Arthur C. Clarke Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS (Sri Lankabhimanya Arthur Charles Clarke) (16 December 1917 – 19 March 2008) was a British science fiction writer, science writer,[3] inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.[4] Clarke was a lifelong proponent of space travel. In 1934 while still a teenager, he joined the British Interplanetary Society. In 1945, he proposed a satellite communication system—an idea that, in 1963, won him the Franklin Institute's Stuart Ballantine Medal.[7][8] Later he was the chairman of the British Interplanetary Society from 1946–47 and again in 1951–53.[9][10] Clarke was also a science writer, who was both an avid populariser of space travel and a futurist of uncanny ability, who won a Kalinga Prize (award given by Unesco for popularising science) in 1961. Clarke emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956, largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving.[12] That year he discovered the underwater ruins of the ancient Koneswaram temple in Trincomalee. Postwar[edit]
Terry Pratchett Pratchett was the UK's best-selling author of the 1990s,[6][7] and has sold over 85 million books worldwide in 37 languages.[8][9] He is currently the second most-read writer in the UK, and seventh most-read non-US author in the US.[10] Pratchett was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1998 and was knighted for services to literature in the 2009 New Year Honours.[11][12] In 2001 he won the annual Carnegie Medal for The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, the first Discworld book marketed for children.[13][14] He received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement in 2010. In December 2007, Pratchett announced that he was suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.[15] Subsequently he made a substantial public donation to the Alzheimer's Research Trust,[16] and filmed a programme chronicling his experiences with the disease for the BBC. Background[edit] Early life[edit] Early career[edit] Current life[edit] Alzheimer's disease[edit] Interests[edit]
David Brin Glen David Brin (born October 6, 1950) is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo,[1][2] Locus,[3][4][5] Campbell[6] and Nebula Awards.[7] His Campbell Award winning novel The Postman was adapted as a feature film and starred Kevin Costner in 1997. David Brin's nonfiction book The Transparent Society won the Freedom of Speech Award of the American Library Association and the McGannon Communication Award. Early life and education[edit] Brin was born in Glendale, California in 1950. In 1973, David Brin graduated from the California Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in astrophysics.[9] At the University of California, San Diego, he earned a Master of Science in applied physics in 1978 and a Doctor of Philosophy in space science in 1981. Career[edit] Brin is a 2010 fellow of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies.[10] He helped establish the Arthur C. Bibliography[edit] Fiction[edit] The Uplift stories[edit] Dr.
Anaïs Nin Anaïs Nin (Spanish: [anaˈis ˈnin]; born Angela Anaïs Juana Antolina Rosa Edelmira Nin y Culmell, February 21, 1903 – January 14, 1977) was an author born to Spanish-Cuban parents in France, where she was also raised. She spent some time in Spain and Cuba but lived most of her life in the United States where she became an established author. She published journals (which span more than 60 years, beginning when she was 11 years old and ending shortly before her death), novels, critical studies, essays, short stories, and erotica. A great deal of her work, including Delta of Venus and Little Birds, was published posthumously. Early life[edit] Anaïs Nin was born in Neuilly, France, to artistic parents. On March 3, 1923, in Havana, Cuba, Nin married her first husband, Hugh Parker Guiler (1898–1985), a banker and artist, later known as "Ian Hugo" when he became a maker of experimental films in the late 1940s. Personal life[edit] Nin often cited authors Djuna Barnes and D. Literary career[edit]
The man who foresaw science fiction It is September 1, 2660, and a genius sits in his study, resting up prior to a remarkable display of his scientific prowess. Tomorrow he will demonstrate to scientists that a dog three years technically dead, but preserved with rare elements, can be resuscitated back to life by a simple blood transfusion. He stretches, revealing a huge frame, much taller than the average human, his height approaching that of extraterrestrials. "His physical superiority, however, was as nothing compared to his gigantic mind," explained his biographer. So begins Hugo Gernsback's nearly century-old novel, Ralph 124C 41+: A Romance of the Year 2660. And romantic it is. "Dearest," Alice declares upon awakening. Indeed, Ralph's creator took it upon himself to foresee for everyone. Despite all this, few sci-fi fans take Ralph 124C 41+ seriously today. Smitten by Mars He was born Hugo Gernsbacher in 1884, the son of a Luxembourg wine wholesaler who hired private tutors to educate the boy. Cold facts
Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (/ˈɡaɪzəl/; March 2, 1904 – September 24, 1991) was an American writer, poet, and cartoonist. He was most widely known for his children's books written and illustrated as Dr. Seuss. He was a perfectionist in his work and would sometimes spend up to a year on a book. Geisel's birthday, March 2, has been adopted as the annual date for National Read Across America Day, an initiative on reading created by the National Education Association. Life and career College Geisel attended Dartmouth College, graduating in 1925.[11] At Dartmouth, he joined the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity[4] and the humor magazine Dartmouth Jack-O-Lantern, eventually rising to the rank of editor-in-chief.[4] Upon graduating from Dartmouth, he entered Lincoln College, Oxford, intending to earn a PhD in English literature.[15] At Oxford, he met Helen Palmer, who encouraged him to give up becoming an English teacher in favor of pursuing drawing as a career.[15] Early career Essomarine World War II-era work
C. S. Lewis Lewis and fellow novelist J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. Both authors served on the English faculty at Oxford University, and both were active in the informal Oxford literary group known as the "Inklings". In 1956, he married the American writer Joy Davidman, 17 years his junior, who died four years later of cancer at the age of 45. Lewis's works have been translated into more than 30 languages and have sold millions of copies. Biography Childhood Little Lea, home of the Lewis family from 1905 to 1930 Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland, on 29 November 1898.[2] His father was Albert James Lewis (1863–1929), a solicitor whose father, Richard, had come to Ireland from Wales during the mid-19th century. "The New House is almost a major character in my story. Lewis was schooled by private tutors before being sent to the Wynyard School in Watford, Hertfordshire, in 1908, just after his mother's death from cancer. "My Irish life" First World War Return to Oxford University ...
Pim van Lommel Pim van Lommel (born 15 March 1943) is a Dutch cardiologist and scientist. Biography[edit] Van Lommel is best known for his scientific work on the subjects of near-death experiences and consciousness, including a prospective study published in the medical journal The Lancet.[1] He gained public attention as the author of the 2007 Dutch bestseller titled: Eindeloos Bewustzijn: een wetenschappelijke visie op de Bijna-Dood Ervaring[2] (English: Endless Consciousness: A scientific approach to the near-death experience), which has been translated to German, English, French and Spanish. The English translation is titled: Consciousness Beyond Life, The Science of the Near-Death Experience (Harper Collins, 2010). In his book Consciousness Beyond Life: The Science of the Near-Death Experience, he postulates a model where consciousness is beyond neurological activities of the brain. Van Lommel studied medicine at Utrecht University, specializing in cardiology. Criticism[edit] References[edit]
J. R. R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE (/ˈtɒlkiːn/ TOL-keen;[a] 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. He served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon and Fellow of Pembroke College, Oxford, from 1925 to 1945 and Merton Professor of English Language and Literature and Fellow of Merton College, Oxford from 1945 to 1959.[1] He was at one time a close friend of C. S. In 2008, The Times ranked him sixth on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[7] Forbes ranked him the 5th top-earning "dead celebrity" in 2009.[8] Biography Family origins Most of Tolkien's paternal ancestors were craftsmen. Childhood 1892 Christmas card with a coloured photo of the Tolkien family in Bloemfontein, sent to relatives in Birmingham, England He could read by the age of four and could write fluently soon afterwards.
Clara Schumann Clara Schumann (née Clara Josephine Wieck; 13 September 1819 – 20 May 1896) was a German musician and composer, considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era. She exerted her influence over a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital and the tastes of the listening public. Her husband was the composer Robert Schumann. Together they encouraged Johannes Brahms, and she was the first pianist to give public performances of some of Brahms's works, notably the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Handel.[1] Early life[edit] Child prodigy[edit] From an early age, Clara's career and life was planned down to the smallest detail by her father. In 1830, at the age of eleven, Clara left on a concert tour to Paris via other European cities, accompanied by her father. Later career[edit] Clara Schumann's reputation brought her into contact with the leading musicians of the day, including Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt. Legacy[edit]
George R. R. Martin Early life[edit] George Raymond Martin (he later adopted the Confirmation name Richard at the age of 13)[5] was born on September 20, 1948,[6] in Bayonne, New Jersey,[7] the son of longshoreman Raymond Collins Martin and his wife Margaret Brady Martin. He has two younger sisters, Darleen and Janet. Martin's father was half Italian, while his mother was half Irish; [8] his family also contains German, English, and French ancestry. The family first lived in a house on Broadway, belonging to Martin's great-grandmother. In 1953 they moved to a federal housing project near the Bayonne docks. In 1970 Martin earned a B. While he enjoyed teaching, the sudden death of friend and fellow author Tom Reamy in the Fall of 1977 made him reevaluate his own life, and he eventually decided to try and become a full-time writer. Career[edit] Martin began selling science fiction short stories professionally in 1970, at age 21. A Song of Ice and Fire[edit] HBO series production[edit] Themes[edit] George R.
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (/ˈtʃɔːsər/; c. 1343 – 25 October 1400), known as the Father of English literature, is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages and was the first poet to have been buried in Poet's Corner of Westminster Abbey. While he achieved fame during his lifetime as an author, philosopher, alchemist and astronomer, composing a scientific treatise on the astrolabe for his ten year-old son Lewis, Chaucer also maintained an active career in the civil service as a bureaucrat, courtier and diplomat. Among his many works, which include The Book of the Duchess, the House of Fame, the Legend of Good Women and Troilus and Criseyde, he is best known today for The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer is a crucial figure in developing the legitimacy of the vernacular, Middle English, at a time when the dominant literary languages in England were French and Latin. Life Chaucer probably studied law in the Inner Temple (an Inn of Court) at this time. A 19th-century depiction of Chaucer