Arthur C. Clarke, author of nearly 100 books, including "Childhood's End" and "2001: A Space Odyssey," died today in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he lived for more than 50 years. He was 90. An early promoter of interplanetary exploration, in 1945 Clarke wrote a paper describing how telecommunications satellites in geostationary orbit could relay land-based messages. He said a lawyer discouraged him from patenting the idea, as too far-fetched.
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