Sir Clive Marles Sinclair (30 July 1940 – 16 September 2021) was an English entrepreneur and inventor, best known for being a pioneer in the computing industry and also as the founder of several companies that developed consumer electronics in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Through 2010, Sinclair concentrated on personal transport, including the A-bike, a folding bicycle for commuters which was small enough to fit in a handbag.

Sinclair was appointed Knight Bachelor in the 1983 Birthday Honours for his contributions to the personal computer industry in the UK.

His grandfather George Sinclair was a naval architect who got the paravane, a mine sweeping device, to work.

At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, he was running his own machine tools business in London, and later worked for the Ministry of Supply.

[5][6][7] He and his mother left London for safety to stay with an aunt in Devon, where they eventually moved to Teignmouth.

[9] After he left school at the age of 18, he sold miniature electronic kits by mail order to the hobby market.

Sinclair drew a radio circuit, Model Mark I, with a components list: cost per set 9/11 (49½p), plus coloured wire and solder, nuts and bolts, plus celluloid chassis (drilled) for nine shillings (45p).

The last book Sinclair wrote as an employee of Bernard's was Modern Transistor Circuits for Beginners, published in May 1962.

[15] Sinclair, unable to find capital, joined United Trade Press (UTP) as technical editor of Instrument Practice.

Sinclair undertook a survey of semiconductor devices for Instrument Practice, which appeared in four sections between September 1962 and January 1963.

He produced a design for a miniature radio powered by a couple of hearing aid cells and made a deal with Semiconductors to buy its micro-alloy transistors at 6d (2½p) each in boxes of 10,000.

[14] By the late 1960s and early 1970s, Sinclair Radionics was producing handheld electronic calculators, miniature televisions, and the digital Black Watch wristwatch.

The latter product, introduced in 1975, was a significant failure for Sinclair: in addition to being unable to meet demand, the watch itself was found to be inaccurate and difficult to service, and its battery life was too short.

[20][2] While Sinclair was dealing with the NEB and had seen problems developing, he had a former employee, Christopher Curry, establish a "lifeboat" company, called Science of Cambridge Ltd, in July 1977, called such as they were located near University of Cambridge, and planned for Curry to develop technology from ideas from the school.

[21][22] An early product from Science of Cambridge was a wrist calculator kit, which helped to keep the company financially afloat.

By the time that Sinclair had left Radionics and joined Curry at Science of Cambridge, inexpensive microprocessors had started appearing on the market.

[23] The ZX80 was immediately successful, and besides sales in the UK, Sinclair also sought to introduce the computer into the United States.

This led to a number of these young people learning to program on the ZX Spectrum, using its newfound colour support, to make quirky video games inspired by British humour which they sold through word of mouth and mail order.

So-called "bedroom coders" using the ZX Spectrum gave rise to the start of the UK's video game industry.

[34] With the additional funds, Sinclair converted the Barker & Wadsworth mineral water bottling factory into the company's headquarters in 1982.

[42] Despite these commercial failures, both the C5 and TV80 have since been considered products ahead of their time, with the C5 a precursor to the modern day electric car and the TV80 comparable to watching videos on smartphones.

[44] The price drops meant that consumers saw these computers as more toys rather than productivity tools, and Sinclair Research missed its planned sales milestones for the 1984 holiday season.

Into 1985, Acorn fell under investigation which propagated solvency concerns throughout the computer industry, including Sinclair Research.

The X-1 was first announced in 2010, and incorporated design aspects that the C5 had been panned for, including an open egg-like shell for the rider with a more ergonomic seat, a more powerful motor and larger battery storage, and an effectively lower cost accounting for inflation than the C5.

[53] Sinclair received several honours for his contributions towards helping establish the personal computer industry in the United Kingdom.

[33] 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.

"[65][66][67] 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.

[43] In 2010 Sinclair married Angie Bowness, a former dancer at a Stringfellows nightclub and who represented England for Miss Europe 1995.

[43][69][32] Sinclair was remembered on his death for his contributions towards computing and video games by numerous people, including Elon Musk, Satya Nadella,[70] the Oliver Twins, Debbie Bestwick, Charles Cecil, and David Braben.