Isaac Asimov

Writer / Chemist

Isaac Asimov was born in the former Soviet Union, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He taught biochemistry at Boston University until he retired in 1958 to become a full-time writer. Asimov had been publishing short stories since the late 1930s, and in 1952 published his first novel. The author of the classic I, Robot series and The Foundation Trilogy, Asimov wrote more than 400 books and won every major science fiction award. He also wrote popular books and essays on science and technology, earning him the nickname "The Great Explainer."

Extra credit: According to the Isaac Asimov FAQ, the author died of "heart and kidney failure, which were complications of the HIV infection he contracted from a transfusion of tainted blood during his December 1983 triple-bypass operation." HIV was not revealed as the cause of his death until 2002, when his widow Janet published the memoir It's Been a Good Life.

Other sci-fi authors of the era include Robert Heinlein, Arthur C. Clarke, Frank Herbert and Philip K. Dick.