Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov is one of the best-known names in science fiction, he is also one of the most prolific authors in a genre where writers are known for their bookshelves full of publications. He published more than 500 volumes during his lifetime and is the only person to ever publish books in each branch of the Dewey Decimal system.

Asimov was born in a small village near Smolensk on January 2, 1920-or thereabouts. Three years later, his family moved to the United States where his father opened a candy shop. It was in this candy shop that Asimov first began reading pulp science fiction in the form of the magazines that were sold in the store.

Asimov had his first story published in one of these magazines in 1939 and his prolific career was launched. He became well-known for his robot stories and is credited with creating the term "robotics" and the three laws of robotics.

His non-fiction books also earned great acclaim and he was considered to have popularized science for the general public. He held a doctorate in biochemistry from Columbia University and was a professor at Boston University for many years.

In April 1992, Asimov died from heart and kidney failure that was a result of AIDS, contracted after receiving tainted blood during a triple-bypass operation in 1983. His doctors convinced him that he should keep his disease a secret and the cause of death was not revealed until his wife published his final autobiography in 2002.

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