Editing Isaac Asimov (section)

== Life ==
=== Early life ===
Asimov was born in [[Petrovichi]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]],<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 3–4. Avon. "Strictly speaking, then, I was not born in Russia, nor in the U.S.S.R. either, but in the Russian S.F.S.R. (Great Russia). ... Petrovichi was in the Smolensk-guberniya—that is, in the Smolensk district of Great Russia. "Guberniya" is a term no longer used in the U.S.S.R., I believe, and one would now speak of the Smolensk-oblast instead."</ref> on an unknown date between October 4, 1919, and January 2, 1920, inclusive. Asimov celebrated his birthday on January 2.{{efn|name="birthday"}}

Asimov's parents were [[History of the Jews in Russia|Russian Jews]], Anna Rachel (née Berman) and Judah Asimov, the son of a miller.<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', p. 21. Avon.</ref> He was named Isaac after his mother's father, Isaac Berman.<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 8, 22, 30. Avon.</ref> Asimov wrote of his father, "My father, for all his education as an [[Orthodox Jew]], was not Orthodox in his heart", noting that "he didn't recite the [[Prayer in Judaism|myriad prayers prescribed for every action]], and he never made any attempt to teach them to me."<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''I. Asimov: A Memoir'', ch. 5. [[Random House]], 2009. {{ISBN|0-307-57353-2}}</ref>

In 1921, Asimov and 16 other children in Petrovichi developed [[double pneumonia]]. Only Asimov survived.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |year=1975 |title=Before the Golden Age |publisher=Orbit |volume=1 |page=4 |isbn=0-86007-803-5}}</ref> He had two younger siblings: a sister, Marcia (born Manya;<ref>[http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary12 Isaac Asimov FAQ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016074817/http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary12 |date=October 16, 2012 }}, asimovonline.com.</ref> June 17, 1922&nbsp;– April 2, 2011),<ref>{{cite news |title=Marcia (Asimov) Repanes |url=http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=marcia-repanes-asimov&pid=149980085&fhid=3923 |access-date=August 11, 2011 |newspaper=[[Newsday]] |date=April 4, 2011 |archive-date=October 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131026105505/http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/newsday/obituary.aspx?n=marcia-repanes-asimov&pid=149980085&fhid=3923 |url-status=live }}</ref> and a brother, [[Stanley Asimov|Stanley]] (July 25, 1929&nbsp;– August 16, 1995), who would become vice-president of ''[[Newsday]]''.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stanley Asimov, 66, Newsday Executive |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/17/obituaries/stanley-asimov-66-newsday-executive.html |access-date=August 11, 2011 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=August 17, 1995 |archive-date=June 30, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630105356/https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/17/obituaries/stanley-asimov-66-newsday-executive.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green'', p. 661.</ref>

Asimov's family travelled to the United States via Liverpool on the [[RMS Baltic (1903)|RMS ''Baltic'']], arriving on February 3, 1923<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 40–41. Avon.</ref> when he was three years old. His parents spoke [[Yiddish]] and English to him; he never learned [[Russian language|Russian]], his parents using it as a secret language "when they wanted to discuss something privately that my big ears were not to hear".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asimov |first1=Isaac |title=I. Asimov : a memoir |date=2009 |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York |isbn=9780307573537 |page=7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mATFyeVI7IUC&pg=PA7 |access-date=January 25, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=It's Been a Good Life |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |editor-first=Janet |editor-last=Asimov |date=2002 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |location=Amherst, New York |isbn=1-57392-968-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/itsbeengoodlife00asim/page/12 12] |url=https://archive.org/details/itsbeengoodlife00asim/page/12 }}</ref> Growing up in [[Brooklyn]], [[New York City|New York]], Asimov taught himself to read at the age of five (and later taught his sister to read as well, enabling her to enter school in the [[educational stage#United States|second grade]]).<ref>Asimov, Isaac (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 47–48, 80. Avon.</ref> His mother got him into [[educational stage#United States|first grade]] a year early by claiming he was born on September 7, 1919.<ref>{{cite book |title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1994|publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=0-553-56997-X |pages=2–3}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=In Memory Yet Green |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |publisher=Avon Books |date=1979 |isbn=0-380-75432-0 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/inmemoryyetgreen00asim/page/51 51–52] |url=https://archive.org/details/inmemoryyetgreen00asim/page/51 }}</ref> In third grade he learned about the "error" and insisted on an official correction of the date to January 2.<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green'', pp. 51–52.</ref> He became a [[Naturalization|naturalized]] U.S. citizen in 1928 at the age of eight.<ref name=konstantin>{{cite web |url=http://americanindian.net/asimov.html |title=An Interview with Isaac Asimov |last=Konstantin |first=Phil |work=americanindian.net |access-date=March 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 12, 2002 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021012133458/http://americanindian.net/asimov.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

After becoming established in the U.S., his parents owned a succession of [[candy store]]s in which everyone in the family was expected to work. The candy stores sold newspapers and magazines, which Asimov credited as a major influence in his lifelong love of the written word, as it presented him as a child with an unending supply of new reading material (including pulp [[science fiction magazine]]s)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/06/isaac_asimov_100_years_on/ | title=From Soviet to science fiction icon, the weird life of Isaac Asimov 100 years on | website=[[The Register]] | access-date=January 6, 2020 | archive-date=January 6, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200106191331/https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/01/06/isaac_asimov_100_years_on/ | url-status=live }}</ref> that he could not have otherwise afforded. Asimov began reading science fiction at age nine, at the time that the genre was becoming more science-centered.<ref>Leslie, David. "Isaac Asimov: centenary of the great explainer." Natur 577, no. 7792 (2020): 614–616.</ref> Asimov was also a frequent patron of the [[Brooklyn Public Library]] during his formative years.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 27, 2019|title=I, Asimov in Brooklyn: How the Library Shaped a Writer's Mind|url=https://www.bklynlibrary.org/blog/2019/12/27/i-asimov-brooklyn-how|access-date=December 29, 2022|website=Brooklyn Public Library|language=en-us}}</ref>

=== Education and career ===
Asimov attended New York City public schools from age five, including [[Boys and Girls High School|Boys High School]] in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Early Asimov Volume 1 |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |page=10 |publisher=[[Panther Books]] |location=[[St. Albans]], Hertfordshire, UK |date=1973 |isbn=0-586-03806-X}}</ref> Graduating at 15, he attended the [[City College of New York]] for several days before accepting a scholarship at [[Seth Low Junior College]]. This was a branch of [[Columbia University]] in [[Downtown Brooklyn]] designed to absorb some of the academically qualified Jewish and [[Italian-American]] students who applied to the more prestigious [[Columbia College, Columbia University|Columbia College]] but exceeded the unwritten ethnic [[numerus clausus|admission quotas]] which were common at the time. Originally a [[zoology]] major, Asimov switched to [[chemistry]] after his first semester because he disapproved of "dissecting an alley cat". After Seth Low Junior College closed in 1936, Asimov finished his [[Bachelor of Science]] degree at Columbia's Morningside Heights campus (later the [[Columbia University School of General Studies]])<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |year=1979 |pages=156–157, 159–160, 240}}</ref> in 1939. (In 1983, Dr. Robert Pollack (dean of Columbia College, 1982–1989) granted Asimov an honorary doctorate from Columbia College after requiring that Asimov place his foot in a bucket of water to pass the college's swimming requirement.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Gohn |first1=Claudia |title=Nearly a Century Ago, Columbia's Jewish Applicants Were Sent to Brooklyn |url=https://www.columbiaspectator.com/the-eye/2019/04/15/nearly-a-century-ago-columbias-jewish-applicants-were-sent-to-brooklyn/ |website=Columbia Spectator |access-date=December 1, 2024}}</ref>)

After two rounds of rejections by medical schools, Asimov applied to the graduate program in chemistry at Columbia in 1939; initially he was rejected and then only accepted on a probationary basis.<ref name="earlyyears180_183">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/stream/earlyasimovorele00asim#page/180/mode/2up |title=The Early Asimov; or, Eleven Years of Trying |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |publisher=Doubleday |year=1972 |location=Garden City, NY |pages=180–183}}</ref> He completed his [[Master of Arts]] degree in chemistry in 1941 and earned a [[Doctor of Philosophy]] degree in chemistry in 1948.{{efn|He obtained his Ph.D. on May 20, 1948.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |year=1979 |pages=525–526}}</ref> He wrote a dissertation on "Kinetics of the Reaction Inactivation of [[Tyrosinase]] During Its Catalysis of the Aerobic Oxidation of [[Catechol]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asimovreviews.net/Books/Book000.html|title=Kinetics of the Reaction Inactivation of Tyrosinase During Its Catalysis of the Aerobic Oxidation of Catechol|website=www.asimovreviews.net|access-date=February 24, 2019|archive-date=December 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216105636/http://www.asimovreviews.net/Books/Book000.html|url-status=live}}</ref> An abridged version was published in the ''[[Journal of the American Chemical Society]]''<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |year=1979 |page=584}}</ref> (February 1950, p. 820; online at the ''JACS'' website.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja01158a045 |title=On the Reaction Inactivation of Tyrosinase during the Aerobic Oxidation of Catechol |journal=Journal of the American Chemical Society |date=February 1950 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=820–828 |doi=10.1021/ja01158a045|access-date=March 18, 2019 |last1=Asimov |first1=Isaac |last2=Dawson |first2=Charles R. |bibcode=1950JAChS..72..820A |issn=0002-7863}}</ref> {{subscription required}}). (The introduction to the full dissertation was reprinted in his book ''[[Opus 100]]'', pp. 171–173.)}}<ref name="Opus100">Asimov, I. (1969) ''[[Opus 100]]'', Dell, pp. 143–144.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |year=1979 |page=552}}</ref> During his chemistry studies, he also learned French and German.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |year=1979 |pages=298–299}}</ref>

[[File:Heinlein-decamp-and-asimov.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Photo|[[Robert A. Heinlein]], [[L. Sprague de Camp]], and Asimov (left to right), [[Philadelphia Naval Shipyard|Philadelphia Navy Yard]], 1944]]

From 1942 to 1945 during [[World War II]], between his masters and doctoral studies, Asimov worked as a civilian chemist at the [[Philadelphia Navy Yard]]'s Naval Air Experimental Station and lived in the [[Walnut Hill, Philadelphia|Walnut Hill]] section of [[West Philadelphia]].<ref>{{cite web |first1=Edward |last1=Seiler |first2=John H. |last2=Jenkin |url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary6 |title=Frequently Asked Questions about Isaac Asimov |publisher=asimovonline.com |date=1994–2014 |access-date=July 27, 2014 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016074817/http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary6 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Bart|last=Everts|url=http://hiddencityphila.org/2014/07/sci-phi-isaac-asimovs-west-philly-years/|title=SciPhi: Isaac Asimov's West Philly Years|date=July 18, 2014 |access-date=July 28, 2014|archive-date=May 18, 2016|archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20160518042200/http://hiddencityphila.org/2014/07/sci-phi-isaac-asimovs-west-philly-years/|url-status=live}}</ref> In September 1945, he was conscripted into the post-war [[United States Army|U.S. Army]]; if he had not had his birth date corrected while at school, he would have been officially 26 years old and ineligible.<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green'', p. 426.</ref> In 1946, a bureaucratic error caused his military allotment to be stopped, and he was removed from a task force days before it sailed to participate in [[Operation Crossroads]] nuclear weapons tests at [[Bikini Atoll]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |pages=467–468}}</ref> He was  promoted to [[corporal]] on July 11 before receiving an [[honorable discharge]] on July 26, 1946.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |pages=472–3, 476}}</ref>{{efn|He had entered the army on November 1, 1945.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |page=432}}</ref>}}

After completing his doctorate and a [[Postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral]] year with [[Robert Elderfield]],<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green''. p. 515.</ref> Asimov was offered the position of [[associate professor]] of [[biochemistry]] at the [[Boston University School of Medicine]]. This was in large part due to his years-long correspondence with [[William C. Boyd|William Boyd]], a former associate professor of biochemistry at Boston University, who initially contacted Asimov to compliment him on his story ''[[Nightfall (Asimov novelette and novel)|Nightfall]]''.<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green''. p. 411.</ref> Upon receiving a promotion to professor of [[immunochemistry]], Boyd reached out to Asimov, requesting him to be his replacement. The initial offer of professorship was withdrawn and Asimov was offered the position of instructor of biochemistry instead, which he accepted.<ref name="p546">Asimov, Isaac. ''In Memory Yet Green''. p. 546.</ref> He began work in 1949 with a $5,000 salary{{r|earlyyears560_564}} ({{Inflation|US|5000|1949|r=-3|fmt=eq}}), maintaining this position for several years.<ref name="wiredforbooks">{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20080926040513/http://wiredforbooks.org/isaacasimov/ Isaac Asimov Interview with Don Swaim]}} (1987)</ref> By 1952, however, he was making more money as a writer than from the university, and he eventually stopped doing research, confining his university role to lecturing students.{{efn|Between 1950 and 1953 he published seven scientific research papers: the summary of his PhD dissertation (described in an earlier explanatory note), which he described as "my longest and my best," and six papers about his research at Boston University ("all those papers were unimportant").<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Memory Yet Green |pages=584–585}}</ref>}} In 1955, he was promoted to [[tenure]]d associate professor. In December 1957, Asimov was dismissed from his teaching post, with effect from June 30, 1958, due to his lack of research. After a struggle over two years, he reached an agreement with the university that he would keep his title<ref>Multiple sources:
* Asimov, Isaac (1975) ''Buy Jupiter and Other Stories'', VGSF (1988 ed.), p. 112
* {{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |date=1994|pages=195–200}}
* {{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=The Tragedy of the Moon |date=1973|pages=222–223|bibcode=1973trmo.book.....A }}</ref> and give the opening lecture each year for a biochemistry class.{{r|nichols19690803}} On October 18, 1979, the university honored his writing by promoting him to full professor of biochemistry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |date=1994|page=199}}</ref> Asimov's personal papers from 1965 onward are archived at the university's [[Mugar Memorial Library]], to which he donated them at the request of curator Howard Gotlieb.<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=In Joy Still Felt |pages=353–355}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://hgar-srv3.bu.edu/collections/collection?id=121382 |access-date=July 27, 2016 |title=Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center: Asimov, Isaac (1920–1992) |archive-date=August 14, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160814170104/http://hgar-srv3.bu.edu/collections/collection?id=121382 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 1959, after a recommendation from [[Arthur Obermayer]], Asimov's friend and a scientist on the [[U.S. missile defense]] project, Asimov was approached by [[DARPA]] to join Obermayer's team. Asimov declined on the grounds that his ability to write freely would be impaired should he receive [[classified information]], but submitted a paper to DARPA titled "On Creativity"<ref name="technologyreview.com">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/10/20/169899/isaac-asimov-asks-how-do-people-get-new-ideas/ |access-date=April 1, 2021 |date=October 20, 2014 |title=Isaac Asimov Asks, 'How Do People Get New Ideas?' |magazine=[[MIT Technology Review]] |archive-date=April 1, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210401040048/https://www.technologyreview.com/2014/10/20/169899/isaac-asimov-asks-how-do-people-get-new-ideas/ |url-status=live }}</ref> containing ideas on how government-based science projects could encourage team members to think more creatively.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/the-write-stuff-asimovs-secret-cold-war-mission-jc8k5w9pb7b |access-date=October 27, 2014 |date=October 27, 2014 |title=The write stuff: Asimov's secret Cold War mission |last=Dean |first=James |newspaper=[[The Times]] |archive-date=October 27, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027182242/http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/technology/article4248519.ece |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Personal life ===
Asimov met his first wife, Gertrude Blugerman (May 16, 1917, [[Toronto]], Canada<ref>Asimov, I. (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', (Avon 1980 edition), p. 351.</ref>&nbsp;– October 17, 1990, [[Boston]], U.S.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Gertrude-Asimov-Blugerman/6000000010837202541 |title= Gertrude Asimov Blugerman|website= Geni.com|date= May 16, 1917| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190323094144/https://www.geni.com/people/Gertrude-Asimov-Blugerman/6000000010837202541 |archive-date= March 23, 2019 | access-date= March 23, 2019}}</ref>), on a [[blind date]] on February 14, 1942, and married her on July 26.<ref>Asimov, I. (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', (Avon 1980 edition), p. 364.</ref> The couple lived in an apartment in [[West Philadelphia]] while Asimov was employed at the Philadelphia Navy Yard (where two of his co-workers were [[L. Sprague de Camp]] and [[Robert A. Heinlein]]). Gertrude returned to Brooklyn while he was in the Army, and they both lived there from July 1946 before moving to [[Stuyvesant Town]], [[Manhattan]], in July 1948. They moved to [[Boston]] in May 1949, then to nearby suburbs [[Somerville, Massachusetts|Somerville]] in July 1949, [[Waltham, Massachusetts|Waltham]] in May 1951, and, finally, [[West Newton, Massachusetts|West Newton]] in 1956.<ref>Asimov, I. (1979) ''In Memory Yet Green'', (Avon 1980 edition), pp. 355, 366, 476, 480–481, 532, 560–563, 623, and Asimov, I. (1979) ''In Joy Still Felt'', (Avon 1980 edition), pp. 47–49.</ref> They had two children, David (born 1951) and Robyn Joan (born 1955).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html |title=Isaac Asimov FAQ |work=asimovonline.com |access-date=March 3, 2015 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016074817/http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1970, they separated and Asimov moved back to New York, this time to the [[Upper West Side]] of Manhattan where he lived for the rest of his life.<ref>Asimov wrote in 1969 that "periodic trips to New York ... have, more and more, become a kind of highlight to my life". {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/nightfallotherst00asim#page/244/mode/2up|title=Nightfall, and other stories|last=Asimov|first=Isaac|date=1969|publisher=Doubleday|page=267}}</ref> He began seeing [[Janet Asimov|Janet O. Jeppson]], a psychiatrist and science-fiction writer, and married her on November 30, 1973,<ref>Asimov, Isaac. (1975) ''Buy Jupiter and Other Stories'', VGSF (1988 ed.), p. 205.</ref> two weeks after his divorce from Gertrude.<ref>{{cite book|title=In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954–1978 |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1980 |publisher=[[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |location=Garden City, New York |isbn=0-385-15544-1 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/injoystillfelt00isaa/page/659 659, 661] |url=https://archive.org/details/injoystillfelt00isaa/page/659 }}</ref>

Asimov was a [[Claustrophilia|claustrophile]]: he enjoyed small, enclosed spaces.<ref>{{cite book|title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1994 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=0-385-41701-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/129 129–131] |url=https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/129 }}</ref>{{efn|{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/nightfallotherst00asim#page/244/mode/2up|title=Nightfall, and Other Stories|last=Asimov|first=Isaac|date=1969|publisher=Doubleday|page=244|quote=I wrote a novel in 1953 which pictured a world in which everyone lived in underground cities, comfortably enclosed away from the open air. People would say, 'How could you imagine such a nightmarish situation?' And I would answer in astonishment, 'What nightmarish situation?'}}}} In the third volume of his autobiography, he recalls a childhood desire to own a magazine stand in a [[New York City Subway]] station, within which he could enclose himself and listen to the rumble of passing trains while reading.<ref>{{cite book |title=In Memory Yet Green: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1920–1954 |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1979 |publisher=Doubleday |location=Garden City, New York |isbn=0-385-13679-X}}</ref>

Asimov was [[fear of flying|afraid of flying]], doing so only twice: once in the course of his work at the Naval Air Experimental Station and once returning home from [[Oahu|Oʻahu]] in 1946. Consequently, he seldom traveled great distances. This phobia influenced several of his fiction works, such as the [[Wendell Urth]] mystery stories and the ''Robot'' novels featuring [[Elijah Baley]]. In his later years, Asimov found enjoyment traveling on [[cruise ship]]s, beginning in 1972 when he viewed the [[Apollo 17]] launch from a [[SS Statendam (1956)|cruise ship]].<ref>Asimov, I. (1973) "The Cruise and I", in ''The Tragedy of the Moon'' (1973, Dell), chapter 16.</ref> On several cruises, he was part of the entertainment program, giving science-themed talks aboard ships such as the ''[[Queen Elizabeth 2]]''.<ref name="Acrophobia">{{cite book|title=I. Asimov: A Memoir |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1994 |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |isbn=0-385-41701-2 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/125 125–129] |url=https://archive.org/details/iasimovmemoir00asim_0/page/125 }}</ref> He sailed to England in June 1974 on the {{SS|France|1960|6}} for a trip mostly devoted to lectures in London and Birmingham,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fiawol.org.uk/fanstuff/then%20archive/1974Asimov/asimov.htm |title=Asimov in the UK |website=Rob Hansen's Fan Stuff |access-date=July 16, 2020 |archive-date=September 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930035853/http://www.fiawol.org.uk/fanstuff/then%20archive/1974Asimov/asimov.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> though he also found time to visit [[Stonehenge]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Platt |first=Charles |editor-last=Durwood |editor-first=Thomas |title=Ariel, The Book of Fantasy, Volume 4 |publisher=Ariel Books |date=1978 |pages=28–31 |chapter=A Visit with Isaac Asimov |isbn=9780345278296}}</ref> and Shakespeare's birthplace.<ref>Asimov (1980) ''In Joy Still Felt'', p. 676</ref>

[[File:Isaac and Janet Asimov.jpg|thumb|right|Asimov with his second wife, Janet. "They became a permanent feature of my face, and it is now difficult to believe early photographs that show me without sideburns."<ref>Asimov (1980), ''In Joy Still Felt'', p. 471.</ref> (Photo by Jay Kay Klein.)]]
Asimov was a [[teetotalism|teetotaler]].{{sfn|Asimov|1971|p=[https://archive.org/details/isaacasimovstrea00asim/page/106/mode/2up 106]}}

He was an able public speaker and was regularly invited to give talks about science in his distinct [[New York accent]]. He participated in many [[science fiction convention]]s, where he was friendly and approachable.<ref name="Acrophobia"/> He patiently answered tens of thousands of questions and other mail with postcards and was pleased to give autographs. He was of medium height, {{height|ft=5|in=9}}<ref>''In Memory Yet Green'', p. 22.</ref> and stocky build. In his later years, he adopted a signature style of "mutton-chop" [[sideburns]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.space.com/42222-astounding-science-fiction-book-excerpt.html|title=Asimov's Sword: Excerpt from 'Astounding' History of Science Fiction|last=Lewin|first=Sarah|date=October 23, 2018|website=[[Space.com]]|publisher=[[Purch Group|Purch]]|access-date=November 9, 2018|archive-date=November 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181110040337/https://www.space.com/42222-astounding-science-fiction-book-excerpt.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-et-jc-harlan-ellison-isaac-asimov-studs-terkel-together-video-20130503-story.html|title=Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov, Studs Terkel together in 1982 video|last=Kellogg|first=Carolyn|date=May 6, 2013|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=November 9, 2018|archive-date=October 17, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181017201429/http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/06/entertainment/la-et-jc-harlan-ellison-isaac-asimov-studs-terkel-together-video-20130503|url-status=live}}</ref> He took to wearing [[bolo tie]]s after his wife Janet objected to his clip-on bow ties.<ref>Asimov, I. (1980) ''In Joy Still Felt'', p. 677.</ref> He never learned to swim or ride a bicycle, but did learn to drive a car after he moved to Boston. In his humor book ''Asimov Laughs Again'', he describes Boston driving as "anarchy on wheels".<ref>{{cite book|title=Asimov Laughs Again |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=1992 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |location=New York |isbn=0-06-016826-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/asimovlaughsagai00isaa }}</ref>

Asimov's wide interests included his participation in later years in organizations devoted to the [[comic opera]]s of [[Gilbert and Sullivan]].<ref name="Acrophobia"/> Many of his short stories mention or quote Gilbert and Sullivan.{{sfnp|White|2005|pp=83, 219–220}} He was a prominent member of [[The Baker Street Irregulars]], the leading [[Sherlock Holmes]] society,<ref name="Acrophobia"/> for whom he wrote an essay arguing that Professor Moriarty's work "The Dynamics of An Asteroid" involved the willful destruction of an ancient, civilized planet. He was also a member of the male-only literary banqueting club the [[Trap Door Spiders]], which served as the basis of his fictional group of mystery solvers, the [[Black Widowers]].<ref name="Asimov_p376-377">Asimov, Isaac. ''I. Asimov, a Memoir'', New York, Doubleday, 1994, pp. 376–377.</ref> He later used his essay on Moriarty's work as the basis for a Black Widowers story, "[[The Ultimate Crime]]", which appeared in ''[[More Tales of the Black Widowers]]''.<ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''More Tales of the Black Widowers'', Greenwich (Connecticut), [[Fawcett Crest]], 1976, p. 223.</ref><ref>Asimov, Isaac. ''In Joy Still Felt'', Avon, 1980, pp. 699–700.</ref>

In 1984, the [[American Humanist Association]] (AHA) named him the Humanist of the Year. He was one of the signers of the [[Humanist Manifesto II|''Humanist Manifesto'']].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.americanhumanist.org/Humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_II |title=Humanist Manifesto II |publisher=American Humanist Association |access-date=October 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020110719/http://www.americanhumanist.org/humanism/Humanist_Manifesto_II |archive-date=October 20, 2012 }}</ref> From 1985 until his death in 1992, he served as honorary president of the AHA, and was succeeded by his friend and fellow writer [[Kurt Vonnegut]]. He was also a close friend of ''[[Star Trek]]'' creator [[Gene Roddenberry]], and earned a screen credit as "special science consultant" on ''[[Star Trek: The Motion Picture]]'' for his advice during production.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/09/isaacasimov|title=Isaac Asimov|date=July 22, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510164909/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2008/jun/09/isaacasimov|archive-date=May 10, 2017|url-status=live|work=The Guardian|access-date=March 3, 2015}}</ref>

Asimov was a founding member of the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, CSICOP (now the [[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]])<ref>*{{cite web |title=Sixteen Notable Figures in Science and Skepticism Elected CSI Fellows |date=January 12, 2010 |url=http://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/sixteen_notable_figures_in_science_and_skepticism_elected_csi_fellows |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] |access-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-date=October 24, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024204448/https://www.csicop.org/news/press_releases/show/sixteen_notable_figures_in_science_and_skepticism_elected_csi_fellows |url-status=live }}
* {{cite magazine |last=Blackmore |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Blackmore |title=Playing with fire / Firewalking with the Wessex Skeptics |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12717254.900--forum-playing-with-fire--firewalking-with-the-wessex-skeptics--.html |magazine=[[New Scientist]] |access-date=October 11, 2012 |archive-date=October 4, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004220126/http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg12717254.900--forum-playing-with-fire--firewalking-with-the-wessex-skeptics--.html |url-status=live }}
* {{cite web |title=About CSI |url=http://www.csicop.org/about/about_csi/ |publisher=[[Committee for Skeptical Inquiry]] |access-date=April 29, 2014 |archive-date=April 21, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421083212/http://www.csicop.org/about/about_csi |url-status=live }}</ref> and is listed in its Pantheon of Skeptics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.csicop.org/about/the_pantheon_of_skeptics/ |title=The Pantheon of Skeptics |access-date=April 29, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121013103203/http://www.csicop.org/about/the_pantheon_of_skeptics/ |archive-date=October 13, 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> In a discussion with [[James Randi]] at [[CSICon|CSICon 2016]] regarding the founding of CSICOP, [[Kendrick Frazier]] said that Asimov was "a key figure in the [[Skeptical movement]] who is less well known and appreciated today, but was very much in the public eye back then." He said that Asimov's being associated with CSICOP "gave it immense status and authority" in his eyes.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Conversation with James Randi|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZQNuw2jjzg&t=1s|website=[[YouTube]]| date=August 14, 2017 |publisher=[[Center For Inquiry]]|access-date=August 25, 2017|archive-date=February 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228220925/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZQNuw2jjzg|url-status=live}}</ref>{{rp|13:00}}

Asimov described [[Carl Sagan]] as one of only two people he ever met whose intellect surpassed his own. The other, he claimed, was the [[computer scientist]] and [[artificial intelligence]] expert [[Marvin Minsky]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |author-link=Isaac Asimov |title=In Joy Still Felt: The Autobiography of Isaac Asimov, 1954–1978 |orig-year=Originally published 1980; Garden City, NY: [[Doubleday (publisher)|Doubleday]] |date=1981 |publisher=[[Avon (publisher)|Avon]] |location=New York |isbn=0-380-53025-2 |oclc=7880716 |lccn=79003685 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/injoystillfelt00isaa/page/217 217, 302] |url=https://archive.org/details/injoystillfelt00isaa/page/217 }}</ref> Asimov was an on-and-off member and honorary vice president of [[Mensa International]], albeit reluctantly;<ref>{{cite book |last1=Asimov |first1=Isaac |title=I.Asimov: A Memoir |date=2009 |edition=ebook |publisher=Bantam Books |location=New York |isbn=978-0-307-57353-7 |oclc=612306604 |pages=546–547 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mATFyeVI7IUC&pg=PT546 |access-date=July 3, 2014 |archive-date=July 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728030600/http://books.google.com/books?id=mATFyeVI7IUC&pg=PT546 |url-status=live }}</ref> he described some members of that organization as "brain-proud and aggressive about their IQs".<ref>{{cite book |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |title=I, Asimov: A Memoir |publisher=Doubleday |location=New York |date=1994 |page=380 }}</ref>{{efn|On the subject of IQ tests, Asimov wrote: "there is no objective definition of intelligence, and what we call intelligence is only a creation of cultural fashion and subjective prejudice,"<ref>"Thinking About Thinking" in ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', January 1975.</ref> and "I simply don't think it is reasonable to use IQ tests to produce results of questionable value, which may then serve to justify racists in their own minds and to help bring about the kinds of tragedies we have already witnessed earlier in this century."<ref>"Alas, All Human" in ''Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction'', June 1979.</ref>}}

After his father died in 1969, Asimov annually contributed to a Judah Asimov Scholarship Fund at [[Brandeis University]].<ref>Asimov (1981), ''In Joy Still Felt'', Avon Books edition (originally Doubleday, 1980), p. 500.</ref>

In 2006, he was named by [[Carnegie Corporation of New York]] to the inaugural class of winners of the [[Great Immigrants Award]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=2006 Great Immigrants: Isaac Asimov |url=https://www.carnegie.org/awards/honoree/isaac-asimov/ |access-date=February 20, 2024 |website=Great Immigrants Great Americans}}</ref>

=== Illness and death ===
In 1977, Asimov had a [[heart attack]]. In December 1983, he had [[Coronary artery bypass surgery|triple bypass surgery]] at NYU Medical Center, during which he contracted [[HIV]] from a [[blood transfusion]].<ref name="faq-nonlit">{{cite web |url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary2 |title=Asimov FAQ |date=September 27, 2004 |access-date=January 17, 2007 |archive-date=October 16, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016074817/http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary2 |url-status=live }}</ref> His HIV status was kept secret out of concern that the [[Discrimination against people with HIV/AIDS|anti-AIDS prejudice]] might extend to his family members.<ref name=Aids/>

He died in Manhattan on April 6, 1992, and was cremated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary2|title=Isaac Asimov FAQ|website=www.asimovonline.com|access-date=December 13, 2002|archive-date=October 16, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016074817/http://www.asimovonline.com/asimov_FAQ.html#non-literary2|url-status=live}}</ref> The cause of death was reported as heart and [[Renal failure|kidney failure]].<ref name=obit>{{cite news |title=Isaac Asimov, Whose Thoughts and Books Traveled the Universe, Is Dead at 72 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/07/books/isaac-asimov-whose-thoughts-and-books-traveled-the-universe-is-dead-at-72.html |access-date=September 4, 2012 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 7, 1992 |page=B7 |archive-date=May 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530061354/http://www.nytimes.com/1992/04/07/books/isaac-asimov-whose-thoughts-and-books-traveled-the-universe-is-dead-at-72.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=It's Been a Good Life |last=Asimov |first=Isaac |date=2002 |publisher=[[Prometheus Books]] |location=New York |isbn=978-1-57392-968-4 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/itsbeengoodlife00asim/page/251 251–253] |url=https://archive.org/details/itsbeengoodlife00asim/page/251 }}</ref><ref name=janetLetter/> Ten years following Asimov's death, Janet and Robyn Asimov agreed that the HIV story should be made public; Janet revealed it in her edition of his autobiography, ''[[It's Been a Good Life]]''.<ref name="faq-nonlit"/><ref name=janetLetter>{{cite web |url=http://www.locusmag.com/2002/Issue04/Letter.html |title=Locus Online: Letter from Janet Asimov |date=April 4, 2002 |access-date=January 17, 2007 |archive-date=October 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191002160457/http://www.locusmag.com/2002/Issue04/Letter.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=Aids>"Widow reveals Isaac Asimov died from Aids", ''[[The Sunday Times]]'', March 17, 2002.</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Hal |last=Bock|title=Ashe says transfusion gave him AIDS: Former tennis star blames tainted blood received during 1983 bypass surgery|date=April 9, 1992|page=E5|newspaper=The Globe and Mail}}</ref>