Isaac Asimov

 

Isaac Asimov

Prolific science fiction writer Isaac Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russian SFSR, on an unknown date between October 4, 1919, and January 2, 1920, inclusive. He celebrated his birthday on January 2. Asimov was brought to the United States with his family in 1923, and became a US citizen in 1928. He obtained his undergraduate degree from Columbia University in 1939, and took a Doctor of Philosophy degree in chemistry in 1948. In 1949 he joined the Boston University School of Medicine, where he became associate professor of biochemistry. He left the position in 1958 and became a full-time writer.

   Asimov was central to science fiction’s Golden Age. Across a prolific career spanning five decades, he produced nearly 500 books, but it is his science fiction — particularly the "Foundation" series and his robot stories — that secured his place in literary history. 

   Asimov's robot stories, collected primarily in "I, Robot" (1950), "The Caves of Steel" (1954) and "The Naked Sun" (1957), introduced the famous Three Laws of Robotics, a conceptual framework that has influenced not just science fiction but real-world discussions about artificial intelligence and machine ethics. They created a playground for exploring moral paradoxes and the relationship between humanity and its creations. Through detective R. Daneel Olivaw and other mechanical protagonists, Asimov examined what it means to be conscious, ethical, and alive.


Three Laws of Robotics:

First Law
A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.

Second Law
A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.

Third Law
A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

— Isaac Asimov
"Runaround" in Astounding Science Fiction (March 1942); later published in "I, Robot" (1950)

 

Isaac Asimov

   The "Foundation" series (short stories and novellas 1942–50, collected in three books 1951–53) showcased Asimov's grandest vision: a galactic empire spanning thousands of worlds and the mathematical science of "psychohistory" that could predict the future of large populations. Inspired by Edward Gibbon's "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire", Asimov crafted an epic exploring how civilizations rise, fall, and regenerate. In 1966, the Foundation trilogy won a Hugo Award for the best science-fiction series ever written. 

   Asimov's science fiction short story "Nightfall" (1941) was voted in 1968 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as the best sf short story of all time. In the time-travel mystery "The End of Eternity" (1955), considered by some critics to be his best work, he demonstrated his ability to weave complex temporal paradoxes into coherent narratives. Under the pen name Paul French, he wrote the "Lucky Starr" series (1952–1958) of juvenile science-fiction novels. "The Gods Themselves" (1972), which won both Hugo and Nebula awards, was a complex tale involving potentially catastrophic energy transfers between alternate universes and depicts alien beings. In the 1980s, Asimov began writing a series of novels in which he ambitiously attempted to combine the "Robot" and "Foundation" series into a single, coherent series.

   Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction, including many popular science books. Most of his popular science books explain concepts in a historical way, reaching back as far as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest phase of development. Examples include "Guide to Science", the three-volume "Understanding Physics", and "Asimov's Chronology of Science and Discovery". He wrote on numerous other scientific and non-scientific topics, such as chemistry, astronomy, mathematics, history, biblical exegesis, and literary criticism. Asimov died in Manhattan, New York City, on April 6, 1992.

  

"Predicting the future is a hopeless, thankless task, with ridicule to begin with and, all too often, scorn to end with."
 
— Isaac Asimov
 "The World of 1990" in The Diners' Club Magazine, January 1965
 
The front cover arts for the "Foundation" trilogy books. Gnome Press first editions (1951–1953)
 

References:

Encyclopedia Britannica: Isaac Asimov
Encyclopedia of Science Fiction: Asimov, Isaac

 

© 2025, Andrew Mirecki 

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