Asimov, Isaac (1920-1992)

Russian-born US author and editor of science fiction and nonfiction. He published more than 400 books, including his science fiction novels I, Robot (1950) and the Foundation trilogy (1951-53), continued in Foundation's Edge (1983). His two-volume work The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (1960) gained critical acclaim.

Asimov emigrated to the USA as a child. He graduated from Columbia University with a PhD in 1948. Trained as a biochemist, Asimov wrote numerous non-fiction works on scientific subjects.

These include Building Blocks of the Universe (1957); Until the Sun Dies (1977), about black holes; and The Exploding Suns: The Secrets of the Supernovas (1985). His science fiction works include short stories, and he wrote two autobiographical volumes (1981, 1982).

Asimov saw his first science fiction story published 1939, but did not become a full-time writer until 1958, when he largely turned from fiction to popular science. His ‘three laws of robotics’, which became widely accepted in science fiction, first appeared in a 1941 story. They specify that a robot must not harm a human being; must obey orders from humans unless they conflict with the first law; and must preserve its own existence unless this conflicts with the first or second law.