I was born in Russia, I didn’t know Russian
On January 2, 1920, Isaac Yudovich Azimov was born into a miller’s family in the village of Petrovichi, Smolensk region. He spent early years in Russia but never learned Russian. His parents spoke Yiddish and English at home, reserving Russian for private conversations behind closed doors.
“If they had spoken Russian openly, I might have soaked it up quickly and added it to my growing language repertoire”, the writer once reflected about his early language environment.
From the start, the family planned a move that would shape his future. Asimov would grow to value English as a universal language and saw it as a powerful tool for his work and life abroad.
I was an atheist, I read the Bible
Isaac’s parents were Orthodox Jews, and Yuda Asimov knew the Torah well. After relocating to the United States, his father shifted away from religious tradition and did not raise his son within a sect. As a result, Asimov approached the Bible through a literary and historical lens, exploring its stories as cultural monuments rather than sacred miracles. His curiosity extended beyond faith into world myths and ancient histories, enriching his understanding of human culture.
Asimov was already a well-known writer who produced Bible guides that, while not scholarly in form, attempted to place the texts in historical and geographical context, complete with maps and commentary on how ancient events influenced legends.
He taught Americans how to pronounce their last names
The surname Azimov, rooted in a word meaning winter, sounded straightforward to many Russians but created challenges in the United States. The father’s imperfect English caused the pronunciation to shift, influencing how the name appeared in print for English readers. As a result, the name became widely recognized as Asimov in Latin scripts.
Some Americans doubted the surname’s authenticity, thinking the author might have chosen a fictional name. To help readers, the writer offered a simple phonetic guide: three common English words combine to form the name when the initial sounds are softened and certain letters removed.
I wrote about space, I was afraid to fly
Much of Asimov’s fiction centers on space and interplanetary travel, most famously the Foundation series. Yet the author carried a real fear of flying and rarely traveled by air, making long-distance journeys rare. He did eventually enjoy cruises and found inspiration onboard ships, including during the Apollo era when he witnessed the final lunar mission from a ship at sea.
He had a high IQ but he thought it was meaningless
Asimov possessed a remarkable IQ, often cited around 160, and he was a longtime member of Mensa. Yet he questioned the significance of IQ as a measure of true intelligence, arguing that social and cultural factors shape cognitive ability just as much as biology does. He believed testing often reflected the creators of the tests more than the tested individuals.
He stayed distant from Mensa, finding the club’s culture less appealing. He suggested that high test scores did not guarantee sound judgment and criticized the tendency of some members to view themselves as intellectually superior. He eventually stepped away from the organization.
He also argued that creative thinking arises from a person’s environment and experiences, not from a number on a page. This view framed his own approach to problem solving and storytelling.
He was an extremely prolific writer
Asimov began writing in childhood. The first surviving published story, Caught by Vesta, appeared when he was eighteen. Over a long life, he produced hundreds of books and thousands of shorter pieces, writing at a pace that astonished many readers and colleagues. His output was remarkable, though not every work reached the same heights.
During the midcareer years, he shifted toward popular science writing, producing more than a hundred books and contributing to science magazines. He earned a chemistry degree from Columbia University in 1948 and leaned into science fiction more fully in his later years.
Beyond books, he wrote tens of thousands of letters and notes, enjoying the back-and-forth with fans from all over the world.
I wanted to be loved completely
Even after achieving fame, the author sought a lasting legacy built on variety, quality, and prolific output. He pursued a wide range of topics and styles, confident that a diverse body of work would endure beyond a single masterpiece.
Today, his best-known contributions remain in the Foundations and Robots cycles, which helped popularize major ideas about future civilizations and the concept of robotics in culture.
The famous early tale Nightfall stands out as a landmark. It imagines a planet with multiple suns where darkness only arrives every 2049 years, a story celebrated for its rigorous thinking and imaginative scope. In 1968, the collection of awards and acclaim recognized it as a standout in science fiction history.
No sex, no aliens
In the mid-20th century, science fiction often faced skepticism. Some readers wondered why Asimov avoided explicit depictions of sexual content or extraterrestrial life. He explained that early experiments with alien beings did not resonate with audiences, leading him to rethink the approach. He later explored these themes in The Gods Themselves, a novel that delves into alien life and human sexuality through an engaging psychological lens.
He rejected the Pentagon’s offer
In the late 1950s, a government project sought top minds to imagine missile defense concepts. A close associate approached Asimov with an invitation to contribute. He declined, fearing constraints on his creative freedom and the potential for heavy security clearance to limit his work. In return, he offered an article on creativity to a defense research program, sharing strong opinions on the value of solitary focus for genuine breakthroughs.
He believed that isolation can sharpen the mind, arguing that a steady stream of outside input often disrupts deep thinking. He noted that many new ideas come after filtering out distractions and allowing the mind to roam freely.
“Isolation fosters creativity. Even when ideas seem obvious, there are countless mistakes that never see the light simply because the mind is crowded with other thoughts”, he wrote.
Died from the consequences of HIV infection
Official records state that Isaac Asimov died on April 6, 1992 from heart and kidney failure. Over time, aspects of his health history became a matter of public discussion, including rumors about an HIV diagnosis. The family maintained that he faced serious health challenges, with a history of heart problems and surgeries affecting his later years.
Asimov faced medical complications linked to his health, including surgeries that involved blood transfusions. Even in illness, he remained productive, continuing to write and publish works after his health declined.
His legacy endures through a vast collection of science fiction and popular science writings, reflecting a mind that never stopped exploring ideas and sharing insights with readers around the world.