The great man needs no introduction. His work ranged from scientific discovery to science fiction, from technical application to entertainment. As an engineer, as a futurist, and as a humanist, Clarke has influenced numerous artists, scientists, and engineers working today.
Born in Somerset, England, in 1917, Arthur Charles Clarke was educated at Huish’s Grammar School, Taunton, and King’s College, London. He worked in the British Exchequer and Audit Department and served as a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force before turning a full time author in 1950.
His love for diving and underwater explorations brought him to the wondrous land called Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He first arrived in the island in 1954.
He was so taken up with the island after exploring it for several months; he decided to settle down in Ceylon. He later adopted a Sri Lankan family and with the help of them pioneered diving and underwater tourism in Sri Lanka.
He also played a key role as a public intellectual, a patron of art, science and higher education. He founded the Ceylon Astronomical Association in 1959.
In 1979, the government appointed Sir Clarke as Chancellor of the University of Moratuwa. He held this position for 23 years until 2002 when he resigned due to health reasons. In 1984, the government named a newly established Institute for Modern Technologies in his honour.
For over 50 years, Clarke wrote and broadcast extensively about Sri Lanka as a tourist destination. From 1980 to 1994, Clarke hosted three international television series: Mysterious World, World of Strange Powers and Mysterious Universe which were all filmed in Sri Lanka. This generated worldwide attention and helped propagate Sri Lanka’s treasures to a global audience.
