The Philosopher
Stephen Hawking
The face
The background
- Nationality:
- English
- Schools:
- University of Oxford, University of Cambridge
- Period:
- Modern
The synopsis
Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical astrophysicist, cosmologist, and author. He was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Between 1979 and 2009, he held the Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics at Cambridge. Born in Oxford, Hawking's work included collaborations on gravitational singularity theorems and the prediction of Hawking radiation from black holes. Despite being diagnosed with motor neurone disease at age 21, which gradually paralysed him, he communicated through a speech-generating device. His popular science books, including 'A Brief History of Time,' achieved widespread commercial success. Hawking was a Fellow of the Royal Society and received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The works
A Brief History of Time
Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays
The Universe in a Nutshell
On the Shoulders of Giants
God Created the Integers
My Brief History
Brief Answers to the Big Questions
The Nature of Space and Time
The Large Scale Structure of Space–Time
A Briefer History of Time
The Grand Design
George's Secret Key to the Universe
George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt
George and the Big Bang
The quotes
I'm never any good in the morning. It is only after four in the afternoon that I get going.
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.
In Britain, like most of the developed world, stem-cell research is regarded as a great opportunity. America will be left behind if it doesn't change policy.