1942-

English Theoretical Physicist

Stephen Hawking is arguably the most famous scientist of the second half of the twentieth century. His work on black holes, his best-selling book A Brief History of Time, and his long struggle with Lou Gehrig's disease have made him a celebrity.

Hawking was trained as a physicist at Oxford University. He wanted to study mathematics, but his father wanted him to study medicine. Since University College didn't offer mathematics, he ended up in physics. After completing his undergraduate degree he went to Cambridge University for his Ph.D., where he was supervised by Dennis Sciama. He remained at Cambridge, where he is now in the department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, and is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a position also held by Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727).

Hawking's greatest scientific achievements came in the 1960s and 1970s with...