News | Entertainment
29 Mar 2024 6:43
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Sir Clive Sinclair has died aged 81

    The inventor and entrepreneur, who was instrumental in bringing home computers to the masses and was best known for the landmark ZX Spectrum, has passed away at the age of 81 following a long illness


    Clive’s daughter Belinda confirmed the news on Thursday (16.09.21), stating he had died that morning at his home in London.

    The illness Clive was facing has not been made public, and his exact cause of death is not yet known.

    Clive was best known for popularising the home computer, but he also invented the pocket calculator, and his daughter described him as an “amazing person”.

    She told The Guardian newspaper: “He was a rather amazing person. Of course, he was so clever and he was always interested in everything. My daughter and her husband are engineers so he’d be chatting engineering with them.”

    Clive left school at the age of 17 and worked for four years as a technical journalist to raise funds to found Sinclair Radionics.

    His first home computer, the ZX80, revolutionised the computer market and was priced at £79.95 in kit form and £99.95 assembled.

    The computer was considerably cheaper than other models available at the time, and sold 50,000, units before being replaced by its successor, the ZX81, which cost £69.95 and sold 250,000.

    In 1982, the technology icon released the ZX Spectrum 48K, which was pivotal in the development of the British games industry, with many much-loved games – including ‘Knight Lore’, ‘Jet Set Willy’, and ‘Chuckie Egg’ – going on to inspire a generation after being developed on the computer.

    By 1983, Clive was awarded a knighthood.

    The inventor was also known for some of his less successful inventions, including the Sinclair C5, which was a battery-powered electric trike which launched in 1985 and was predicted to be a massive hit before it flopped upon release.

    The following year, Clive sold his computer business to Amstrad.

    His daughter Belinda, 57, added: “It was the ideas, the challenge, that he found exciting. He’d come up with an idea and say, ‘There’s no point in asking if someone wants it, because they can’t imagine it.’ ”

    Clive is survived by Belinda, his sons, Crispin and Bartholomew, aged 55 and 52 respectively, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

    © 2024 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     29 Mar: Paris Hilton created a "Barbie doll perfect life" persona as a "trauma response" to the alleged abuse she suffered at school
     28 Mar: Lily Allen was introduced to Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher as Rita Ora - and was too mortified to disclose who she really was
     28 Mar: Mel B's fiance visited her father's grave to "ask permission" to propose to her
     28 Mar: Kris Jenner won't spend quality one-on-one time with her grandchildren because it would cost her too much time and money
     28 Mar: Halle Berry's perimenopause symptoms were mistaken for herpes
     28 Mar: Keke Palmer wants 10 kids
     28 Mar: Taylor Swift's father won't face legal action after allegedly punching a paparazzo
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The Crusaders' struggles to start Super Rugby have drawn concern from Chiefs coach Clayton McMillan More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Another pay offer is on the table for Police - after union members labelled the last one insulting More...



     Today's News

    Law and Order:
    Police enquires are continuing in Auckland's Brown's Bay this morning after a person died after an incident at a sushi restaurant 6:27

    Entertainment:
    Paris Hilton created a "Barbie doll perfect life" persona as a "trauma response" to the alleged abuse she suffered at school 6:23

    Business:
    Another pay offer is on the table for Police - after union members labelled the last one insulting 5:17

    Entertainment:
    Lily Allen was introduced to Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher as Rita Ora - and was too mortified to disclose who she really was 21:53

    Entertainment:
    Mel B's fiance visited her father's grave to "ask permission" to propose to her 21:23

    Accident and Emergency:
    State Highway 6 is blocked by a serious crash, South of Lake Paringa in the South Island's Tasman region 21:17

    Accident and Emergency:
    State Highway One is has now reopened between Kaikoura and Riverlands - after a two-vehicle collision at Kekerengu, north of Kaikoura, this morning 21:17

    International:
    Shopper swallowed as shopping mall floor collapses in eastern China 21:07

    Entertainment:
    Kris Jenner won't spend quality one-on-one time with her grandchildren because it would cost her too much time and money 20:53

    Entertainment:
    Halle Berry's perimenopause symptoms were mistaken for herpes 20:23


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2024 New Zealand City Ltd