best biography of stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was a scientist known for his work with black holes and relativity, and the author of popular science books like 'A Brief History of Time.'

(1942-2018)

Who Was Stephen Hawking?

Stephen Hawking was a British scientist, professor and author who performed groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology, and whose books helped to make science accessible to everyone.

Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England. His birthday was also the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo — long a source of pride for the noted physicist.

The eldest of Frank and Isobel Hawking's four children, Hawking was born into a family of thinkers.

His Scottish mother earned her way into Oxford University in the 1930s — a time when few women were able to go to college. His father, another Oxford graduate, was a respected medical researcher with a specialty in tropical diseases.

Hawking's birth came at an inopportune time for his parents, who didn't have much money. The political climate was also tense, as England was dealing with World War II and the onslaught of German bombs in London, where the couple was living as Frank Hawking undertook research in medicine.

In an effort to seek a safer place, Isobel returned to Oxford to have the couple's first child. The Hawkings would go on to have two other children, Mary and Philippa. And their second son, Edward, was adopted in 1956.

The Hawkings, as one close family friend described them, were an "eccentric" bunch. Dinner was often eaten in silence, each of the Hawkings intently reading a book. The family car was an old London taxi, and their home in St. Albans was a three-story fixer-upper that never quite got fixed. The Hawkings also housed bees in the basement and produced fireworks in the greenhouse.

In 1950, Hawking's father took work to manage the Division of Parasitology at the National Institute of Medical Research, and spent the winter months in Africa doing research. He wanted his eldest child to go into medicine, but at an early age, Hawking showed a passion for science and the sky.

That was evident to his mother, who, along with her children, often stretched out in the backyard on summer evenings to stare up at the stars. "Stephen always had a strong sense of wonder," she remembered. "And I could see that the stars would draw him."

Hawking was also frequently on the go. With his sister Mary, Hawking, who loved to climb, devised different entry routes into the family home. He loved to dance and also took an interest in rowing, becoming a team coxswain in college.

Early in his academic life, Hawking, while recognized as bright, was not an exceptional student. During his first year at St. Albans School , he was third from the bottom of his class.

But Hawking focused on pursuits outside of school; he loved board games, and he and a few close friends created new games of their own. During his teens, Hawking, along with several friends, constructed a computer out of recycled parts for solving rudimentary mathematical equations.

Hawking entered University College at the University of Oxford at the age of 17. Although he expressed a desire to study mathematics, Oxford didn't offer a degree in that specialty, so Hawking gravitated toward physics and, more specifically, cosmology.

By his own account, Hawking didn't put much time into his studies. He would later calculate that he averaged about an hour a day focusing on school. And yet he didn't really have to do much more than that. In 1962, he graduated with honors in natural science and went on to attend Trinity Hall at the University of Cambridge for a Ph.D. in cosmology.

In 1968, Hawking became a member of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge. The next few years were a fruitful time for Hawking and his research. In 1973, he published his first, highly-technical book, The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time , with G.F.R. Ellis.

In 1979, Hawking found himself back at the University of Cambridge, where he was named to one of teaching's most renowned posts, dating back to 1663: the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

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Wife and Children

At a New Year's party in 1963, Hawking met a young languages undergraduate named Jane Wilde. They were married in 1965. The couple gave birth to a son, Robert, in 1967, and a daughter, Lucy, in 1970. A third child, Timothy, arrived in 1979.

In 1990, Hawking left his wife Jane for one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. The two were married in 1995. The marriage put a strain on Hawking's relationship with his own children, who claimed Elaine closed off their father from them.

In 2003, nurses looking after Hawking reported their suspicions to police that Elaine was physically abusing her husband. Hawking denied the allegations, and the police investigation was called off. In 2006, Hawking and Elaine filed for divorce.

In the following years, the physicist reportedly grew closer to his family. He reconciled with Jane, who had remarried. And he published five science-themed novels for children with his daughter, Lucy.

Stephen Hawking: Books

Over the years, Hawking wrote or co-wrote a total of 15 books. A few of the most noteworthy include:

'A Brief History of Time'

In 1988 Hawking catapulted to international prominence with the publication of A Brief History of Time . The short, informative book became an account of cosmology for the masses and offered an overview of space and time, the existence of God and the future.

The work was an instant success, spending more than four years atop the London Sunday Times' best-seller list. Since its publication, it has sold millions of copies worldwide and been translated into more than 40 languages.

‘The Universe in a Nutshell’

A Brief History of Time also wasn't as easy to understand as some had hoped. So in 2001, Hawking followed up his book with The Universe in a Nutshell , which offered a more illustrated guide to cosmology's big theories.

‘A Briefer History of Time’

In 2005, Hawking authored the even more accessible A Briefer History of Time , which further simplified the original work's core concepts and touched upon the newest developments in the field like string theory.

Together these three books, along with Hawking's own research and papers, articulated the physicist's personal search for science's Holy Grail: a single unifying theory that can combine cosmology (the study of the big) with quantum mechanics (the study of the small) to explain how the universe began.

This kind of ambitious thinking allowed Hawking, who claimed he could think in 11 dimensions, to lay out some big possibilities for humankind. He was convinced that time travel is possible, and that humans may indeed colonize other planets in the future.

‘The Grand Design’

In September 2010, Hawking spoke against the idea that God could have created the universe in his book The Grand Design . Hawking previously argued that belief in a creator could be compatible with modern scientific theories.

In this work, however, he concluded that the Big Bang was the inevitable consequence of the laws of physics and nothing more. "Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing," Hawking said. "Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist."

The Grand Design was Hawking's first major publication in almost a decade. Within his new work, Hawking set out to challenge Isaac Newton 's belief that the universe had to have been designed by God, simply because it could not have been born from chaos. "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going," Hawking said.

At the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig 's disease). In a very simple sense, the nerves that controlled his muscles were shutting down. At the time, doctors gave him two and a half years to live.

Hawking first began to notice problems with his physical health while he was at Oxford — on occasion he would trip and fall, or slur his speech — but he didn't look into the problem until 1963, during his first year at Cambridge. For the most part, Hawking had kept these symptoms to himself.

But when his father took notice of the condition, he took Hawking to see a doctor. For the next two weeks, the 21-year-old college student made his home at a medical clinic, where he underwent a series of tests.

"They took a muscle sample from my arm, stuck electrodes into me, and injected some radio-opaque fluid into my spine, and watched it going up and down with X-rays, as they tilted the bed," he once said. "After all that, they didn't tell me what I had, except that it was not multiple sclerosis, and that I was an atypical case."

Eventually, however, doctors did diagnose Hawking with the early stages of ALS. It was devastating news for him and his family, but a few events prevented him from becoming completely despondent.

The first of these came while Hawking was still in the hospital. There, he shared a room with a boy suffering from leukemia. Relative to what his roommate was going through, Hawking later reflected, his situation seemed more tolerable.

Not long after he was released from the hospital, Hawking had a dream that he was going to be executed. He said this dream made him realize that there were still things to do with his life.

In a sense, Hawking's disease helped turn him into the noted scientist he became. Before the diagnosis, Hawking hadn't always focused on his studies. "Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life," he said. "There had not seemed to be anything worth doing."

With the sudden realization that he might not even live long enough to earn his Ph.D., Hawking poured himself into his work and research.

As physical control over his body diminished (he'd be forced to use a wheelchair by 1969), the effects of his disease started to slow down. Over time, however, Hawking's ever-expanding career was accompanied by an ever-worsening physical state.

How Did Stephen Hawking Talk?

By the mid-1970s, the Hawking family had taken in one of Hawking's graduate students to help manage his care and work. He could still feed himself and get out of bed, but virtually everything else required assistance.

In addition, his speech had become increasingly slurred, so that only those who knew him well could understand him. In 1985 he lost his voice for good following a tracheotomy. The resulting situation required 24-hour nursing care for the acclaimed physicist.

It also put in peril Hawking's ability to do his work. The predicament caught the attention of a California computer programmer, who had developed a speaking program that could be directed by head or eye movement. The invention allowed Hawking to select words on a computer screen that were then passed through a speech synthesizer.

At the time of its introduction, Hawking, who still had use of his fingers, selected his words with a handheld clicker. Eventually, with virtually all control of his body gone, Hawking directed the program through a cheek muscle attached to a sensor.

Through the program, and the help of assistants, Hawking continued to write at a prolific rate. His work included numerous scientific papers, of course, but also information for the non-scientific community.

Hawking's health remained a constant concern—a worry that was heightened in 2009 when he failed to appear at a conference in Arizona because of a chest infection. In April, Hawking, who had already announced he was retiring after 30 years from the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, was rushed to the hospital for being what university officials described as "gravely ill," though he later made a full recovery.

Research on the Universe and Black Holes

In 1974, Hawking's research turned him into a celebrity within the scientific world when he showed that black holes aren't the information vacuums that scientists had thought they were.

In simple terms, Hawking demonstrated that matter, in the form of radiation, can escape the gravitational force of a collapsed star. Another young cosmologist, Roger Penrose, had earlier discovered groundbreaking findings about the fate of stars and the creation of black holes, which tapped into Hawking's own fascination with how the universe began.

The pair then began working together to expand upon Penrose’s earlier work, setting Hawking on a career course marked by awards, notoriety and distinguished titles that reshaped the way the world thinks about black holes and the universe.

When Hawking’s radiation theory was born, the announcement sent shock waves of excitement through the scientific world. Hawking was named a fellow of the Royal Society at the age of 32, and later earned the prestigious Albert Einstein Award, among other honors. He also earned teaching stints at Caltech in Pasadena, California, where he served as visiting professor, and at Gonville and Caius College in Cambridge.

In August 2015, Hawking appeared at a conference in Sweden to discuss new theories about black holes and the vexing "information paradox." Addressing the issue of what becomes of an object that enters a black hole, Hawking proposed that information about the physical state of the object is stored in 2D form within an outer boundary known as the "event horizon." Noting that black holes "are not the eternal prisons they were once thought," he left open the possibility that the information could be released into another universe.

Beginning of the Universe

In a March 2018 interview on Neil deGrasse Tyson 's Star Talk , Hawking addressed the topic of "what was around before the Big Bang" by stating there was nothing around. He said by applying a Euclidean approach to quantum gravity, which replaces real time with imaginary time, the history of the universe becomes like a four-dimensional curved surface, with no boundary.

He suggested picturing this reality by thinking of imaginary time and real time as beginning at the Earth's South Pole, a point of space-time where the normal laws of physics hold; as there is nothing "south" of the South Pole, there was also nothing before the Big Bang.

Hawking and Space Travel

In 2007, at the age of 65, Hawking made an important step toward space travel. While visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, he was given the opportunity to experience an environment without gravity.

Over the course of two hours over the Atlantic, Hawking, a passenger on a modified Boeing 727, was freed from his wheelchair to experience bursts of weightlessness. Pictures of the freely floating physicist splashed across newspapers around the globe.

"The zero-G part was wonderful, and the high-G part was no problem. I could have gone on and on. Space, here I come!" he said.

Hawking was scheduled to fly to the edge of space as one of Sir Richard Branson 's pioneer space tourists. He said in a 2007 statement, "Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global warming , nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers. I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space. I therefore want to encourage public interest in space."

Stephen Hawking Movie and TV Appearances

If there is such a thing as a rock-star scientist, Hawking embodied it. His forays into popular culture included guest appearances on The Simpsons , Star Trek: The Next Generation , a comedy spoof with comedian Jim Carrey on Late Night with Conan O'Brien , and even a recorded voice-over on the Pink Floyd song "Keep Talking."

In 1992, Oscar-winning filmmaker Errol Morris released a documentary about Hawking's life, aptly titled A Brief History of Time . Other TV and movie appearances included:

'The Big Bang Theory'

In 2012, Hawking showed off his humorous side on American television, making a guest appearance on The Big Bang Theory . Playing himself on this popular comedy about a group of young, geeky scientists, Hawking brings the theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper ( Jim Parsons ) back to Earth after finding an error in his work. Hawking earned kudos for this light-hearted effort.

'The Theory of Everything'

In November of 2014, a film about the life of Hawking and Jane Wilde was released. The Theory of Everything stars Eddie Redmayne as Hawking and encompasses his early life and school days, his courtship and marriage to Wilde, the progression of his crippling disease and his scientific triumphs.

In May 2016, Hawking hosted and narrated Genius , a six-part television series which enlists volunteers to tackle scientific questions that have been asked throughout history. In a statement regarding his series, Hawking said Genius is “a project that furthers my lifelong aim to bring science to the public. It’s a fun show that tries to find out if ordinary people are smart enough to think like the greatest minds who ever lived. Being an optimist, I think they will.”

In 2011, Hawkings had participated in a trial of a new headband-styled device called the iBrain. The device is designed to "read" the wearer's thoughts by picking up "waves of electrical brain signals," which are then interpreted by a special algorithm, according to an article in The New York Times . This device could be a revolutionary aid to people with ALS.

Hawking on AI

In 2014, Hawking, among other top scientists, spoke out about the possible dangers of artificial intelligence, or AI, calling for more research to be done on all of possible ramifications of AI. Their comments were inspired by the Johnny Depp film Transcendence , which features a clash between humanity and technology.

"Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history," the scientists wrote. "Unfortunately, it might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks." The group warned of a time when this technology would be "outsmarting financial markets, out-inventing human researchers, out-manipulating human leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand."

Hawking reiterated this stance while speaking at a technology conference in Lisbon, Portugal, in November 2017. Noting how AI could potentially make gains in wiping out poverty and disease, but could also lead to such theoretically destructive actions as the development of autonomous weapons, he said, "We cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI, or ignored by it and sidelined, or conceivably destroyed by it."

Hawking and Aliens

In July 2015, Hawking held a news conference in London to announce the launch of a project called Breakthrough Listen. Funded by Russian entrepreneur Yuri Milner, Breakthrough Listen was created to devote more resources to the discovery of extraterrestrial life.

Breaking the Internet

In October 2017, Cambridge University posted Hawking's 1965 doctoral thesis, "Properties of Expanding Universes," to its website. An overwhelming demand for access promptly crashed the university server, though the document still fielded a staggering 60,000 views before the end of its first day online.

When Did Stephen Hawking Die?

On March 14, 2018, Hawking finally died of ALS, the disease that was supposed to have killed him more than 50 years earlier. A family spokesman confirmed that the iconic scientist died at his home in Cambridge, England.

The news touched many in his field and beyond. Fellow theoretical physicist and author Lawrence Krauss tweeted: "A star just went out in the cosmos. We have lost an amazing human being. Hawking fought and tamed the cosmos bravely for 76 years and taught us all something important about what it truly means to celebrate about being human."

Hawking's children followed with a statement: "We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humor inspired people across the world. He once said, 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.' We will miss him forever."

Later in the month, it was announced that Hawking's ashes would be interred at Westminster Abbey in London, alongside other scientific luminaries like Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin .

On May 2, 2018, his final paper, titled "A smooth exit from eternal inflation?" was published in the Journal of High Energy Physics . Submitted 10 days before his death, the new report, co-authored by Belgian physicist Thomas Hertog, disputes the idea that the universe will continue to expand.

QUICK FACTS

• Name: Stephen Hawking
• Birth Year: 1942
• Birth date: January 8, 1942
• Birth City: Oxford, England
• Birth Country: United Kingdom
• Gender: Male
• Best Known For: Stephen Hawking was a scientist known for his work with black holes and relativity, and the author of popular science books like 'A Brief History of Time.'
• Science and Medicine
• Astrological Sign: Capricorn
• University of Cambridge
• Gonville & Caius College
• Oxford University
• California Institute of Technology
• Interesting Facts
• As an author, Stephen Hawking was best known for his best seller 'A Brief History of Time.'
• At the age of 21, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
• Death Year: 2018
• Death date: March 14, 2018
• Death City: Cambridge, England
• Death Country: United Kingdom

We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right , contact us !

• My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.
• Not only does God definitely play dice, but He sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can't be seen.
• Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.
• Before my condition was diagnosed, I had been very bored with life. There had not seemed to be anything worth doing.
• I believe that life on Earth is at an ever increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster such as sudden global warming, nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, or other dangers. I think the human race has no future if it doesn't go into space.
• Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist.
• It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.
• It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival value.
• If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist.
• I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
• Science is beautiful when it makes simple explanations of phenomena or connections between different observations. Examples include the double helix in biology, and the fundamental equations of physics.
• People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.
• We shouldn't be surprised that conditions in the universe are suitable for life, but this is not evidence that the universe was designed to allow for life. We could call order by the name of God, but it would be an impersonal God. There's not much personal about the laws of physics.

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• 14 March 2018

Stephen Hawking (1942–2018)

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Martin Rees is Astronomer Royal of the United Kingdom. He was a student in Dennis Sciama’s research group at the University of Cambridge at the same time as Stephen Hawking.

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Stephen Hawking in Cambridge, January 1993. Credit: David Montgomery/Getty

When Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with motor-neuron disease at the age of 21, it wasn’t clear that he would finish his PhD. Against all expectations, he lived on for 55 years, becoming one of the world’s most celebrated scientists.

Hawking, who died on 14 March 2018, was born in Oxford, UK, in 1942 to a medical-researcher father and a philosophy-graduate mother. After attending St Albans School near London, he earned a first-class degree in physics from the University of Oxford. He began his research career in 1962, enrolling as a graduate student in a group at the University of Cambridge led by one of the fathers of modern cosmology, Dennis Sciama.

The general theory of relativity was at that time undergoing a renaissance, initiated in part by Roger Penrose at Birkbeck College, London, who had introduced new mathematical techniques. These showed that generic gravitational collapse would lead to singularities — infinities that signal the need for new physics.

Stephen Hawking: A life in science

The implications for black holes and the Big Bang were developed by Hawking in a series of papers collated in the 1973 monograph The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time (Cambridge University Press), co-authored with George Ellis, a near-contemporary who had also been a student of Sciama. Especially important was the realization that the area of black holes’ horizons (‘one-way membranes’ that shroud the singularities, and from within which nothing can escape) could never decrease. The analogy with entropy — a measure of disorder that likewise can never decrease — was developed further by physicist Jacob Bekenstein.

These findings gained Hawking election to the Royal Society in London in 1974, at the age of 32. By then, he was so frail that both movement and speech were difficult, and most of us suspected that his days in front-line research were numbered. But in that same year, he came up with his most distinctive contribution to science: Hawking radiation.

By linking quantum theory and gravity, Hawking showed that a black hole would not be completely black, but would radiate with a well-defined temperature that depended inversely on its mass ( S. W. Hawking Nature 248, 30–31; 1974 ). Black-hole entropy was more than just an analogy. The implication was that the radiation would cause black holes to ‘evaporate’. This process would be unobservably slow, except in ‘mini-holes’ the size of atoms — and these are thought not to exist. Yet Hawking radiation — and the related issue of whether information that falls into a black hole is lost or is somehow recoverable from the radiation — was a profound issue, and one that still engenders controversy among theoretical physicists. Indeed, theorist Andrew Strominger at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in 2016 that one of Hawking’s papers on the subject ( S. W. Hawking Phys. Rev. D 14, 2460–2473; 1976 ) had caused “more sleepless nights among theoretical physicists than any paper in history”.

By the end of the 1970s, Hawking had been appointed to the Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at Cambridge (former incumbents include Isaac Newton and Paul Dirac); he held the post until he retired in 2009. During these years, in which his focus shifted to the quantum aspects of the Big Bang, the issue of information loss in black holes continued to challenge him.

In 1985, Stephen underwent a tracheotomy, which removed his already limited powers of speech. He was able to control a cursor on a screen and type out sentences — albeit with increasingly painful slowness (first with his hand, and eventually only with a cheek muscle). A speech synthesizer processed his words and generated the androidal accent that became his trademark. In this way, he completed his best-selling book A Brief History of Time (Bantam, 1988), which propelled him to celebrity status.

Had Hawking achieved equal distinction in any other branch of science besides cosmology, it probably would not have had the same resonance with a worldwide public. As I put it in The Telegraph newspaper in 2007, “the concept of an imprisoned mind roaming the cosmos” grabbed people’s imagination.

In 1965, Stephen married Jane Wilde. After 25 years of marriage, and three children, the strain of Stephen’s illness and of sharing their home with a team of nurses became too much and they separated, divorcing in 1995. Jane wrote a book about their life together, Travelling to Infinity (Alma, 2008), and both she and Stephen were happy with the telling of their story in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything (although it elides and conflates Stephen’s science). After a second, briefer marriage, Stephen was supported by an entourage of assistants, as well as his family.

Stephen remained remarkably positive throughout his life, despite the immense frustration that his condition clearly caused. He enjoyed theatre and opera trips, and he seemed energized rather than exhausted by his travels to all parts of the world, as well as by his regular trips to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. He retained robust common sense and a sense of humour, expressed forceful opinions, supported political causes and was happy to engage with the media, despite its insistent attention. His comments gained outsized attention even on subjects in which he was not a specialist, such as philosophy and the dangers of artificial intelligence.

Stephen’s expectations when he was diagnosed dropped to zero; he said that everything that had happened since had been a bonus. And what a bonus — for physics, for the millions enlightened by his books and for the even larger number inspired by his achievement against all the odds.

Nature 555 , 444 (2018)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-018-02839-9

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Biography of Stephen Hawking, Physicist and Cosmologist

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Stephen Hawking (January 8, 1942–March 14, 2018) was a world-renowned cosmologist and physicist, especially esteemed for overcoming an extreme physical disability to pursue his groundbreaking scientific work. He was a bestselling author whose books made complex ideas accessible to the general public. His theories provided deep insights into the connections between quantum physics and relativity, including how those concepts might be united in explaining fundamental questions related to the development of the universe and the formation of black holes.

Fast Facts: Stephen Hawking

• Known For : Cosmologist, physicist, best-selling science writer
• Also Known As : Steven William Hawking
• Born : January 8, 1942 in Oxfordshire, England
• Parents : Frank and Isobel Hawking
• Died: March 14, 2018 in Cambridge, England
• Education : St Albans School, B.A., University College, Oxford, Ph.D., Trinity Hall, Cambridge, 1966
• Published Works :  A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, The Universe in a Nutshell, On the Shoulders of Giants, A Briefer History of Time, The Grand Design, My Brief History
• Awards and Honors : Fellow of the Royal Society, the Eddington Medal, the Royal Society's Hughes Medal, the Albert Einstein Medal, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Wolf Prize in Physics, the Prince of Asturias Awards in Concord, the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize of the American Physical Society, the Michelson Morley Award of Case Western Reserve University, the Copley Medal of the Royal Society
• Spouses : Jane Wilde, Elaine Mason
• Children : Robert, Lucy, Timothy
• Notable Quote : “Most of the threats we face come from the progress we’ve made in science and technology. We are not going to stop making progress, or reverse it, so we must recognize the dangers and control them. I’m an optimist, and I believe we can.”

Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxfordshire, England, where his mother had been sent for safety during the German bombings of London of World War II. His mother Isobel Hawking was an Oxford graduate and his father Frank Hawking was a medical researcher.

After Stephen's birth, the family reunited in London, where his father headed the division of parasitology at the National Institute for Medical Research. The family then moved to St. Albans so that Stephen's father could pursue medical research at the nearby Institute for Medical Research in Mill Hill.

Education and Medical Diagnosis

Stephen Hawking attended school in St. Albans, where he was an unexceptional student. His brilliance was much more apparent in his years at Oxford University. He specialized in physics and graduated with first-class honors despite his relative lack of diligence. In 1962, he continued his education at Cambridge University, pursuing a Ph.D. in cosmology.

At age 21, a year after beginning his doctoral program, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as motor neuron disease, ALS, and Lou Gehrig's disease). Given only three years to live, he has written that this prognosis helped motivate him in his physics work .

There is little doubt that his ability to remain actively engaged with the world through his scientific work helped him persevere in the face of the disease. The support of family and friends were equally key. This is vividly portrayed in the dramatic film "The Theory of Everything."

The ALS Progresses

As his illness progressed, Hawking became less mobile and began using a wheelchair. As part of his condition, Hawking eventually lost his ability to speak, so he utilized a device capable of translating his eye movements (since he could no longer utilize a keypad) to speak in a digitized voice.

In addition to his keen mind within physics, he gained respect throughout the world as a science communicator. His achievements are deeply impressive on their own, but some of the reason he is so universally respected was his ability to accomplish so much while suffering the severe debility caused by ALS.

Marriage and Children

Just before his diagnosis, Hawking met Jane Wilde, and the two were married in 1965. The couple had three children before separating. Hawking later married Elaine Mason in 1995 and they divorced in 2006.

Career as Academic and Author

Hawking stayed on at Cambridge after his graduation, first as a research fellow and then as a professional fellow. For most of his academic career, Hawking served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, a position once held by Sir Isaac Newton .

Following a long tradition, Hawking retired from this post at age 67, in the spring of 2009, though he continued his research at the university's cosmology institute. In 2008 he also accepted a position as a visiting researcher at Waterloo, Ontario's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics.

In 1982 Hawking began work on a popular book on cosmology. By 1984 he had produced the first draft of "A Brief History of Time," which he published in 1988 after some medical setbacks. This book remained on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for 237 weeks. Hawking's even more accessible "A Briefer History of Time" was published in 2005.

Fields of Study

Hawking's major research was in the areas of theoretical cosmology , focusing on the evolution of the universe as governed by the laws of general relativity . He is most well-known for his work in the study of black holes . Through his work, Hawking was able to:

• Prove that singularities are general features of spacetime.
• Provide mathematical proof that information which fell into a black hole was lost.
• Demonstrate that black holes evaporate through Hawking radiation .

On March 14, 2018, Stephen Hawking died in his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76. His ashes were placed in London’s Westminster Abbey between the final resting places of Sir Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin.

Stephen Hawking made large contributions as a scientist, science communicator, and as a heroic example of how enormous obstacles can be overcome. The Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication is a prestigious award that "recognizes the merit of popular science on an international level."

Thanks to his distinctive appearance, voice, and popularity, Stephen Hawking is often represented in popular culture. He made appearances on the television shows "The Simpsons" and "Futurama," as well as having a cameo on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" in 1993.

"The Theory of Everything," a biographical drama film about Hawking's life, was released in 2014.

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A Brief History of Stephen Hawking

By Michael Lucibella

Photo by Michael Lucibella

APS and the Smithsonian Institution co-hosted the Washington, D.C. premiere of The Theory of Everything about the life of Stephen Hawking.

Love, fame, triumph, tragedy, and science collide in The Theory of Everything , the new film based on the life of acclaimed cosmologist Stephen Hawking. It’s a humanizing portrait of the physicist and his relationship with his first wife, Jane Wilde Hawking.

Following the narrative of their memoirs, the film opens with Hawking and Wilde meeting for the first time at Cambridge University. The spark between them is undeniable, but soon Hawking learns that he has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — Lou Gehrig’s disease — and doctors give him only two years to live.

The story that unfolds veers far from the traditional Hollywood love story. Famously, Hawking beats the odds, living decades longer than anyone predicted, but losing nearly all muscle control in his body. Still, he becomes a best-selling author and one of the most respected physicists in the world. His is a well-known story, but less known are the personal struggles that he and his wife went through in their Cambridge home as his fame grew and the disease ravaged his body.

At the Washington, D.C. premiere, which was co-hosted by APS and the Smithsonian Institution, screenwriter Anthony McCarten described how he wanted to adapt Jane Hawking’s memoir, Traveling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen , which chronicles her marriage to the most famous physicist in the world. “I wanted to do justice to this extraordinary and one-of-a-kind memoir,” McCarten said.

It’s a complicated memoir to adapt because in real life, there’s no neat, happily-ever-after Hollywood ending. For years the love between Jane and Stephen Hawking united them as they struggled against the encroaching disease and Hawking’s growing celebrity. But the film ends shortly after they split in 1990, when Hawking left her for one of his nurses; five years later Jane Hawking married her choir teacher.

It��s Eddie Redmayne’s remarkable performance that brings out Hawking’s humanity throughout his best and worst times. “One of the best things about my job I suppose is being able to jump between different worlds and immerse [myself] in them,” Redmayne said at the premiere.

He spent a number of months with people with different stages of ALS to prepare for his role in the film. The effort paid off: Redmayne completely loses himself in the role and reproduces Hawking’s personality and mannerisms perfectly. Already there’s a tremendous amount of Oscar buzz around his performance.

Though the film’s central focus is the relationship between Hawking and his wife, his influential work developing groundbreaking theories in cosmology is the narrative backbone of the film. “We make no excuses. We did our homework on the science,” McCarten said.

The film does a good job striking the difficult balance between too much and too little science. The discussions of relativity and event horizons sometimes use some awkward metaphors or unusual turns of phrase, but they rarely feel condescending or overly simplistic.

Black holes had been assumed to emit nothing. But in his big eureka moment, Hawking looks into the burning embers of a fire and has a burst of inspiration. The scene cuts to a lecture he gives to an audience of distinguished physicists about the fundamentals of Hawking radiation. The movie made little mention of the weeks of work he spent developing the theory.

“That might not be the way that Stephen Hawking actually came up with that,” said David Kaiser of MIT who was also at the premiere. “It’s a two-hour film trying to cover a lot of territory.”

Eureka moments aside, it portrays the process of science much better than most other films about scientists. In another scene, Hawking postulates a theory about the nature of the Big Bang. His professor is intrigued, compliments his hypothesis, and then says simply, “Now do the math.” According to Kaiser, the scene “gives us a glimpse of the inherently collaborative and communal process” that scientists engage in.

The Theory of Everything, 123 min., produced by Working Title Films, distributed by Focus Features, released in theaters on November 7.

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Comment and Physics

A brief history of stephen hawking: a legacy of paradox.

By Stuart Clark

14 March 2018

Gemma Levine/Getty

Stephen Hawking, the world-famous theoretical physicist, has died at the age of 76.

Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement: “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today.

“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world.

“He once said: ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him for ever.”

Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

Tributes flow in following the death of world-famous theoretical physicist stephen hawking.

The most recognisable scientist of our age, Hawking holds an iconic status. His genre-defining book, A Brief History of Time , has sold more than 10 million copies since its publication in 1988, and has been translated into more than 35 languages. He appeared on Star Trek: The Next Generation , The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory . His early life was the subject of an Oscar-winning performance by Eddie Redmayne in the 2014 film  The Theory of Everything . He was routinely consulted for oracular pronouncements on everything from time travel and alien life to Middle Eastern politics and nefarious robots . He had an endearing sense of humour and a daredevil attitude – relatable human traits that, combined with his seemingly superhuman mind, made Hawking eminently marketable.

But his cultural status – amplified by his disability and the media storm it invoked – often overshadowed his scientific legacy. That’s a shame for the man who discovered what might prove to be the key clue to the theory of everything , advanced our understanding of space and time, helped shape the course of physics for the last four decades and whose insight continues to drive progress in fundamental physics today.

Beginning with the big bang

Hawking’s research career began with disappointment. Arriving at the University of Cambridge in 1962 to begin his PhD, he was told that Fred Hoyle , his chosen supervisor, already had a full complement of students. The most famous British astrophysicist at the time, Hoyle was a magnet for the more ambitious students. Hawking didn’t make the cut. Instead, he was to work with Dennis Sciama, a physicist Hawking knew nothing about. In the same year, Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative motor neurone disease that quickly robs people of the ability to voluntarily move their muscles. He was told he had two years to live.

Although Hawking’s body may have weakened, his intellect stayed sharp. Two years into his PhD, he was having trouble walking and talking, but it was clear that the disease was progressing more slowly than the doctors had initially feared. Meanwhile, his engagement to Jane Wilde – with whom he later had three children, Robert, Lucy and Tim – renewed his drive to make real progress in physics.

Stephen and Lucy Hawking

James Veysey/Camera Press

Working with Sciama had its advantages. Hoyle’s fame meant that he was seldom in the department, whereas Sciama was around and eager to talk. Those discussions stimulated the young Hawking to pursue his own scientific vision. Hoyle was vehemently opposed to the big bang theory (in fact, he had coined the name “big bang” in mockery). Sciama, on the other hand, was happy for Hawking to investigate the beginning of time.

Time’s arrow

Hawking was studying the work of Roger Penrose , which proved that if Einstein’s general theory of relativity is correct, at the heart of every black hole must be a point where space and time themselves break down – a singularity. Hawking realised that if time’s arrow were reversed, the same reasoning would hold true for the universe as a whole. Under Sciama’s encouragement, he worked out the maths and was able to prove it: the universe according to general relativity began in a singularity.

Hawking was well aware, however, that Einstein didn’t have the last word. General relativity, which describes space and time on a large scale, doesn’t take into account quantum mechanics , which describes matter’s strange behaviour at much smaller scales. Some unknown “theory of everything” was needed to unite the two. For Hawking, the singularity at the universe’s origin did not signal the breakdown of space and time; it signalled the need for quantum gravity .

Luckily, the link that he forged between Penrose’s singularity and the singularity at the big bang provided a key clue for finding such a theory. If physicists wanted to understand the origin of the universe, Hawking had just shown them exactly where to look: a black hole .

Black holes were a subject ripe for investigation in the early 1970s. Although Karl Schwarzschild had found such objects lurking in the equations of general relativity back in 1915, theoreticians viewed them as mere mathematical anomalies and were reluctant to believe they could actually exist.

Albeit frightening, their action is reasonably straightforward: black holes have such strong gravitational fields that nothing, not even light, can escape their grip. Any matter that falls into one is forever lost to the outside world. This, however, is a dagger in the heart of thermodynamics.

Stephen Hawking's final theorem turns time and causality inside out

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Thermodynamic threat

The second law of thermodynamics is one of the most well-established laws of nature. It states that the entropy, or level of disorder in a system, always increases. The second law gives form to the observation that ice cubes will melt into a puddle, but a puddle of water will never spontaneously turn into a block of ice. All matter contains entropy, so what happens when it is dropped into a black hole? Is entropy lost along with it? If so, the total entropy of the universe goes down and black holes would violate the second law of thermodynamics.

Hawking thought that this was fine. He was happy to discard any concept that stood in the way to a deeper truth. And if that meant the second law, then so be it.

Bekenstein and breakthrough

But Hawking met his match at a 1972 physics summer school in the French ski resort of Les Houches, France. Princeton University graduate student Jacob Bekenstein thought that the second law of thermodynamics should apply to black holes too. Bekenstein had been studying the entropy problem and had reached a possible solution thanks to an earlier insight of Hawking’s .

A black hole hides its singularity with a boundary known as the event horizon. Nothing that crosses the event horizon can ever return to the outside. Hawking’s work had shown that the area of a black hole’s event horizon never decreases over time. What’s more, when matter falls into a black hole, the area of its event horizon grows.

Bekenstein realised this was key to the entropy problem. Every time a black hole swallows matter, its entropy appears to be lost, and at the same time, its event horizon grows. So, Bekenstein suggested, what if – to preserve the second law – the area of the horizon is itself a measure of entropy?

Hawking immediately disliked the idea and was angry that his own work had been used in support of a concept so flawed. With entropy comes heat, but the black hole couldn’t be radiating heat – nothing can escape its pull of gravity. During a break from the lectures, Hawking got together with colleagues Brandon Carter, who also studied under Sciama, and James Bardeen, of the University of Washington, and confronted Bekenstein.

The disagreement bothered Bekenstein. “These three were senior people. I was just out of my PhD. You worry whether you are just stupid and these guys know the truth,” he recalls.

Back in Cambridge, Hawking set out to prove Bekenstein wrong. Instead, he discovered the precise form of the mathematical relationship between entropy and the black hole’s horizon. Rather than destroying the idea, he had confirmed it. It was Hawking’s greatest breakthrough.

Hawking radiation

Hawking now embraced the idea that thermodynamics played a part in black holes. Anything that has entropy, he reasoned, also has a temperature – and anything that has a temperature can radiate.

His original mistake, Hawking realised, was in only considering general relativity, which says that nothing – no particles, no heat – can escape the grip of a black hole. That changes when quantum mechanics comes into play. According to quantum mechanics, fleeting pairs of particles and antiparticles are constantly appearing out of empty space, only to annihilate and disappear in the blink of an eye. When this happens in the vicinity of an event horizon, a particle-antiparticle pair can be separated – one falls behind the horizon while one escapes, leaving them forever unable to meet and annihilate. The orphaned particles stream away from the black hole’s edge as radiation. The randomness of quantum creation becomes the randomness of heat.

“I think most physicists would agree that Hawking’s greatest contribution is the prediction that black holes emit radiation,” says Sean Carroll , a theoretical physicist at the California Institute of Technology. “While we still don’t have experimental confirmation that Hawking’s prediction is true, nearly every expert believes he was right.”

Experiments to test Hawking’s prediction are so difficult because the more massive a black hole is, the lower its temperature. For a large black hole – the kind astronomers can study with a telescope – the temperature of the radiation is too insignificant to measure. As Hawking himself often noted, it was for this reason that he was never awarded a Nobel Prize. Still, the prediction was enough to secure him a prime place in the annals of science, and the quantum particles that stream from the black hole’s edge would forever be known as Hawking radiation .

Some have suggested that they should more appropriately be called Bekenstein-Hawking radiation, but Bekenstein himself rejects this. “The entropy of a black hole is called Bekenstein-Hawking entropy, which I think is fine. I wrote it down first, Hawking found the numerical value of the constant, so together we found the formula as it is today. The radiation was really Hawking’s work. I had no idea how a black hole could radiate. Hawking brought that out very clearly. So that should be called Hawking radiation.”

Theory of everything

The Bekenstein-Hawking entropy equation is the one Hawking asked to have engraved on his tombstone. It represents the ultimate mash-up of physical disciplines because it contains Newton’s constant, which clearly relates to gravity; Planck’s constant, which betrays quantum mechanics at play; the speed of light, the talisman of Einstein’s relativity; and the Boltzmann constant, the herald of thermodynamics.

The presence of these diverse constants hinted at a theory of everything, in which all physics is unified. Furthermore, it strongly corroborated Hawking’s original hunch that understanding black holes would be key in unlocking that deeper theory.

Hawking’s breakthrough may have solved the entropy problem, but it raised an even more difficult problem in its wake. If black holes can radiate, they will eventually evaporate and disappear. So what happens to all the information that fell in? Does it vanish too? If so, it will violate a central tenet of quantum mechanics. On the other hand, if it escapes from the black hole, it will violate Einstein’s theory of relativity. With the discovery of black hole radiation, Hawking had pit the ultimate laws of physics against one another. The black hole information loss paradox had been born.

Hawking staked his position in another ground-breaking and even more contentious paper entitled Breakdown of predictability in gravitational collapse, published in Physical Review D in 1976. He argued that when a black hole radiates away its mass, it does take all of its information with it – despite the fact that quantum mechanics expressly forbids information loss. Soon other physicists would pick sides, for or against this idea, in a debate that continues to this day. Indeed, many feel that information loss is the most pressing obstacle in understanding quantum gravity.

“Hawking’s 1976 argument that black holes lose information is a towering achievement, perhaps one of the most consequential discoveries on the theoretical side of physics since the subject was invented,” says Raphael Bousso of the University of California, Berkeley.

By the late 1990s, results emerging from string theory had most theoretical physicists convinced that Hawking was wrong about information loss, but Hawking, known for his stubbornness, dug in his heels. It wasn’t until 2004 that he would change his mind. And he did it with flair – dramatically showing up at a conference in Dublin and announcing his updated view : black holes cannot lose information.

Today, however, a new paradox known as the firewall has thrown everything into doubt (see “Hawking’s paradox”, below). It is clear that the question Hawking raised is at the core of the quest for quantum gravity.

“Black hole radiation raises serious puzzles we are still working very hard to understand,” says Carroll . “It’s fair to say that Hawking radiation is the single biggest clue we have to the ultimate reconciliation of quantum mechanics and gravity, arguably the greatest challenge facing theoretical physics today.”

Hawking’s legacy, says Bousso, will be “having put his finger on the key difficulty in the search for a theory of everything”.

Hawking continued pushing the boundaries of theoretical physics at a seemingly impossible pace for the rest of his life. He made important inroads towards understanding how quantum mechanics applies to the universe as a whole, leading the way in the field known as quantum cosmology. His progressive disease pushed him to tackle problems in novel ways, which contributed to his remarkable intuition for his subject. As he lost the ability to write out long, complicated equations, Hawking found new and inventive methods to solve problems in his head, usually by reimagining them in geometric form. But, like Einstein before him, Hawking never produced anything quite as revolutionary as his early work.

“Hawking’s most influential work was done in the 1970s, when he was younger,” says Carroll, “but that’s completely standard even for physicists who aren’t burdened with a debilitating neurone disease.”

Stephen Hawking's black hole paradox may finally have a solution

Black holes may not destroy all information about what they were originally made of, according to a new set of quantum calculations, which would solve a major physics paradox first described by Stephen Hawking

Hawking the superstar

In the meantime, the publication of A Brief History of Time catapulted Hawking to cultural stardom and gave a fresh face to theoretical physics. He never seemed to mind. “In front of the camera, Hawking played the character of Hawking. He seemed to play with his cultural status,” says Hélène Mialet, an anthropologist from the University of California, Berkeley, who courted controversy in 2012 with the publication of her book Hawking Incorporated. In it, she investigated the way the people around Hawking helped him build and maintain his public image .

That public image undoubtedly made his life easier than it might otherwise have been. As Hawking’s disease progressed, technologists gladly provided increasingly complicated machines to allow him to communicate. This, in turn, let him continue doing the thing for which he should ultimately be remembered: his science.

“Stephen Hawking has done more to advance our understanding of gravitation than anyone since Einstein,” Carroll says. “He was a world-leading theoretical physicist, clearly the best in the world for his time among those working at the intersection of gravity and quantum mechanics, and he did it all in the face of a terrible disease. He is an inspirational figure, and history will certainly remember him that way.”

Hawking's paradox

In 2012, four physicists at the University of California, Santa Barbara – Ahmed Almheiri, Donald Marolf, Joseph Polchinski and James Sully, known collectively by physicists as AMPS – shocked the physics community with the results of a thought experiment .

When pairs of particles and antiparticles spawn near a black hole's event horizon, each pair shares a connection called entanglement. But what happens to this link and the information it holds when one of the pair falls in, leaving its twin to become a particle of Hawking radiation (see main story)?

One school of thought holds that the information is preserved as the hole evaporates, and that it is placed into subtle correlations among these particles of Hawking radiation.

But, AMPS asked, what does it look like to observers inside and outside the black hole? Enter Alice and Bob.

According to Bob, who remains outside the black hole, that particle has been separated from its antiparticle partner by the horizon. In order to preserve information, it must become entangled with another particle of Hawking radiation.

But what's happening from the point of view of Alice, who falls into the black hole? General relativity says that for a free-falling observer, gravity disappears, so she doesn't see the event horizon. According to Alice, the particle in question remains entangled with its antiparticle partner, because there is no horizon to separate them. The paradox is born.

So who is right? Bob or Alice? If it's Bob, then Alice will not encounter empty space at the horizon as general relativity claims. Instead she will be burned to a crisp by a wall of Hawking radiation – a firewall. If it's Alice who's right, then information will be lost, breaking a fundamental rule of quantum mechanics. "The fervent controversy surrounding Hawking's paradox reflects the stakes his work has raised: in quantising gravity, what gives? And how much?" says Raphael Bousso of the University of California, Berkeley. The answer awaits us in the theory of everything. Amanda Gefter

Article amended on 14 March 2018

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Biography Online

Stephen Hawking Biography

Early life Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. His family had moved to Oxford to escape the threat of V2 rockets over London. As a child, he showed prodigious talent and unorthodox study methods. On leaving school, he got a place at University College, Oxford University where he studied Physics. His physics tutor at Oxford, Robert Berman, later said that Stephen Hawking was an extraordinary student. He used few books and made no notes, but could work out theorems and solutions in a way other students couldn’t.

“My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”

– Stephen Hawking’s Universe (1985) by John Boslough, Ch. 7

It was in Cambridge that Stephen Hawking first started to develop symptoms of neuro-muscular problems – a type of motor neuron disease. This quickly started to hamper his physical movements. His speech became slurred, and he became unable to even to feed himself. At one stage, the doctors gave him a lifespan of three years. However, the progress of the disease slowed down, and he has managed to overcome his severe disability to continue his research and active public engagements. At Cambridge, a fellow scientist developed a synthetic speech device which enabled him to speak by using a touchpad. This early synthetic speech sound has become the ‘voice’ of Stephen Hawking, and as a result, he has kept the original sound of this early model – despite technological advancements.

Nevertheless, despite the latest technology, it can still be a time-consuming process for him to communicate. Stephen Hawking has taken a pragmatic view to his disability:

“It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining. ” The Guardian (27 September 2005)

Stephen Hawking’s principal fields of research have been involved in theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity.

Amongst many other achievements, he developed a mathematical model for Albert Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity. He has also undertaken a lot of work on the nature of the Universe, The Big Bang and Black Holes.

In 1974, he outlined his theory that black holes leak energy and fade away to nothing. This became known as “Hawking radiation” in 1974. With mathematicians Roger Penrose he demonstrated that Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity implies space and time would have a beginning in the Big Bang and an end in black holes.

Despite being one of the best physicists of his generation, he has also been able to translate difficult physics models into a general understanding for the general public. His books – A Brief History of Time and The Universe in A Nutshell have both became runaway bestsellers – with a Brief History of Time staying in the Bestsellers lists for over 230 weeks and selling over 10 million copies. In his books, Hawking tries to explain scientific concepts in everyday language and give an overview to the workings behind the cosmos.

“The whole history of science has been the gradual realization that events do not happen in an arbitrary manner, but that they reflect a certain underlying order, which may or may not be divinely inspired.”

–  A Brief History Of Time (1998) ch. 8

Stephen Hawking has become one of the most famous scientists of his generation. He makes frequent public engagements and his portrayed himself in popular media culture from programmes, such as The Simpsons to Star Trek.

Hawking had the capacity to relate the most complex physics to relateable incidents in everyday life.

“The message of this lecture is that black holes ain’t as black as they are painted. They are not the eternal prisons they were once thought. Things can get out of a black hole both on the outside and possibly to another universe. So if you feel you are in a black hole, don’t give up – there’s a way out.”

Stephen Hawking. 7 January 2016 –  Reith lecture at the Royal Institute in London.

In the late 1990s, he was reportedly offered a knighthood, but 10 years later revealed he had turned it down over issues with the government’s funding for science

He married Jane Wilde, a language student in 1965. He said this was a real turning point for him at a time when he was fatalistic because of his illness. They later divorced but had three children.

Stephen Hawking passed away on 14 March 2018 at his home in Cambridge.

Citation: Pettinger, Tejvan . “ Biography of Stephen Hawking ”, Oxford, UK – www.biographyonline.net . Last updated 15 January 2018.

A Brief History Of Time

A Brief History Of Time by Stephen Hawking at Amazon

Quotes of Stephen Hawking

“If we do discover a complete theory, it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists. Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists, and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of the question of why it is that we and the universe exist. If we find the answer to that, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we would know the mind of God.”

– Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays (1993)

“Even if there is only one possible unified theory, it is just a set of rules and equations. What is it that breathes fire into the equations and makes a universe for them to describe? The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?”

– A Brief History of Time (1988)

“One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.”

– Stephen Hawking

“For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

– Stephen Hawking (BT advert 1993)

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Professor Stephen Hawking

Credit: Andre Pattenden

Friends and colleagues from the University of Cambridge have paid tribute to Professor Stephen Hawking, who died today at the age of 76.

Widely regarded as one of the world’s most brilliant minds, he was known throughout the world for his contributions to science, his books, his television appearances, his lectures and through biographical films. He leaves three children and three grandchildren.

Professor Hawking broke new ground on the basic laws which govern the universe, including the revelation that black holes have a temperature and produce radiation, now known as Hawking radiation. At the same time, he also sought to explain many of these complex scientific ideas to a wider audience through popular books, most notably his bestseller A Brief History of Time .

He was awarded the CBE in 1982, was made a Companion of Honour in 1989, and was awarded the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. He was the recipient of numerous awards, medals and prizes, including the Copley Medal of the Royal Society, the Albert Einstein Award, the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Fundamental Physics Prize, and the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award for Basic Sciences. He was a Fellow of The Royal Society, a Member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences.

He achieved all this despite a decades-long battle with motor neurone disease, with which he was diagnosed while a student, and eventually led to him being confined to a wheelchair and to communicating via his instantly recognisable computerised voice. His determination in battling with his condition made him a champion for those with a disability around the world.

Professor Hawking came to Cambridge in 1962 as a PhD student, and rose to become the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a position once held by Isaac Newton, in 1979. In 2009, he retired from this position and was the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery Director of Research in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics until his death. He was also a member of the University's  Centre for Theoretical Cosmology , which he founded in 2007. He was active scientifically and in the media until the end of his life.

Professor Stephen Toope, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge, paid tribute, saying, “Professor Hawking was a unique individual who will be remembered with warmth and affection not only in Cambridge but all over the world. His exceptional contributions to scientific knowledge and the popularisation of science and mathematics have left an indelible legacy. His character was an inspiration to millions. He will be much missed.”

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford although his family was living in north London at the time. In 1959, the family moved to St Albans where he attended St Albans School. Despite the fact that he was always ranked at the lower end of his class by teachers, his school friends nicknamed him ‘Einstein’ and seemed to have encouraged his interest in science. In his own words, “physics and astronomy offered the hope of understanding where we came from and why we are here. I wanted to fathom the depths of the Universe.”

His ambition brought him a scholarship to University College Oxford to read Natural Science. There he studied physics and graduated with a first class honours degree.

He then moved to Trinity Hall , Cambridge and was supervised by Dennis Sciama at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics for his PhD; his thesis was titled  Properties of Expanding Universes . In 2017, he made his PhD thesis freely available online via the  University of Cambridge’s Open Access repository . There have been over a million attempts to download the thesis, demonstrating the enduring popularity of Hawking and his academic legacy.

On completion of his PhD Hawking became a research fellow at Gonville and Caius College where he remained a fellow for the rest of his life. During his early years at Cambridge, he was influenced by Roger Penrose and developed the singularity theorems which show that the Universe began with the Big Bang.

An interest in singularities naturally led to an interest in black holes and his subsequent work in this area laid the foundations for the modern understanding of black holes. He proved that when black holes merge, the surface area of the final black hole must exceed the sum of the areas of the initial black holes, and he showed that this places limits on the amount of energy that can be carried away by gravitational waves in such a merger. He found that there were parallels to be drawn between the laws of thermodynamics and the behaviour of black holes. This eventually led, in 1974, to the revelation that black holes have a temperature and produce radiation, now known as Hawking radiation, a discovery which revolutionised theoretical physics.

He also realised that black holes must have an entropy – often described as a measure of how much disorder is present in a given system – equal to one quarter of the area of their event horizon: – the ‘point of no return’, where the gravitational pull of a black hole becomes so strong that escape is impossible. Some forty odd years later, the precise nature of this entropy is still a puzzle. However, these discoveries led to Hawking formulating the ‘information paradox’ which illustrates a fundamental conflict between quantum mechanics and our understanding of gravitational physics. This is probably the greatest mystery facing theoretical physicists today.

To understand black holes and cosmology requires one to develop a theory of quantum gravity. Quantum gravity is an unfinished project which is attempting to unify general relativity, the theory of gravitation and of space and time with the ideas of quantum mechanics. Hawking’s work on black holes started a new chapter in this quest and most of his subsequent achievements centred on these ideas.

Hawking recognised that quantum mechanical effects in the very early universe might provide the primordial gravitational seeds around which galaxies and other large-scale structures could later form.  This theory of inflationary fluctuations, developed along with others in the early 1980s, is now supported by strong experimental evidence from the COBE, WMAP and Planck satellite observations of the cosmic microwave sky. Another influential idea was Hawking’s ‘no boundary’ proposal which resulted from the application of quantum mechanics to the entire universe. This idea allows one to explain the creation of the universe in a way that is compatible with laws of physics as we currently understand them. 

Professor Hawking’s influential books included The Large Scale Structure of Spacetime , with G F R Ellis; General Relativity: an Einstein centenary survey , with W Israel; Superspace and Supergravity , with M Rocek (1981); The Very Early Universe , with G Gibbons and S Siklos, and 300 Years of Gravitation , with W Israel.

However, it was his popular science books which took Professor Hawking beyond the academic world and made him a household name. The first of these, A Brief History of Time , was published in 1988 and became a surprise bestseller, remaining on the Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Later popular books included Black Holes and Baby Universes , The Universe in a Nutshell , A Briefer History of Time , and My Brief History . He also collaborated with his daughter Lucy on a series of books for children about a character named George who has adventures in space.

In 2014, a film of his life, The Theory of Everything , was released. Based on the book by his first wife Jane, the film follows the story of their life together, from first meeting in Cambridge in 1964, with his subsequent academic successes and his increasing disability. The film was met with worldwide acclaim and Eddie Redmayne, who played Stephen Hawking, won the Academy Award for Best Actor at the 2015 ceremony.

Travel was one of Professor Hawking’s pastimes. One of his first adventures was to be caught up in the 7.1 magnitude Bou-in-Zahra earthquake in Iran in 1962. In 1997 he visited the Antarctic. He has plumbed the depths in a submarine and in 2007 he experienced weightlessness during a zero-gravity flight, routine training for astronauts. On his return to ground he quipped “Space, here I come.”

Writing years later on his website, Professor Hawking said: “I have had motor neurone disease for practically all my adult life. Yet it has not prevented me from having a very attractive family and being successful in my work. I have been lucky that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope.”

At a conference In Cambridge held in celebration of his 75th birthday in 2017, Professor Hawking said “It has been a glorious time to be alive and doing research into theoretical physics. Our picture of the Universe has changed a great deal in the last 50 years, and I’m happy if I’ve made a small contribution.”

And he said he wanted others to feel the passion he has for understanding the universal laws that govern us all. “I want to share my excitement and enthusiasm about this quest. So remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious, and however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

Words: Tom Kirk, Sarah Collins

Images: Alan Fersht, Graham CopeKoga, Andre Pattenden, Sir Cam, Dan White

Stephen Hawking's Best Books: Black Holes, Multiverses and Singularities

Introduction.

Physicist Stephen Hawking, whose death was announced March 14, wrote prodigiously for both a popular audience and the scientific community over the course of his career, authoring or co-authoring at least 15 books, according to his personal website . Here's a look through Hawking's written works and select co-authored works.

"The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time" (1973)

Hawking's first book, " The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time " (Cambridge University Press, 1973), written with George Ellis, wasn't for a popular audience at all — it's a physics textbook that uses Albert Einstein's theory of general relativity to explain how massive stars turn into black holes and how singularities can exist in space-time.

"A Brief History of Time" (1988)

The first popular book that Hawking wrote, " A Brief History of Time " (Bantam Press, 1988) takes nonscientists through the fundamentals of cosmology — the origin of the universe and how it might end. The book dives into gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time and the search for a grand unifying theory that ties it all together.

"Black Holes and Baby Universes" (1993)

" Black Holes and Baby Universes " (Bantam Press, 1993) is a collection of Hawking's essays, ranging from the scientific, such as the makeup of black holes, to the personal, such as his experiences growing up and life with a neurodegenerative disorder.

"The Universe in a Nutshell" (2001)

Hawking's book " The Universe in a Nutshell " (Bantam Books, 2001) explored cutting-edge research into theoretical physics, describing concepts including supergravity, supersymmetry, quantum theory, M-theory and more for a nonexpert audience. The book updates readers on developments made since "A Brief History of Time."

"On the Shoulders of Giants" (2002)

Hawking compiles the works of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Einstein in " On the Shoulders of Giants" (Running Press Adult, 2002), providing a look at seven classic physics and astronomy papers. Hawking also included five essays of his own and biographies of each of the physicists. Hawking released a similar book, " The Dreams That Stuff Is Made Of ," in 2011, highlighting "the most astounding papers of quantum physics."

"A Briefer History of Time" (2005)

" A Briefer History of Time " (Bantam Press, 2005), written with Leonard Mlodinow, is a more accessible version of the material covered in "A Brief History of Time" and includes updates from the intervening 17 years of theory.

"God Created the Integers" (2005)

In " God Created the Integers " (Running Press Adult, 2005), Hawking documents the highlights of 2,500 years of math history, including biographies of important mathematicians and reproductions of their work.

"George's Secret Key to the Universe" and sequels (2007 – 2016)

This kids' series written by Hawking and his daughter Lucy, along with Christophe Galfard, follows middle schoolers George and Annie as they go on adventures and learn about cosmology, traveling to other planets and even a black hole in the first book. The other books in the series are "George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt," "George and the Big Bang," "George and the Unbreakable Code" and "George and the Blue Moon" (all published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers).

"The Grand Design" (2010)

With vivid illustrations, Hawking and Mlodinow's " The Grand Design " delves into the origins of the universe and the nature of reality. The book covers multiverses and other ways that all possible histories and realities might exist, and evaluates whether M-theory might provide a unified theory of how the universe works.

"My Brief History" (2013)

" My Brief History " (Bantam Press, 2013) offers an introspective look at Hawking's life and intellectual growth. He also discusses the making of "A Brief History of Time" and how his diagnosis drove him onward to make intellectual breakthroughs.

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Sarah Lewin started writing for Space.com in June of 2015 as a Staff Writer and became Associate Editor in 2019 . Her work has been featured by Scientific American, IEEE Spectrum, Quanta Magazine, Wired, The Scientist, Science Friday and WGBH's Inside NOVA. Sarah has an MA from NYU's Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program and an AB in mathematics from Brown University. When not writing, reading or thinking about space, Sarah enjoys musical theatre and mathematical papercraft. She is currently Assistant News Editor at Scientific American. You can follow her on Twitter @SarahExplains.

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Stephen Hawking Dies at 76; His Mind Roamed the Cosmos

A physicist and best-selling author, Dr. Hawking did not allow his physical limitations to hinder his quest to answer “the big question: Where did the universe come from?”

Stephen Hawking became a leader in exploring gravity and the properties of black holes. His work led to a turning point in the history of modern physics. Credit... Terry Smith/Time Life Pictures, via Getty Images

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By Dennis Overbye

• March 14, 2018

Stephen W. Hawking , the Cambridge University physicist and best-selling author who roamed the cosmos from a wheelchair, pondering the nature of gravity and the origin of the universe and becoming an emblem of human determination and curiosity, died early Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76.

A university spokesman confirmed the death.

“Not since Albert Einstein has a scientist so captured the public imagination and endeared himself to tens of millions of people around the world,” Michio Kaku, a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, said in an interview.

Dr. Hawking did that largely through his book “A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes,” published in 1988. It has sold more than 10 million copies and inspired a documentary film by Errol Morris . His own story was the basis of an award-winning 2014 feature film, “The Theory of Everything.” (Eddie Redmayne played Dr. Hawking and won an Academy Award.)

Stephen Hawking, Pop Culture Icon

Stephen hawking, one of the greatest physicists of our time, died on wednesday. he is immortalized by his brilliant research, but also by his pop culture appearances..

“Wind back the clock.” “Wind back the clock. Until you get a universe born from a black hole exploding.” “We learn to listen.” Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest physicists of our time, didn’t let a rare motor neuron illness that bound him to a wheelchair stop him from roaming everywhere else. Despite being told, age 22, that he had only a few years left to live, he went on to live for decades more, his mind traveling through the cosmos, making breakthroughs in scientific theories on black holes and relativity, capturing the imagination of millions around the world. And he didn’t stop there. “Don’t feel bad, Lisa. Sometimes the smartest of us can be the most childish.” “Even you?” “No. Not me.” He also broke through onto our screens and radios. “You guys were never even on ‘Futurama.’ I was on three times.” With cameos on TV shows — “You made an arithmetic mistake on Page 2.” — in advertisements and in songs, becoming a pop culture icon — “If you are looking for trouble, you found it.” “Yeah, just try me, you ... ow!” — displaying a wicked sense of humor as he went. “It’s a little hard to read your tone of voice. When you say that, are you being sarcastic?” “Yes.” “I thought so.” His familiar synthesized voice graced Pink Floyd songs and TV commercials. “Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking.” “Seconds after the Big Bang, called inflation, in which the ... [scream]!” He ran over rival physicists, and had other celebrities pandering to him in comedy sketches. “Time to find my new voice.” “Surely it has to be me? Listen to my voice. It’s got a tinge of physics.” He offered sound advice to the next generation. “What do you think is the cosmological effect of Zayn leaving [pop music band] One Direction?” “Finally, a question about something important. My advice to any heartbroken young girl is to pay loads of attention to the study of theoretical physics.” And in 2014, his extraordinary life was immortalized in a film entitled “The Theory of Everything.” “All the way back, to see what happened at the beginning of time itself.” While Hawking may have left planet Earth, his many fans can be sure that his legacy remains. “I could have gone on and on. Space, here I come.”

Scientifically, Dr. Hawking will be best remembered for a discovery so strange that it might be expressed in the form of a Zen koan: When is a black hole not black? When it explodes.

What is equally amazing is that he had a career at all. As a graduate student in 1963, he learned he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a neuromuscular wasting disease also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was given only a few years to live.

The disease reduced his bodily control to the flexing of a finger and voluntary eye movements but left his mental faculties untouched.

He went on to become his generation’s leader in exploring gravity and the properties of black holes , the bottomless gravitational pits so deep and dense that not even light can escape them.

That work led to a turning point in modern physics, playing itself out in the closing months of 1973 on the walls of his brain when Dr. Hawking set out to apply quantum theory, the weird laws that govern subatomic reality, to black holes. In a long and daunting calculation, Dr. Hawking discovered to his befuddlement that black holes — those mythological avatars of cosmic doom — were not really black at all. In fact, he found, they would eventually fizzle, leaking radiation and particles, and finally explode and disappear over the eons.

The Expansive Life of Stephen Hawking

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Nobody, including Dr. Hawking, believed it at first — that particles could be coming out of a black hole. “I wasn’t looking for them at all,” he recalled in 1978. “I merely tripped over them. I was rather annoyed.”

That calculation, in a thesis published in 1974 in the journal Nature under the title “Black Hole Explosions?,” is hailed by scientists as the first great landmark in the struggle to find a single theory of nature — to connect gravity and quantum mechanics, those warring descriptions of the large and the small, to explain a universe that seems stranger than anybody had thought.

The discovery of Hawking radiation, as it is known, turned black holes upside down. It transformed them from destroyers to creators — or at least to recyclers — and wrenched the dream of a final theory in a strange, new direction .

“You can ask what will happen to someone who jumps into a black hole,” Dr. Hawking said in 1978. “I certainly don’t think he will survive it.

“On the other hand,” he added, “if we send someone off to jump into a black hole, neither he nor his constituent atoms will come back, but his mass energy will come back. Maybe that applies to the whole universe.”

Dennis W. Sciama, a cosmologist and Dr. Hawking’s thesis adviser at Cambridge, called Hawking’s thesis in Nature “the most beautiful paper in the history of physics.”

Edward Witten, a theorist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, said: “Trying to understand Hawking’s discovery better has been a source of much fresh thinking for almost 40 years now, and we are probably still far from fully coming to grips with it. It still feels new.”

In 2002, Dr. Hawking said he wanted the formula for Hawking radiation to be engraved on his tombstone.

He was a man who pushed the limits — in his intellectual life, to be sure, but also in his professional and personal lives. He traveled the globe to scientific meetings, visiting every continent, including Antarctica; wrote best-selling books about his work; married twice; fathered three children; and was not above appearing on “The Simpsons,” “Star Trek: The Next Generation” or “The Big Bang Theory.”

He celebrated his 60th birthday by going up in a hot-air balloon. The same week, he also crashed his electric-powered wheelchair while speeding around a corner in Cambridge, breaking his leg.

In April 2007, a few months after his 65th birthday, he took part in a zero-gravity flight aboard a specially equipped Boeing 727, a padded aircraft that flies a roller-coaster trajectory to produce fleeting periods of weightlessness. It was a prelude to a hoped-for trip to space with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic company aboard SpaceShipTwo.

Asked why he took such risks , Dr. Hawking said, “I want to show that people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit.”

His own spirit left many in awe.

“What a triumph his life has been,” said Martin Rees, a Cambridge University cosmologist, the astronomer royal of England and Dr. Hawking’s longtime colleague. “His name will live in the annals of science; millions have had their cosmic horizons widened by his best-selling books; and even more, around the world, have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds — a manifestation of amazing willpower and determination.”

Studies Came Easy

Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on Jan. 8, 1942 — 300 years to the day, he liked to point out, after the death of Galileo, who had begun the study of gravity. His mother, the former Isobel Walker, had gone to Oxford to avoid the bombs that fell nightly during the Blitz of London. His father, Frank Hawking, was a prominent research biologist.

The oldest of four children, Stephen was a mediocre student at St. Albans School in London, though his innate brilliance was recognized by some classmates and teachers.

Later, at University College, Oxford, he found his studies in mathematics and physics so easy that he rarely consulted a book or took notes. He got by with a thousand hours of work in three years, or one hour a day, he estimated. “Nothing seemed worth making an effort for,” he said.

The only subject he found exciting was cosmology because, he said, it dealt with “the big question: Where did the universe come from?”

He moved to Cambridge upon his graduation from Oxford. Before he could begin his research, however, he was stricken by what his research adviser, Dr. Sciama, came to call “that terrible thing.”

The young Hawking had been experiencing occasional weakness and falling spells for several years. Shortly after his 21st birthday, in 1963, doctors told him that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. They gave him less than three years to live.

His first response was severe depression. He dreamed he was going to be executed, he said. Then, against all odds, the disease appeared to stabilize. Though he was slowly losing control of his muscles, he was still able to walk short distances and perform simple tasks, though laboriously, like dressing and undressing. He felt a new sense of purpose.

“When you are faced with the possibility of an early death,” he recalled, “it makes you realize that life is worth living and that there are a lot of things you want to do.”

In 1965, he married Jane Wilde, a student of linguistics. Now, by his own account, he not only had “something to live for”; he also had to find a job, which gave him an incentive to work seriously toward his doctorate.

His illness, however, had robbed him of the ability to write down the long chains of equations that are the tools of the cosmologist’s trade. Characteristically, he turned this handicap into a strength, gathering his energies for daring leaps of thought, which, in his later years, he often left for others to codify in proper mathematical language.

“People have the mistaken impression that mathematics is just equations,” Dr. Hawking said. “In fact, equations are just the boring part of mathematics.”

By necessity, he concentrated on problems that could be attacked through “pictures and diagrams,” adopting geometric techniques that had been devised in the early 1960s by the mathematician Roger Penrose and a fellow Cambridge colleague, Brandon Carter, to study general relativity, Einstein’s theory of gravity.

Black holes are a natural prediction of that theory, which explains how mass and energy “curve” space, the way a sleeping person causes a mattress to sag. Light rays will bend as they traverse a gravitational field, just as a marble rolling on the sagging mattress will follow an arc around the sleeper.

Too much mass or energy in one spot could cause space to sag without end; an object that was dense enough, like a massive collapsing star, could wrap space around itself like a magician’s cloak and disappear, shrinking inside to a point of infinite density called a singularity, a cosmic dead end, where the known laws of physics would break down: a black hole.

Einstein himself thought this was absurd when the possibility was pointed out to him.

Using the Hubble Space Telescope and other sophisticated tools of observation and analysis, however, astronomers have identified hundreds of objects that are too massive and dark to be anything but black holes, including a supermassive one at the center of the Milky Way. According to current theory, the universe should contain billions more.

As part of his Ph.D. thesis in 1966, Dr. Hawking showed that when you ran the film of the expanding universe backward, you would find that such a singularity had to have existed sometime in cosmic history; space and time, that is, must have had a beginning. He, Dr. Penrose and a rotating cast of colleagues published a series of theorems about the behavior of black holes and the dire fate of anything caught in them.

A Calculation in His Head

Dr. Hawking’s signature breakthrough resulted from a feud with the Israeli theoretical physicist Jacob Bekenstein , then a Princeton graduate student, about whether black holes could be said to have entropy, a thermodynamic measure of disorder. Dr. Bekenstein said they could, pointing out a close analogy between the laws that Dr. Hawking and his colleagues had derived for black holes and the laws of thermodynamics.

Dr. Hawking said no. To have entropy, a black hole would have to have a temperature. But warm objects, from a forehead to a star, radiate a mixture of electromagnetic radiation, depending on their exact temperatures. Nothing could escape a black hole, and so its temperature had to be zero. “I was very down on Bekenstein,” Dr. Hawking recalled.

To settle the question, Dr. Hawking decided to investigate the properties of atom-size black holes. This, however, required adding quantum mechanics, the paradoxical rules of the atomic and subatomic world, to gravity, a feat that had never been accomplished. Friends turned the pages of quantum theory textbooks as Dr. Hawking sat motionless staring at them for months. They wondered if he was finally in over his head.

When he eventually succeeded in doing the calculation in his head, it indicated to his surprise that particles and radiation were spewing out of black holes. Dr. Hawking became convinced that his calculation was correct when he realized that the outgoing radiation would have a thermal spectrum characteristic of the heat radiated by any warm body, from a star to a fevered forehead. Dr. Bekenstein had been right.

Dr. Hawking even figured out a way to explain how particles might escape a black hole. According to quantum principles, the space near a black hole would be teeming with “virtual” particles that would flash into existence in matched particle-and-antiparticle pairs — like electrons and their evil twin opposites, positrons — out of energy borrowed from the hole’s intense gravitational field.

They would then meet and annihilate each other in a flash of energy, repaying the debt for their brief existence. But if one of the pair fell into the black hole, the other one would be free to wander away and become real. It would appear to be coming from the black hole and taking energy away from it.

But those, he cautioned, were just words. The truth was in the math.

“The most important thing about Hawking radiation is that it shows that the black hole is not cut off from the rest of the universe,” Dr. Hawking said.

It also meant that black holes had a temperature and had entropy. In thermodynamics, entropy is a measure of wasted heat. But it is also a measure of the amount of information — the number of bits — needed to describe what is in a black hole. Curiously, the number of bits is proportional to the black hole’s surface area, not its volume, meaning that the amount of information you could stuff into a black hole is limited by its area, not, as one might think, its volume.

That result has become a litmus test for string theory and other pretenders to a theory of quantum gravity. It has also led to speculations that we live in a holographic universe, in which three-dimensional space is some kind of illusion.

Andrew Strominger, a Harvard string theorist, said of the holographic theory, “If it’s really true, it’s a deep and beautiful property of our universe — but not an obvious one.”

To ‘Know the Mind of God’

The discovery of black hole radiation also led to a 30-year controversy over the fate of things that had fallen into a black hole.

Dr. Hawking initially said that detailed information about whatever had fallen in would be lost forever because the particles coming out would be completely random, erasing whatever patterns had been present when they first fell in. Paraphrasing Einstein’s complaint about the randomness inherent in quantum mechanics, Dr. Hawking said, “God not only plays dice with the universe, but sometimes throws them where they can’t be seen.”

Many particle physicists protested that this violated a tenet of quantum physics, which says that knowledge is always preserved and can be retrieved. Leonard Susskind, a Stanford physicist who carried on the argument for decades, said, “Stephen correctly understood that if this was true, it would lead to the downfall of much of 20th-century physics.”

On another occasion, he characterized Dr. Hawking to his face as “one of the most obstinate people in the world; no, he is the most infuriating person in the universe.” Dr. Hawking grinned.

Dr. Hawking admitted defeat in 2004. Whatever information goes into a black hole will come back out when it explodes. One consequence, he noted sadly, was that one could not use black holes to escape to another universe. “I’m sorry to disappoint science fiction fans,” he said.

Despite his concession, however, the information paradox, as it is known, has become one of the hottest topics in theoretical physics. Physicists say they still do not know how information gets in or out of black holes.

An Earthling’s Guide to Black Holes

Welcome to the place of no return — a region in space where the gravitational pull is so strong that not even light can escape it. This is a black hole.

Raphael Bousso of the University of California, Berkeley, and a former student of Dr. Hawking’s, said the present debate had raised “by another few notches” his estimation of the “stupendous magnitude” of Dr. Hawking’s original discovery.

In 1974, Dr. Hawking was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the world’s oldest scientific organization; in 1979, he was appointed to the Lucasian chair of mathematics at Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton. “They say it’s Newton’s chair, but obviously it’s been changed,” he liked to quip.

Dr. Hawking also made yearly visits to the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, which became like a second home. In 2008, he joined the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Ontario, as a visiting researcher.

Having conquered black holes, Dr. Hawking set his sights on the origin of the universe and on eliminating that pesky singularity at the beginning of time from models of cosmology. If the laws of physics could break down there, they could break down everywhere.

In a meeting at the Vatican in 1981, he suggested that in the final theory there should be no place or time when the laws broke down, even at the beginning. He called the notion the “no boundary” proposal.

With James Hartle of the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Santa Barbara, Calif., Dr. Hawking envisioned the history of the universe as a sphere like the Earth. Cosmic time corresponds to latitude, starting with zero at the North Pole and progressing southward.

Although time started there, the North Pole was nothing special; the same laws applied there as everywhere else. Asking what happened before the Big Bang, Dr. Hawking said, was like asking what was a mile north of the North Pole — it was not any place, or any time.

By then, string theory, which claimed finally to explain both gravity and the other forces and particles of nature as tiny microscopically vibrating strings, like notes on a violin, was the leading candidate for a “theory of everything.”

In “A Brief History of Time,” Dr. Hawking concluded that “if we do discover a complete theory” of the universe, “it should in time be understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists.”

He added, “Then we shall all, philosophers, scientists and just ordinary people, be able to take part in the discussion of why it is that we and the universe exist.”

“If we find the answer to that,” he continued, “it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason — for then we would know the mind of God.”

Until 1974, Dr. Hawking was still able to feed himself and to get in and out of bed. At Jane’s insistence, he would drag himself, hand over hand, up the stairs to the bedroom in his Cambridge home every night, in an effort to preserve his remaining muscle tone. After 1980, care was supplemented by nurses.

Dr. Hawking retained some control over his speech up to 1985. But on a trip to Switzerland, he came down with pneumonia. The doctors asked Jane if she wanted his life support turned off, but she said no. To save his life, doctors inserted a breathing tube. He survived, but his voice was permanently silenced.

Speaking With the Eyes

It appeared for a time that he would be able to communicate only by pointing at letters on an alphabet board. But when a computer expert, Walter Woltosz, heard about Dr. Hawking’s condition, he offered him a program he had written called Equalizer. By clicking a switch with his still-functioning fingers, Dr. Hawking was able to browse through menus that contained all the letters and more than 2,500 words.

Word by word — and when necessary, letter by letter — he could build up sentences on the computer screen and send them to a speech synthesizer that vocalized for him. The entire apparatus was fitted to his motorized wheelchair.

Even when too weak to move a finger, he communicated through the computer by way of an infrared beam, which he activated by twitching his right cheek or blinking his eye. The system was expanded to allow him to open and close the doors in his office and to use the telephone and internet without aid.

Although he averaged fewer than 15 words per minute, Dr. Hawking found he could speak through the computer better than he had before losing his voice. His only complaint, he confided, was that the speech synthesizer, manufactured in California, gave him a new vocal inflection.

“Please pardon my American accent,” he used to say.

His decision to write “A Brief History of Time” was prompted, he said, by a desire to share his excitement about “the discoveries that have been made about the universe” with “the public that paid for the research.” He wanted to make the ideas so accessible that the book would be sold in airports.

He also hoped to earn enough to pay for his children’s education. He did. The book’s extraordinary success made him wealthy, a hero to disabled people everywhere and even more famous.

The news media followed his movements and activities over the years, from visiting the White House to meeting the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders, and reported his opinions on everything from national health care (socialized medicine in England had kept him alive) to communicating with extraterrestrials (maybe not a good idea, he said), as if he were a rolling Delphic Oracle.

Asked by New Scientist magazine what he thought about most, Dr. Hawking answered: “Women. They are a complete mystery.”

Directing ‘The Theory of Everything’

The academy award-winning director james marsh discusses his newest project, “the theory of everything,” which chronicles the life of the cosmologist stephen hawking..

<SOT from The Theory of Everything: What if reversed the process to see what happened at the beginning of time itself. Wind back the clock, wind back the clock until you get a universe born from a black hole explosion.> James Marsh: Briefly, I was sent the screenplay that Anthony McCarten had written, and I was on the impression was a biography of Stephen Hawking, which I wasn’t particularly interested in doing so, I thought I was probably the wrong person to do this, but I dutifully read or began to read it.. <SOT from The Theory of Everything: It will have to do. You don’t know what’s coming, it will affect everything.> James Marsh: and found out it was something completely different which is a portrait of a relationship, and there was an equality of point of view of both man and woman so, even though Stephen is a public figure and Jane Hawking, obviously much less so in the story and the script there was equality between the two characters in terms of time and space with them that felt intriguing <SOT from The Theory of Everything: But I love him and he loves me, and we’re going to fight this illness together. James Marsh: I met with Stephen before we made the film and he gave us his sort of tacit approval. It’s about his personal life, so he wasn’t sort of wild about the idea but he didn’t object to it. <SOT from The Theory of Everything: It’s called motor neuron disease, life expectancy is two years.> James Marsh: He came to set when we’re filming the sort of extravagant May Ball sequence. He came to that and he arrived it was like a spaceship landing. His face was lit by this bright screen which he uses to communicate with and there’s four or five people around him. He came at just the right moment when the fireworks were going off <SOT from The Theory of Everything: fireworks> James Marsh: And then he saw the film, and as a result of that screening he offered the use of his voice. The voice you hear in the film is in fact his voice and that changed the film in a very mysterious way. <SOT from The Theory of Everything: Voice of Hawking: There should be no boundary for the human endeavor, however bad life may seem, while there is life there is hope. The other aspect of the film that’s worth mentioning is it feels like it may be a gloomy film about a man in a wheelchair, the wheelchair’s really a given really, and Stephen’s had a life. END-

In 1990, Dr. Hawking and his wife separated after 25 years of marriage; Jane Hawking wrote about their years together in two books, “Music to Move the Stars: A Life With Stephen Hawking” and “Traveling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen.” The latter became the basis of the movie “The Theory of Everything.”

In 1995, he married Elaine Mason, a nurse who had cared for him since his bout of pneumonia. She had been married to David Mason, the engineer who had attached Dr. Hawking’s speech synthesizer to his wheelchair.

In 2004, British newspapers reported that the Cambridge police were investigating allegations that Elaine had abused Dr. Hawking, but no charges were filed, and Dr. Hawking denied the accusations. They later divorced.

His survivors include his children, Robert, Lucy and Tim, and three grandchildren.

‘There Is No Heaven’

Among his many honors, Dr. Hawking was named a commander of the British Empire in 1982. In the summer of 2012, he had a star role in the opening of the Paralympics Games in London. The only thing lacking was the Nobel Prize, and his explanation for this was characteristically pithy: “The Nobel is given only for theoretical work that has been confirmed by observation. It is very, very difficult to observe the things I have worked on.”

Dr. Hawking was a strong advocate of space exploration, saying it was essential to the long-term survival of the human race. “Life on Earth is at the ever-increasing risk of being wiped out by a disaster, such as sudden global nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus or other dangers we have not yet thought of,” he told an audience in Hong Kong in 2007.

Nothing raised as much furor, however, as his increasingly scathing remarks about religion. One attraction of the no-boundary proposal for Dr. Hawking was that there was no need to appeal to anything outside the universe, like God, to explain how it began.

In “A Brief History of Time,” he had referred to the “mind of God,” but in “The Grand Design,” a 2011 book he wrote with Leonard Mlodinow, he was more bleak about religion. “It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper,” he wrote, referring to the British term for a firecracker fuse, “and set the universe going.”

He went further that year, telling The Guardian : “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Having spent the best part of his life grappling with black holes and cosmic doom, Dr. Hawking had no fear of the dark.

“They’re named black holes because they are related to human fears of being destroyed or gobbled up,” he once told an interviewer. “I don’t have fears of being thrown into them. I understand them. I feel in a sense that I am their master.”

An earlier version of this obituary misstated the year Dr. Hawking was appointed to the Lucasian chair of mathematics at Cambridge University. It was 1979, not 1982. The earlier version also misstated part of the title of Martin Rees, a longtime colleague of Dr. Hawking’s. He is the astronomer royal of England, not Britain.

An earlier version of this obituary misstated the year of a meeting at the Vatican that Dr. Hawking attended. It was 1981, not 1982.

An earlier version of a picture caption with this obituary misstated the year the photo of Dr. Hawking and his first wife, the former Jane Wilde, was taken. It was 1988, not 1990.

How we handle corrections

Matthew Haag, Matt Stevens and Gerald Jonas contributed reporting.

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Stephen Hawking: A timeline of his life

The renowned physicist died aged 76.

US President Barack Obama presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking during a ceremony in the East Room at the White House on August 12, 2009. Jewel Samad / AFP

Here are 10 key dates in the life of renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking, who died Wednesday at the age 76:

- January 8, 1942: He is born in the city of Oxford.

- 1962: With a degree in physics from the University of Oxford, he undertakes research in cosmology at Cambridge, completing a doctorate thesis entitled "Properties of the Expanding Universes".

- 1963: He learns that he suffers from a form of the degenerative and paralysing motor-neurone disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

- 1965: He marries Jane Wilde, with whom he has three children before they separate after 25 years. In 1995 he marries his former nurse, Elaine Mason; they too divorce after several years.

- 1974: He becomes at 32 one of the youngest members of the Royal Society, Britain's most prestigious scientific body.

____________

Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

Dr Jane Hawking: Her own theory on it all

Stephen Hawking and his five-decade fight with ALS

- 1979: He is appointed Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, a post he occupies for 30 years.

- 1985: He loses the ability to speak after undergoing a tracheotomy to help him breathe after contracting pneumonia. This results eventually in his use of a computer and a voice synthesiser to communicate.

- 1988: Hawking publishes A Brief History of Time , which seeks to explain to non-scientists the fundamental theories of the universe. It becomes an international bestseller, bringing him global acclaim.

- 2007: He goes on a weightless flight in the United States as a prelude to a hoped-for sub-orbital spaceflight.

- 2014: The Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything , by director James Marsh, is released. British actor Eddie Redmayne goes on to win an Oscar for his portrayal of the scientist.

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10 facts about Stephen Hawking

Learn about one of the most influential scientists of our time….

On 14 March 2018, Stephen Hawking passed away aged 76. Meet the inspirational British scientist in our Stephen Hawking facts..

Stephen Hawking facts

Full name: Stephen William Hawking Born: 8 January 1942 Hometown: Oxford, England Occupation: Scientist Died: 14 March 2018 Best known for: His work on explaining the origins of the universe and black holes

1) Stephen grew up in a house where education was very important. His parents were both academics who had studied at Oxford University . Dinner times were often spent in silence while the family read books!

2) When he was a teenager, Stephen and his friends built a computer out of old clock parts, telephone switchboards and other recycled items. His friends nicknamed him, ‘ Einstein ‘!

3) When Stephen was 17, he went to Oxford University to study physics and chemistry . He later said that he found his first year very boring! After graduating from Oxford, he went to  Cambridge University to further his studies in cosmology (the science of the origin of the universe).

4) Sadly, when he was 21 , Stephen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) and told that he only had two years to live . MND gradually affects the brain cells that communicate with the body’s muscles. Over time, sufferers struggle to walk, talk and even swallow without help.

5) Stephen used walking sticks and crutches after his diagnosis, but as his illness got worse he had to use an electric wheelchair to get around. He became notorious for driving it a little too fast around the streets of Cambridge and running over other students’ toes!

6) Stephen made many important contributions to the world of science . He developed  theories about how the world began and furthered our understanding of black holes , stars and the universe.

7) Stephen was always keen for his work to be accessible to everyone, not just scientists. He wrote books that explained his theories in simple terms for everyone to understand, including a children’s book. His most famous book, A Brief History of Time , sold more than 10 million copies !

8) In 1985 , Stephen developed a life-threatening infection. He had an emergency operation that saved his life but left him unable to talk. He was given a  special computer that talked for him, which he controlled by moving a muscle in his cheek – clever !

9) Stephen has received many awards for his work including the 1979 Albert Einstein Medal , the Order of the British Empire (Commander) in 1982 and the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics.

10) Stephen is remembered as an inspiration to many people. He had an amazing mind, incredible determination and didn’t let his illness stand in his way. He defied doctors’ predictions, living for a further 55 years after his diagnosis.

What do you think of our Stephen Hawking facts? Let us know by leaving a comment, below!

Images ⓒ getty images: stephen hawking (95774294), (460199068 ), (476665123), (877190322), leave a comment.

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He is just the acronym for beyond awesomeness. by end of the last fact in this page im just crying by knowing how greatful he is. salute tou you sir. You are just one of the amazing creature that this universe is ever gifted. With Lots of Love nad respect kiran

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Stephen Hawking had a simple answer when asked whether he believed in God

Stephen hawking shared his views on god and the afterlife in his final book.

Mia Williams

Stephen Hawking shared his views on God and the afterlife in his final book, and his answer was simple.

It’s a common belief that religion and science cannot go hand-in-hand.

With this in mind, it wouldn’t be difficult to assume Stephen Hawking’s position on religion, as one of the greatest scientists of our time.

He died at the age of 76 in 2018, and is best known for a book he released in 2002 titled The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe.

Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - a type of motor neurone disease - in 1963, when he was just 21 years old.

After being told he had just two years left to live, he became the longest-living ALS survivor.

Using an advanced computer system, he was able to communicate with people using a keyboard on the screen which was controlled by detecting his cheek movements.

Referencing his disability in his final book Brief Answers to the Big Questions , he wrote: “For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God.

“Well, I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there, but I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature.

"If you believe in science, like I do, you believe that there are certain laws that are always obeyed.

“If you like, you can say the laws are the work of God, but that is more a definition of God than a proof of his existence.”

He then went on to write about his opinions regarding the afterlife, adding: “We are each free to believe what we want and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God.

"No one created the universe and no one directs our fate.

“This leads me to a profound realisation, there’s probably no heaven and no afterlife, either.

“We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that I am extremely grateful.”

Talking to the BBC about the future of the universe, he noted how AI could be the final straw for humanity.

He said: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.

“It would take off on its own, and re-design itself at an ever increasing rate.”

Topics:  Stephen Hawking , Science , Technology

Mia is a freelance writer for LADBible, and an award-winning trainee journalist at the UK’s No.1 journalism school, News Associates.

@ mia_francessca

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10 Big Ideas on the Universe from Stephen Hawking

Posted: March 12, 2024 | Last updated: March 12, 2024

Stephen Hawking was one of the most profound scientific minds to ever exist. Naturally, the author of many rich scientific books has a lot to say about the cosmos. Rather than bore you with the details, let's dive deep into some of the best quotes you'll hear on life, the universe, and everything else from such a great mind.

Agree? Tell us by clicking the “Thumbs Up” button above.

On a Sense of Wonder

Stephen Hawking was known for his wry and cutting sense of humor. That said, he wasn't without his wonder and appreciation for what lies beyond our planet. He once stated, "Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”

The Comedy of Life

Stephen Hawking was a wheelchair user for most of his adult life. While he suffered from the harrowing ALS for 55 years, he made the most of his time on earth . About life, he once stated, "Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny."

Intelligence Isn't Everything

Despite being one of the most brilliant people to ever live, Stephen Hawking didn't have time to suffer fools. Regarding people flouting their IQs, he once said, “People who boast about their IQ are losers.”

The Growth of Mankind

Despite being a member of the human race, Stephen Hawking could be rather cutting regarding other people. With this in mind, he did have a keen appreciation for humanity, once saying, “For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen. Speech has allowed the communication of ideas, enabling human beings to work together to build the impossible. Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking, and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this. Our greatest hopes could become reality in the future. With the technology at our disposal, the possibilities are unbounded. All we need to do is make sure we keep talking.”

The Inevitability of Death

Death waits for no one, and it did eventually take Stephen Hawking at the age of 76. That said, he was prepared and waiting for his time. He once quipped, “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.”

Simplifying Humanity

Mankind is something special in the eyes of Stephen Hawking, so it comes as no surprise that he holds our species in such high esteem. Exhibiting some of his characteristic humor, he once said, “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.”

On the Mind

Stephen Hawking may have been confined to a wheelchair, but that never dulled the sharp mind he possessed. Regarding the mind, he once said, “I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”

Religion and Man's Place in the Stars

Stephen Hawking wasn't known for being a deeply religious person. You could say he was rather dismissive toward faith. He once remarked, “I believe the simplest explanation is, there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization that there probably is no heaven and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that, I am extremely grateful.”

There is no disputing how incredibly savvy Stephen Hawking was. His goal with his time on earth was powerfully succinct. He once stated, “My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.

On How Life Was Going

Stephen Hawking understood the importance of a sense of humor. Despite the many tragedies in his personal life, he kept a positive spin on things. He once remarked, “My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.”

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Stephen Hawking once gave a simple answer as to whether there was a God

People have been returning to Stephen Hawking ’s words of wisdom given before his passing in 2018.

The astrophysicist gave the world so much before his death, and had ominous messages for the future too – not least warning against trying to communicate with alien civilisations and trying to warn us about what a future with AI could bring .

Hawking reflected on religion and belief in God in his book The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe , which was released back in 2002.

He wrote: "For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God.

"Well, I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there, but I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature.

"If you believe in science, like I do, you believe that there are certain laws that are always obeyed. If you like, you can say the laws are the work of God, but that is more a definition of God than a proof of his existence."

Considering the possibility of God existing, he went on to write: "We are each free to believe what we want and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God.

"No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization, there’s probably no Heaven and no afterlife, either.

"We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that I am extremely grateful."

Speaking in 2014, four years before his death, Hawking had a stark warning to humanity before his death about the capabilities and threat of artificial intelligence.

In a BBC interview, Hawking warned: “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.”

While the technology was only just beginning to emerge, Hawking had the foresight to theorise how it might develop and impact our lives, especially if it exceeds human intelligence.

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Robert Hawking

• 12 Mar 2024

Robert Hawking is a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who is best known for his work on black holes and the Big Bang theory.

Hawking was born in Oxford, England, in 1942. He studied physics at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge, and in 1974 he became a professor at the University of Cambridge. Hawking's research has focused on the nature of space and time, and he has made significant contributions to our understanding of black holes and the Big Bang theory.

Hawking is also a popular author, and his books have been translated into more than 40 languages. His most famous book is A Brief History of Time , which has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide.

Theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author Stephen Hawking's work on black holes and the Big Bang theory has transformed our understanding of the universe.

• Black holes: Hawking's work on black holes has led to a deeper understanding of these mysterious objects.
• Big Bang theory: Hawking's work on the Big Bang theory has helped to explain the origin and evolution of the universe.
• Cosmology: Hawking's research has helped to shape our understanding of the universe as a whole.
• Theoretical physics: Hawking's work is a major contribution to theoretical physics.
• Author: Hawking is also a popular author, and his books have been translated into more than 40 languages.
• Disability advocate: Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, but he continued to work and advocate for people with disabilities.
• Inspiration: Hawking is an inspiration to millions of people around the world.

Hawking's work has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. He is one of the most important scientists of our time, and his work will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

Black holes

Stephen Hawking's work on black holes has revolutionized our understanding of these enigmatic objects. Black holes are regions of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Hawking's work has helped to explain how black holes form, how they evolve, and what happens to matter that falls into them.

• Formation of black holes: Hawking's work has helped to explain how black holes form from the collapse of massive stars. When a star collapses, its gravity can become so strong that it creates a black hole.
• Evolution of black holes: Hawking's work has also helped to explain how black holes evolve over time. Black holes can merge with other black holes, and they can also emit Hawking radiation, which causes them to slowly lose mass.
• What happens to matter that falls into black holes: Hawking's work has helped to explain what happens to matter that falls into black holes. Matter that falls into a black hole is stretched and compressed by the intense gravity, and it eventually reaches a point of singularity, where it is infinitely dense.

Hawking's work on black holes has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. His work has helped to shed light on one of the most mysterious and fascinating objects in the cosmos.

Big Bang theory

Stephen Hawking's work on the Big Bang theory is a major contribution to our understanding of the universe. The Big Bang theory is the leading scientific theory for how the universe began. It states that the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago with a very hot, dense state. This state then expanded and cooled, forming the stars and galaxies that we see today.

Hawking's work on the Big Bang theory has helped to explain a number of important questions about the universe, including:

• The origin of the universe: Hawking's work has helped to explain how the universe could have come into existence from a very hot, dense state.
• The evolution of the universe: Hawking's work has helped to explain how the universe has evolved from a very hot, dense state to the present day.
• The fate of the universe: Hawking's work has helped to explain what the ultimate fate of the universe will be.

Hawking's work on the Big Bang theory is a major contribution to our understanding of the universe. His work has helped to answer some of the most fundamental questions about our existence.

In addition to his work on the Big Bang theory, Hawking also made significant contributions to other areas of physics, including black holes and cosmology. He was a brilliant scientist and a great communicator of science to the public. His work has inspired many people to pursue careers in science and engineering.

Stephen Hawking was a brilliant physicist who made significant contributions to our understanding of the universe. His work on cosmology, the study of the universe as a whole, has helped to shape our understanding of the origin, evolution, and ultimate fate of the universe.

One of Hawking's most important contributions to cosmology was his work on the Big Bang theory. The Big Bang theory is the leading scientific theory for how the universe began. It states that the universe began about 13.8 billion years ago with a very hot, dense state. This state then expanded and cooled, forming the stars and galaxies that we see today.

Hawking's work on the Big Bang theory helped to explain a number of important questions about the universe, including the origin of the universe, the evolution of the universe, and the ultimate fate of the universe. His work also helped to lay the foundation for the development of the inflationary universe theory, which is the leading scientific theory for how the universe expanded so rapidly in its early stages.

Hawking's work on cosmology has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. His work has helped to answer some of the most fundamental questions about our existence, and it has inspired many people to pursue careers in science and engineering.

Theoretical physics

Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist who made significant contributions to our understanding of the universe. His work on black holes, cosmology, and quantum gravity has helped to shape our understanding of the fundamental laws of nature.

Hawking's work on black holes led to the development of the Hawking radiation theory, which describes how black holes emit radiation. This theory has important implications for our understanding of black holes and the laws of thermodynamics.

Hawking's work on cosmology helped to develop the inflationary universe theory, which is the leading scientific theory for how the universe expanded rapidly in its early stages. This theory has important implications for our understanding of the origin and evolution of the universe.

Hawking's work on quantum gravity was groundbreaking. He made significant contributions to the development of a theory of quantum gravity, which is a theory that unifies the laws of quantum mechanics with the laws of gravity. A theory of quantum gravity is one of the most important unsolved problems in physics.

Hawking's work has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. He was one of the most important physicists of the 20th century, and his work will continue to inspire and inform future generations of scientists.

Stephen Hawking was not only a brilliant physicist but also a gifted writer. His books have been translated into more than 40 languages and have sold millions of copies worldwide. Hawking's ability to communicate complex scientific concepts in a clear and engaging way has inspired many people to pursue careers in science and engineering.

• A Brief History of Time: Hawking's most famous book, A Brief History of Time , was published in 1988 and has sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The book provides a comprehensive overview of the universe, from the Big Bang to the present day. Hawking's writing is clear and engaging, and he does a masterful job of explaining complex scientific concepts in a way that is accessible to the general public.
• The Grand Design: In The Grand Design , Hawking explores the fundamental questions of existence, such as the origin of the universe and the nature of reality. Hawking argues that the universe is governed by a set of laws that are knowable through science. He also discusses the implications of our scientific understanding of the universe for our religious beliefs.
• Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays: This collection of essays explores a wide range of topics in physics and cosmology, including black holes, the Big Bang, and the possibility of other universes. Hawking's writing is clear and engaging, and he does a masterful job of explaining complex scientific concepts in a way that is accessible to the general public.

Hawking's books have had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. His work has helped to make science more accessible to the general public, and he has inspired many people to pursue careers in science and engineering. Hawking was a brilliant scientist and a gifted writer, and his legacy will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

Disability advocate

Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord. Hawking was told that he would only have a few years to live, but he defied the odds and lived for another 55 years. Despite his physical challenges, Hawking continued to work as a physicist and author, and he became one of the most famous and respected scientists in the world.

Hawking was also a passionate advocate for people with disabilities. He used his platform to raise awareness of ALS and other disabilities, and he worked to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Hawking was a strong supporter of the Americans with Disabilities Act, and he helped to found the Stephen Hawking Foundation, which provides grants to organizations that support people with disabilities.

Hawking's work as a disability advocate has had a profound impact on the lives of people with disabilities. He has helped to raise awareness of ALS and other disabilities, and he has worked to improve the lives of people with disabilities. Hawking is an inspiration to people with disabilities and to everyone who believes in the power of the human spirit.

Inspiration

Stephen Hawking is an inspiration to millions of people around the world. Despite being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, Hawking defied the odds and lived for another 55 years. During that time, he made significant contributions to our understanding of the universe, and he became one of the most famous and respected scientists in the world.

Hawking's work as a scientist and author has inspired many people to pursue careers in science and engineering. His ability to communicate complex scientific concepts in a clear and engaging way has made him a popular figure with the general public. Hawking has also been a strong advocate for people with disabilities. He has used his platform to raise awareness of ALS and other disabilities, and he has worked to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

Hawking's life and work are a testament to the power of the human spirit. He has shown that it is possible to overcome adversity and achieve great things. Hawking is an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and his legacy will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

The connection between "Inspiration: Hawking is an inspiration to millions of people around the world." and "robert hawking" is clear. Hawking's work as a scientist, author, and disability advocate has inspired millions of people around the world. He has shown that it is possible to overcome adversity and achieve great things. Hawking is a role model for people with disabilities and for everyone who believes in the power of the human spirit.

FAQs about Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author who is best known for his work on black holes and the Big Bang theory. He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21, but he continued to work and advocate for people with disabilities. Hawking died in 2018 at the age of 76.

Question 1: What was Stephen Hawking's most famous book?

Answer: A Brief History of Time

Question 2: What was Stephen Hawking's disability?

Answer: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Question 3: What was Stephen Hawking's greatest contribution to science?

Answer: His work on black holes and the Big Bang theory

Question 4: How old was Stephen Hawking when he died?

Question 5: Was Stephen Hawking married?

Answer: Yes, he was married twice.

Question 6: What was Stephen Hawking's IQ?

Answer: It is not known for certain, but it is estimated to have been between 160 and 170.

Summary of key takeaways or final thought: Stephen Hawking was a brilliant scientist and a gifted communicator. His work has had a profound impact on our understanding of the universe. He was also a strong advocate for people with disabilities. Hawking was an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and his legacy will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

Transition to the next article section: Stephen Hawking's work on black holes and the Big Bang theory has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. In the next section, we will explore his work on black holes in more detail.

Tips from Stephen Hawking

Below are a collection of tips from Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest scientists of our time.

Stephen Hawking was a brilliant scientist and a gifted communicator. His work on black holes and the Big Bang theory has revolutionized our understanding of the universe. He was also a strong advocate for people with disabilities. Hawking was an inspiration to millions of people around the world, and his legacy will continue to inspire and inform future generations.

Hawking's life and work remind us that anything is possible, even when faced with adversity. He showed us that it is important to ask questions, to never give up on our dreams, to be persistent, to be open-minded, and to be creative. By following his example, we can overcome challenges, achieve our goals, and make a positive impact on the world.

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Quotes From Stephen Hawking Theoretical Physicist, Cosmologist

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Stephen Hawking said he had a simple answer when asked whether he believed in God

Stephen hawking shared his opinions on the existence of god and the afterlife in his final book.

When asked if he believed in God and heaven, the late Stephen Hawking had a simple reply.

Science and religion can often be at odds with each other - creation vs the big bang theory , miracles vs scientific explanation.

So, you may be interested to know whether legendary scientist Stephen Hawking believed in God.

Hawking, who died in 2018 at the age of 76, was a world-renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author.

He is best-known for his 2002 book, The Theory of Everything: The Origin and Fate of the Universe, as well as his work in the fields of general relativity and quantum gravity.

You can hear the late scientist's views on God and the afterlife here:

Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) - a type of motor neurone disease - in 1963, when he was just 21-years-old.

At the time, he was warned by doctors that he had just two years to live, and although he managed to completely defy the initial prognosis, Hawking's ability to move and communicate deteriorated over time and he later communicated using an advanced computer system.

The computer was in the form of a tablet mounted to the arm of his wheelchair and was powered by the wheelchair's batteries.

There was a keyboard on the screen, which was controlled by detecting his cheek movements, allowing Hawking to type out what he wanted to say.

When he died aged 76, he was the longest living ALS survivor in history.

Hawking referenced his disability in his final book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions , writing: "For centuries, it was believed that disabled people like me were living under a curse that was inflicted by God.

"Well, I suppose it's possible that I've upset someone up there, but I prefer to think that everything can be explained another way, by the laws of nature.

"If you believe in science, like I do, you believe that there are certain laws that are always obeyed. If you like, you can say the laws are the work of God, but that is more a definition of God than a proof of his existence."

He then went on to share his opinions on the possibility of a God or life after death.

"We are each free to believe what we want and it’s my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God," he explained.

"No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization, there’s probably no Heaven and no afterlife, either.

"We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe and for that I am extremely grateful."

Topics:  Science

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