Asimov, Isaac (redirected from Isaac Asimov)

Asimov, Isaac (ăz`əmŏf), 1920–92, American author and scientist, b. Petrovichi, USSR, grad. Columbia Univ. (B.S., 1939; M.A., 1941; Ph.D., 1948). An astonishingly prolific author, he wrote over 400 books. He first became prominent as a writer of such science fiction as I, Robot (1950, repr. 1970), The Caves of Steel (1954), and his most famous novel, The Foundation Trilogy (1951–53), which chronicled the fall of the Galactic Empire. They were supplemented by two additional novels, Foundation's Edge (1982) and Robots and Empire (1985). He was also a great popularizer of science. His works in this field include The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (2 vol., rev. ed. 1965), The Stars in Their Courses (1971), and Did Comets Kill the Dinosaurs? (1987). In his later years he wrote on a diverse number of subjects, including guides to the Bible (1968–69) and Shakespeare (1970).

Bibliography

See his memoirs In Memory Yet Green (1979) and In Joy Still Felt (1981); study by J. Fiedler and J. Mele (1982).

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Asimov, Isaac

(born Jan. 2, 1920, Petrovichi, Russia—died April 6, 1992, New York, N.Y., U.S.) Russian-born U.S. author and biochemist. He arrived in the U.S. at age 3, earned a doctorate from Columbia University, and subsequently taught for many years at Boston University. Before embarking on graduate study, he had already begun publishing his stories. “Nightfall” (1941) is often called the finest science-fiction short story ever written. His I, Robot (1950) greatly influenced how later writers treated intelligent machines. A trilogy of novels—Foundation, Foundation and Empire, and Second Foundation (1951–53)—is widely considered a classic. Asimov's nonfiction science books for lay readers are noted for their lucidity and humour. Immensely prolific, he published more than 300 volumes in all.

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Asimov, Isaac (1920–92) writer, scientist; born in Petrovichi, Russia. He came to New York City at age three. A Columbia Ph.D., he taught biochemistry at Boston University School of Medicine after 1949. He was an author, lecturer, and broadcaster of legendary prolificacy and astonishing range, but is most admired as a popularizer of science (The Collapsing Universe (1977)) and a science fiction writer (I, Robot (1950)), The Foundation Trilogy (1951–53)). He coined the term "robotics."