born Dec. 16, 1917, Minehead, Somerset, Eng.
British science-fiction writer.
He first published stories while in the Royal Air Force and, after earning a degree in physics and mathematics, wrote such novels as Childhood's End (1953), Earthlight (1955), Rendezvous with Rama (1973), and The Fountains of Paradise (1979). He collaborated with Stanley Kubrick in making 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, film and novel). Some of Clarke's ideas have proved remarkably prescient. Since the 1950s he has lived in Sri Lanka. In 1997 he published 3001: The Final Odyssey . He was knighted in 2000.