Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia. His family emigrated to the United States when he was three years old and settled in Brooklyn, New York. His encounters with science-fiction magazines led him to follow the dual careers of writing and science. He entered Columbia University at the age of 15 and at 18 sold his first story to Amazing Stories. After serving in World War II, Asimov earned a Ph.D. at Columbia in 1948; he taught (1949-1958) biochemistry at the Boston University School of Medicine. His first science-fiction novel, Pebble in the Sky, appeared in 1950, and his first science book, a biochemistry text written with two colleagues, in 1953.

Asimov turned to writing full time in 1958. He authored some 500 books for young and adult readers, extending beyond science and science fiction to include mystery stories, humour, history, and several volumes on the Bible and Shakespeare. Among his best-known science-fiction works are I, Robot (1950); The Foundation Trilogy (1951-1953), to which he wrote a sequel 30 years later, Foundation's Edge (1982); The Naked Sun (1957); The Gods Themselves (1972). Among his major science books are the Biographical Encyclopedia of Science and Technology (1964; revised 1982) and Asimov's New Guide to Science (1984), a recent revision of his widely acclaimed Intelligent Man's Guide to Science (1960).

Biography from Microsoft Encarta 96