The FBI thought Isaac Asimov might be a Russian spy

The greatest compliment possible for a science fiction writer: when the FBI thinks you’re getting a little too close to reality and they investigate you for being a potential Russian spy. Such was the life of Isaac Asimov.

In 1960, Isaac Asimov was a tenured professor of biochemistry at Boston University, but he was also famous as a science fiction author with titles like Foundation and I, Robot under his belt. That was also the year a mysterious letter showed up addressed to FBI head J Edgar Hoover that accused Asimov of being a communist agent.