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Clive Sinclair
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==Personal life== Sinclair was a poker player and appeared in the first three series of the ''[[Late Night Poker]]'' on [[Channel 4]]. He won the first series final of the ''[[Celebrity Poker Club]]'' spin-off.<ref name="guardian obit"/> Sinclair was an atheist.<ref>"Oh God no", says Sir Clive Sinclair, "I was once asked [to be a godparent] and I said I can't, I'm an atheist. Actually I think I did have a couple, once, but I can't say I looked after them. Sort of lost them, or forgot about them." [[Rosie Millard]], 'Godparenthood that rests on fame, not faith', ''[[The Independent]]'' (London), 28 February 1998, p. 15.</ref><ref name="nytimes 1985"/> He had an [[IQ]] of 159, and was a member of [[Mensa International|Mensa]], and chairman from 1980 to 1997.<ref name=mensabio>{{cite web |url=http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=279 |title=Biography of Sir Clive Sinclair |access-date=25 September 2007 |last=Goodenough |first=Jan |date=March 2000 |publisher=[[Mensa International|British Mensa]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080202182911/http://www.mensa.org.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?ap=1&id=279 |archive-date=2 February 2008}}</ref><ref name="guardian obit 2"/><ref name="the times obit" /><ref name=mensaobit>{{cite web | title=Sir Clive Sinclair β Obituary| publisher=Mensa | date=16 September 2021 | url=https://mensa.org.uk/sir-clive-sinclair/}}</ref> He also participated in marathons including several [[New York City Marathon]]s.<ref name="nytimes 1985">{{cite web | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1985/05/19/magazine/inventing-the-future.html | title = Inventing the Future | first = Barnaby | last = Feder | date = 19 May 1985 | accessdate = 18 September 2021 | work = The New York Times }}</ref> Despite his involvement in computing, Sinclair did not use the Internet, stating that he does not like to have "technical or mechanical things around me" as it distracts from the process of invention.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7481940.stm |title=Sinclair dreams of 'flying cars' |work=BBC News |date=30 June 2008 |access-date=6 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/click_online/8781295.stm | work=BBC News | title=Clive Sinclair on 'elegant' electric vehicles | date=2 July 2010}}</ref> In 2010, he said that he did not use computers, and preferred using the telephone rather than email.<ref>{{cite news | first = Simon | last = Garfield | title = Sir Clive Sinclair: 'I don't use a computer at all'| date = 28 February 2010 | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2010/feb/28/clive-sinclair-interview-simon-garfield | work = The Guardian | access-date = 23 May 2011| location=London}}</ref> In 2014, he predicted, "Once you start to make machines that are rivalling and surpassing humans with intelligence, it's going to be very difficult for us to survive. It's just an inevitability."<ref>{{cite news|title=Syntax era: Sir Clive Sinclair's ZX Spectrum revolution|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-30333671|access-date=17 September 2021|work=[[BBC News]]|date=5 December 2014|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Out of control AI will not kill us, believes Microsoft Research chief|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-31023741|access-date=2 April 2016|work=[[BBC News]]|date=28 January 2015|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Holley |first=Peter |date=29 January 2015 |title=Bill Gates on dangers of artificial intelligence: 'I don't understand why some people are not concerned' |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/01/28/bill-gates-on-dangers-of-artificial-intelligence-dont-understand-why-some-people-are-not-concerned/ |access-date=2 April 2016}}</ref> His first marriage with Ann ended in divorce after twenty years around 1985 due to the pressure from the ongoing financial issues he had with his companies.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-29985976 |title = Sir Clive Sinclair: Tireless inventor ahead of his time | date = 16 September 2021 | accessdate = 17 September 2021 | publisher = [[BBC News]] }}</ref> From his marriage with Ann, he had three children.<ref name="guardian obit"/> In 2010 Sinclair married Angie Bowness, a former dancer at a [[Peter Stringfellow|Stringfellows]] nightclub and who represented England for [[Miss Europe 1995]]. This second marriage lasted for seven years before also ending in divorce.<ref name="guardian obit 2">{{cite web | url =https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/17/sir-clive-sinclair | title = Sir Clive Sinclair | first =Stephan | last =Bates | date = 17 September 2021 | accessdate = 17 September 2021 | work = The Guardian }}</ref> On 16 September 2021, Sinclair died in London following an illness related to cancer that he had for over a decade. He was 81 years old.<ref name="guardian obit">{{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/sep/16/home-computing-pioneer-sir-clive-sinclair-dies-aged-81 | title = Home computing pioneer Sir Clive Sinclair dies aged 81 | first = Haroon | last = Siddique | date = 16 September 2021 | accessdate = 16 September 2021 | work = The Guardian }}</ref><ref name="bbc obit">{{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-58587521 | title = Sir Clive Sinclair: Computing pioneer dies aged 81 | publisher = [[BBC News]] | date = 16 September 2021 | accessdate = 16 September 2021 }}</ref><ref name="arstech obit">{{Cite web|last=Machkovech|first=Sam|date=17 September 2021|title=RIP Sir Clive Sinclair, creator of UK's famed ZX Spectrum gaming computer|url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2021/09/rip-sir-clive-sinclair-creator-of-uks-famed-zx-spectrum-gaming-computer/|access-date=17 September 2021|website=Ars Technica|language=en-us}}</ref> Sinclair was remembered on his death for his contributions towards computing and video games by numerous people, including [[Elon Musk]], [[Satya Nadella]],<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.eenewseurope.com/news/global-tributes-pour-sir-clive-sinclair | title = Global tributes pour in to Sir Clive Sinclair | first= Nick | last = Flarehty | date =17 September 2021 | accessdate= 20 September 2021 |work = [[EeNews Europe]] }}</ref> the [[Oliver Twins]], [[Debbie Bestwick]], [[Charles Cecil]], and [[David Braben]].<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-09-20-the-games-industry-pays-tribute-to-sir-clive-sinclair | title = The games industry pays tribute to Sir Clive Sinclair | first = James | last =Batchelor | date = 20 September 2021 | accessdate = 20 September 2021 | work = [[GamesIndustry.biz]] }}</ref> A ''[[The Times|Times]]'' [[Editorial|leader]] following his death described Sinclair as a tenacious inventor whose career was a triumph of perseverance similar to that of many of Britain's greatest inventors, such as [[James Dyson]] and [[Alexander Graham Bell]], 'who are a reminder that failure is an essential prelude to success'.<ref>{{cite news |title=Tenacious Inventor |work=[[The Times]] |issue=73580, p.33 |date=18 September 2021}}</ref>
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