Stephen William Hawking
- Born:
- January 8, 1942, Oxford, England
- Died:
- March 14, 2018, Cambridge, England
- Nationality:
- British
- Profession(s):
- Theoretical Physicist, Cosmologist, Author
Early Life and Education
- Hawking attended St Albans School and University College, Oxford.
- He obtained a First Class Honours degree in Natural Science (Physics) from Oxford in 1962.
- He pursued postgraduate research in cosmology at the University of Cambridge, obtaining a PhD in 1966.
- Around the time he began his doctoral studies, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, sometimes referenced as 'Stephen Hawking biography enfermedad de parkinson's,' although Parkinson's is a distinct neurological disorder.
Career and Major Achievements
- Hawking held the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge from 1979 to 2009.
- He made significant contributions to the understanding of black holes and the origins of the universe.
- Hawking proposed that black holes emit radiation, now known as Hawking radiation.
- He developed, with James Hartle, the Hartle–Hawking state, a model of the universe having no boundaries in imaginary time.
- He received numerous awards and honors, including the Albert Einstein Award, the Wolf Prize in Physics, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Notable Works
- A Brief History of Time (1988): A popular science book that became a bestseller.
- Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays (1993)
- The Universe in a Nutshell (2001)
- A Briefer History of Time (2005) (with Leonard Mlodinow)
- The Grand Design (2010) (with Leonard Mlodinow)
Legacy and Impact
Stephen Hawking's work profoundly impacted the fields of cosmology and theoretical physics. His popular science books made complex scientific concepts accessible to a broad audience, inspiring countless individuals to pursue scientific inquiry. His personal struggle with ALS made him an inspirational figure worldwide.