National Treasure: Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA is a world renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author.

Born in Oxford on 8 January 1942, Hawking studied natural sciences with an emphasis on physics at University College, Oxford before continuing his graduate studies at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. His most influential works include theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, known as Hawking Radiation.

Hawking is also known for penning books, such as the bestselling A Brief History of Time, in which he discusses his own theories and general cosmology.

Hawking has a motor neurone disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and is now almost completely paralysed, he also relies on a speech generating device for communication and the electronic voice that he has used for a quarter of a century has become his trademark.

Hawking has received many honours, he is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and has received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the USA. Between 1979 and 2009, Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge before becoming the research director at the University’s Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.

Image credit: elhombredenegro