Rohan de Silva, one of his aides
It should also be noted that this is a fan page also known as a tribute page
