Clive Sinclair (1940- ) of Sinclair Radionics, Sinclair Vehicles, etc.
Clive Sinclair is a British inventor whose interests range over amplifiers, radios, calculators, pocket TV’s and electric vehicles.
Educated at St George's College, Weybridge
Early 1960s: Assistant editor at Instrument Practice
1963 Set up Sinclair Radionics at the age of 22; produced DIY radio kits (a radio in a matchbox) for sale by mail order[1]
Products included hi-fi amplifiers, tuners, loudspeakers.
1972 Launched small, pocket electronic calculator with much reduced power consumption compared with other calculators based on the Texas Instruments integrated circuit.
1973 Launched the "smallest electronic calculator" in the USA. Planned to launch a small television and a digital watch. The company had 70 employees.
1980 Launched the ZX80 personal microcomputer which sold for £100; it did not include a display unit and used a separate cassette recorder to store programs[2]. He set up Sinclair Research to pursue development of the microcomputer, a flat tube television display, a novel electric motor and a new electronic instrument.
His first electric vehicle was the Sinclair C5, one of the products for which he most famous. At the time, this vehicle was claimed to be ‘a revolution in personal transport’.