Isaac Asimov

Born Isaak Yudovich Ozimov in Russia in about 1920, Isaac Asimov is well known for his science fiction and popular science books. He also wrote mysteries, fantasy, and works on Shakespeare, mathematics, and the Bible. Asimov's family emigrated to the United States when he was a toddler, and he became a naturalized American citizen in 1928. Asimov attended public schools in Brooklyn, New York, graduating at 15 from high school. He attended college at two different branches of Columbia University, graduating with a BS degree in chemistry in 1939. Continuing at Columbia, Asimov completed an MA in chemistry in 1941 and a PhD in biochemistry in 1948. He interrupted his studies to work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard's Experimental Air Station and to serve in the U.S. Army after the war ended. Once he completed his doctorate, he joined the faculty at Boston University School of Medicine where he remained even when his writing income surpassed his academic salary. Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 books and hundreds of short stories. Widely considered a science fiction master, he was the author of three major series, Foundation, Galactic Empire, and Robot. His story Nightfall was voted as the best science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 1964. An asteroid, a crater on Mars, a literary award, and a high school in Brooklyn are all named in his honor. He won many awards for particular works along with lifetime achievement awards and fourteen honorary doctorates. Asimov died in 1992.