2nd January: Isaac Asimov

Science fiction author Isaac Asimov was born on this date in 1920. This is why today is also National Science Fiction Day. Here are some facts about Mr Asimov that you may not know.

1. He may have been born on this date. He was born in Russia and there were no accurate records kept at the time, so even his family weren't sure of his birthdate. Isaac chose the date on which to celebrate his birthday himself.
2. His surname derives from the Russian word for winter crops, his family's traditional occupation. He resisted any suggestion to use a more common American pen name as he believed an unusual name made him more recognisable. This didn't stop fans from asking him if Isaac Asimov was actually a pen name.
3. He taught himself to read when he was five, and graduated high school at 15. He went to university to study zoology, but switched to chemistry after a term because he didn't want to dissect a Cat. He ended up as a researcher and lecturer at the Boston University School of Medicine, but eventually found there was more money in writing than research. He still lectured students but gave up on research.
4. He put his love of the written word down to having to work in his family's shop, which sold newspapers and magazines. He claimed he couldn't have afforded to read anything like as much without the constant supply of publications in the shop.
5. Asimov began writing at the age of 11. His first published work was a humorous item about the birth of his brother for Boys High School's literary journal in 1934. His first science fiction story, Cosmic Corkscrew, was published in 1937. His writing method was to imagine the ending, then the beginning then "let everything in-between work itself out as I come to it". Writing to an outline or plan, he said, was "like trying to play the piano from inside a straitjacket".
6. He's known as a science fiction author, but he didn't by any means limit himself to that. His 500 books, various letters, essays and short stories would eventually appear in nine out of the ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System. He wrote factual books about science and history, a books of limericks (mostly rude, but also one aimed at children), a sex manual, a book about writing, mysteries and even a detailed history of the Bible.
7. He’s famous for coining the term “robotics”, but he also coined two other terms: "spome" for a closed system capable of sustaining human life indefinitely, and "psychohistory", a fictional branch of science which combines history, sociology, and statistics to make general predictions about the future behaviour of very large groups of people.
8. He was the opposite of claustrophobic. He actually loved small spaces and preferred to write in a tiny, windowless room. One thing he didn't like was flying. He hated it, and apart from two plane journeys connected with his military service, refused to fly anywhere. He did, however, enjoy cruises. He'd sometimes work on cruises, giving science talks as part of the entertainment programme.
9. He was of medium height, stocky, with mutton-chop whiskers and a distinct New York accent. His physical dexterity was bad, so he never learned to ride a bike or swim. Like many intelligent but awkward kids at school, he was bullied, but came up with a clever solution. He approached the biggest, dumbest kid in school and offered to help him with his homework. That boy would then defend him against the others. He was a good public speaker and people at science fiction conventions, found him friendly and approachable.
10. His interests included Gilbert and Sullivan operas; the works of JRR Tolkien; he was a prominent member of The Baker Street Irregulars, the Sherlock Holmes society; he was a member of the all-male literary banqueting club the Trap Door Spiders. The fictional group of mystery solvers, the Black Widowers was based on that group.

I write fiction, too! My characters include some British superheroes and a psychic detective. You never know, your new favourite could be here! You won't know unless you look...

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