Asimov, Isaac

Asimov, Isaac (1920–1992), born in Russia, brought to New York City at age three, was graduated from Columbia University at 19 and after military service returned there to receive a Ph.D. in 1948. He was on the faculty of Boston University's School of Medicine for ten years, but his life was devoted to his career of prodigious authorship, which began with his sale of a science fiction story at age 18 to Amazing Stories, though it did not lead to book publication until the appearance of his novel Pebble in the Sky (1950), when he was 30. Since then he turned out book after book in diverse genres on a wide variety of subjects, many of them properly titled Asimov's Guide to …. He is well known for his science fiction stories and novels, particularly for his Foundation series: Foundation (1951), Foundation and Empire (1952), Second Foundation (1953), Foundation's Edge (1982), and Foundation and Earth (1986). His other works include nonfictional studies for adults and for teenagers on numerous scientific and technological subjects, essays on many topics, histories, Biblical studies, humor, and mysteries and fantasies for children and adults. He published numerous works every year, reaching his hundredth in 1969 and his Opus 200 in 1979. At the time of his death, he had published 470 titles. His autobiography, In Memory Yet Green, telling of his life to age 34, appeared in 1979, and was continued in In Joy Still Felt (1980).