From: clarinews@clarinet.com
Newsgroups: clari.news.interest.people,clari.news.books,clari.news.urgent,clari.tw.science
Subject: Science fiction author Isaac Asimov dies at 72
Keywords: obituary, people, human interest, books & publishing, media,
	books
Date: 6 Apr 92 14:21:28 GMT
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	NEW YORK (UPI) -- Isaac Asimov, the patriarch of science fiction, died
early Monday at New York University Medical Center after a lengthy
illness. He was 72.
	The author of more than 375 books died of chronic heart trouble and
kidney failure at 2:30 a.m., said his physician, Dr. Paul Esserman. He
had entered the hospital last Thursday.
	In addition to science fiction, which he began writing in 1950,
Asimov also wrote expertly about science, religion, mathematics, the
Bible, Shakespeare and Gilbert and Sullivan. He was a biochemist by
profession and a longtime professor at the Boston University School of
Medicine.
	His last book, ``Asimov Laughs Again,'' was published by Harper
Collins last week and contained his favorite jokes and anecdotes about
himself and his friends.
	The books closes with the observation that he had lived a long time,
gained fame and fortune and, ``No matter what happens now, I've had a
good life and I'm satisfied.''
	``It's not everyone who can go out saying that,'' said his wife,
Janet, who said there would be no funeral service but a memorial service
which was being planned for later.
	Asimov was considered the most prolific fiction writer ever, except
for the late John Creasey, who wrote almost 600 mysteries under various
names, and French author Georges Simenon, creator of Inspector Maigret,
whose count stands somewhere in between that of Asimov and Creasey.
	He was one of the Big Three of science fiction, along with the late
Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke.
	Asimov was born in Petrovichi, Russia, Jan. 2, 1920. He came to the
United States in 1923 and was naturalized five years later. He grew up
in Brooklyn and graduated from New York's Columbia University in 1939,
adding a master's degree in biochemestry in 1941, and a doctor's degree
in 1948. He served as a chemist with the U.S. Navy during World War II.
	He began writing science fiction short stories for magazines in 1939
and published his first books, ``Pebbles in the Sky'' and ``I, Robot,''
in 1950.
	He is best known as the creator of the ``Foundation'' trilogy,
written in 1951-1953, which won the Hugo award in science fiction.
Asimov picked up additional Hugos in 1982 with ``Foundation's Edge,''
and a fifth volume, ``Foundation and Earth,'' in 1986. ``Prelude to
Foundation'' appeared in 1988.
	The original Foundation trilogy, featuring Hari Seldon's theory of
psychohistory, was published first in a magazine, then in book form from
a small press, Gnome Press, in the 1950s but did not become hits until
their publication by Doubleday in 1966.
	Asimov said he developed his robot characters as a way of side-
stepping his first editor, Jim Campbell, who objected to any alien
superiority over human beings.
	``About the only way to make them a robot is to make them better than
human beings,'' Asimov said. For example, his robot character Olivaw R.
Daneel ``is more ethical, more noble, more rational, more sacrificing.
To me that's a dead giveaway.''
	Asimov is intensely interested in artificial intelligence, and robots
often appear in his books. With his book ``I, Robot,'' Asimov
established the three laws of robotics that science fiction writers in
general adhere to. The laws state that:
	1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a
human being to come to harm.
	2. A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings, except
where such orders would conflict with the first law.
	3. A robot must protect its own existence, as long as such protection
does not conflict with the first or second law.
	In 1984, Asimov added a fourth law, which he called ``zeroeth,'' in 
``Robots and $mpire.'' This law took precedence over the other three and
stated that a robot may not injure humanity, or through inaction, allow
humanity to come to harm.
	From his West 66th Street apartment overlooking New York's Central
Park, Asimov also wrote numerous mysteries, and books on science and
religion such as guides to the New Testament and Old Testament. Many of
his books on science were written for young people and laymen.
	Whatever the topic, Asimov writes with a sense of humor -- sometimes
tongue-in-cheek, sometimes with puns.
	``I have been fortunate to be born with a restless and efficient
brain, with a capacity for clear thought and ability to put that thought
into worlds,'' Asimov once said. ``I have been avid to learn and avid to
teach.''
	The author began Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine and Isaac
Asimov Presents to provide outlets for young science fiction writers.
	Asimov admitted to being a workaholic and said he would like to end
his days ``face down on my typewriter.''
	Asimov's love besides writing was singing with his fellow members of
New York's Gilbert & Sullivan Society.
	In 1979, he was appointed full professor of biochemistry at Boston
University, the repository for his manuscripts, letters and papers.
Among his many honors were 14 honorary doctors degrees from various
universities.
	He married Gertrude Blugerman in 1942 and they were divorced in 1973.
They had two children, David and Robyn Joan. He married Janet Jepson in
1973.

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