Isaac Asimov's 105th birth anniversary: what you need to know about the GOAT sci-fi writer

Isaac Asimov had a PhD in chemistry. His first sci-fi story was rejected by a publisher in 1938. (Photo by Phillip Leonian from New York via Wikimedia Commons)

One of the greatest science-fiction writers of all time, Isaac Asimov would have been 105 years old today. Born in Russia on January 2, 1920, Isaac Asimov moved to Boston, US, with his parents in 1923.

The first time Isaac Asimov read a science fiction magazine was in 1929. He became hooked from Day 1. In 1931, he started experimenting with writing. In 1938, Isaac Asimov joined a science-fiction fan group called the Futurians. In June of that same year, he submitted his first story for publication - and got his first rejection.

However, Isaac Asimov managed to sell one of his stories to another publisher in October 1938. It appeared in the March 1939 edition of ‘Amazing Stories’. This became the beginning of an illustrious career as an author and editor of sci-fi.

In fact, Isaac Asimov became so prolific as a sci-fi writer that there were rumours during his lifetime that ‘Isaac Asimov’ was not one person but a ‘label’ under which multiple people wrote. In his introduction to ‘The Bicentennial Man and Other Stories’ (1976), Isaac Asimov wrote: “I’m sorry, if my copious output makes it seem impossible, but I’m alive, I’m young, and I’m only one person.”

Speaking of ‘The Bicentennial Man’, the film version starring Robin Williams was made in 1999 with a budget of nearly USD 100 million. Asimov originally wrote ‘The Bicentennial Man’ for an anthology that never came out. It was later acquired and published by Judy-Lynn del Ray in 1976, in ‘Stellar Science Fiction #2’.

Many of Isaac Asimov’s stories have been adapted for the screen. Examples include the Foundation series, which was adapted by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+. Will Smith starrer ‘I, Robot’ (2004) is another example.

Isaac Asimov wrote or edited more than 500 books, including popular science books like ‘Understanding Physics’ and his memoirs. Asimov had a PhD in chemistry. He served as a civilian chemist at the Naval Air Experimental Station in Philadelphia Navy Yard during World War II. He taught biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine starting in 1949.

Isaac Asimov died aged 72 on April 6, 1992. He had had a triple-bypass surgery in 1983 for his heart and contracted HIV-AIDS through a bad blood transfusion.

Thirty-two years after his death, Asimov continues to be deeply and widely influential - often containing ideas about space travel, AI, pandemics, that resonate with new urgency with readers in the 21st century.