Arthur C. Clarke was born in 1917 in Minehead, Somerset. His mother was Nora Clarke and his father was Charles Wright Clarke. He had two brothers, Frederick and Michael and one sister, Mary. There were many events that helped to shape him and his writing style. The first major event in his early life was his first plane ride. He went on a Avro 504 biplane with his mother in 1927, this ride remained in his mind forever, and as he progressed as a writer it fueled his science fiction from jet-planes to space travel. Soon thereafter in 1928 Arthur read his first science fiction magazine. At the young age of twelve he began to develop his almost fanatic obs