Issac Asimov

Issac Asimov, born in Russia in 1920, died in New York City in 1992. He left a prodigious volume of work, many of which are considered classics.

Before he passed, he had something memorable to say which is still pertinent today:

There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. 

Isaac Asimov 1980 

More quotes from Issac can be found here.