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Who is Stephen Hawking?

Wanda Albano
Wanda Albano

Stephen Hawking is said to be one of the most brilliant scientific minds of our time. Undoubtedly a man of great genius, Hawking is a Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge — post once held by Sir Isaac Newton — and a bestselling author. His book, A Brief History of Time, was so popular it was on the British bestseller list for 237 weeks.

Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England. He attended University College, Oxford, where he studied physics. He obtained a first class honors degree in Natural Science after three years. Hawking then went on to study theoretical cosmology in Cambridge. It was in Cambridge that the first symptoms of the disease that would eventually render him immobile appeared. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) inevitably changed Hawking's life.

Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes emit their own black-body radiation, which was named Hawking radiation in his honor.
Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes emit their own black-body radiation, which was named Hawking radiation in his honor.

Contrary to popular belief, however, this disease did not cause him to lose his voice. This development was caused by pneumonia, which he contracted during a visit to CERN in Geneva in 1985. The pneumonia made it so difficult for him to breathe that a tracheotomy was required. The operation rendered him mute.

Stephen Hawking's primary fields of research are theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity. In his own words, he is most interested in examining the basic laws that make the universe what it is. He advocated the unification of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Quantum Theory and is most known for his study of black holes. In 1974, he posited what is now known as "Hawking Radiation" by calculating that black holes thermally create and emit subatomic particles.

Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England.
Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England.

He married Jane Wilde in 1965, and subsequently fathered three children. The couple separated in 1991, and Hawking then married his long-time nurse Elaine Maison in 1995. Incidentally, Elaine Maison's first husband, David Maison, was the man who designed Hawking's first vocal synthesizer, without which Hawking would have no means of adequate conversation. Stephen Hawking filed for divorce to Elaine Maison in 2006.

Stephen Hawking studied at Cambridge University.
Stephen Hawking studied at Cambridge University.

Professor Stephen Hawking is the first quadriplegic to attempt floating in zero gravity. This attempt was made in part to prepare for a planned sub-orbital space flight scheduled to take place in 2009 with Virgin Galactic. Billionaire Richard Branson has pledged to pay all costs of the flight.

Discussion Comments

CrispyFries

@anon94824 - If you want to get started in this field, the clearest track I can think of is to go to university, study physics, work really, really hard, and hopefully get into some kind of astrophysics graduate program. It'll take years and years of hard work, but that's probably the most direct way to get into this sort of thing. Good luck.

jeancastle00

I think it is very interesting that Stephen Hawking had originally put forth the idea that the concept of God and the Big Bang theory could coexist in his original books. Now he has stated in his most recent work that the two are mutually exclusive and that no force of God is needed to have started the universe's existence.

According to his new theories, the existence of gravity alone is enough to have allowed something to be created from nothing.

anon94824

i am a 12th passed student and i confused with my upcoming future career. i am very interested in all programs of space-related discovery. I am very desperate to join this type of field, so suggest to me a solution.

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    • Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes emit their own black-body radiation, which was named Hawking radiation in his honor.
      Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes emit their own black-body radiation, which was named Hawking radiation in his honor.
    • Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England.
      By: Negura Dincolo
      Stephen Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford, England.
    • Stephen Hawking studied at Cambridge University.
      By: Konstiantyn
      Stephen Hawking studied at Cambridge University.
    • Pneumonia caused Stephen Hawking to lose his voice.
      By: rob3000
      Pneumonia caused Stephen Hawking to lose his voice.