A British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, undersea explorer and television series host. He is perhaps most famous for being co-writer of the screenplay for the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, generally considered one of the most influential films of all time. His other science fiction writings earned him a number of Hugo and Nebula awards, along with a large readership, making him into one of the towering figures of the field. For many years he, along with Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov, were known as the Big Three of science fiction.

He emigrated to Sri Lanka in 1956, largely to pursue his interest in scuba diving, where he lived until his death.