Arthur C. Clarke – Renaissance man

A sad note today on the passing of Arthur C. Clarke – truly a Renaissance man. Many of us know him best as a writer. He sold his first story, “Rescue Party” in 1946 and then went on to publish more than 70 titles.

In 1964, he started to work with the producer Stanley Kubrick on a science fiction movie script, which became the Oscar-winning “2001: A Space Odyssey.” In 1985, he published a sequel, “2010: Odyssey Two” which also became a film.

But Clarke’s career was more than just literary. In 1945, in a British magazine he published a technical paper in which he first set out the principles of satellite communicationy.

His work in his field led to the global satellite systems in use today. His interest in satellite applications for weather forecasting also contributed to the birth of a new branch of meteorology.

It was a life divided between arts and letters – or perhaps better put, a life that brought the two together.