Isaac Asimov was born in 1920 in Petrovichi, a rural village in what was at the time the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (SFSR). His parents were Jewish millers. In 1921, Asimov and 16 other children in the village grew ill with pneumonia; he was the only one to survive. The family emigrated to the United States in 1923 when Asimov was three years old.

In Brooklyn, New York, the Asimovs owned candy stores that also sold newspapers and magazines. Young Asimov thus enjoyed access to a plethora of reading material, including science fiction pulp magazines, that he would’ve otherwise been unable to afford. This period of time shaped Asimov’s interests and writing style. After graduating from high school, Asimov attended university first as a zoology major, but switched to chemistry after disapproving of dissecting an alley cat. 

Asimov achieved numerous degrees in chemistry and worked for years as a biochemistry instructor at Boston University, but by 1952, he was making more money writing than teaching. Though he gradually stopped conducting research, focusing instead on lecturing, he remained involved with the university for years. This time spent in academia, and time spent working as a civilian chemist for the Navy, demonstrate Asimov’s immersion in the world of science—his expertise, in turn, brings an element of

Don't Miss Out!

Access Study Guide Now