", "Stephen Hawking, Go Compare and a brief history of selling out", "Professor Stephen Hawking to trademark name", "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' is back with the original cast", "StarTalk Season 4, Episode 20: Stephen Hawking", "Certificate of election: Hawking, Stephen, EC/1974/12", "Pride of Britain 2016: Stephen Hawking makes Brexit joke at PM Theresa May's expense", "Stephen Hawking Medals For Science Communication", "Winners of inaugural Stephen Hawking medal announced", "Stephen Hawking's final work will try to answer some of the biggest questions in the universe – Book will collect the late professor's most profound and celebrated writings", "Last night on television: Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe (Channel 4) – The Palace (ITV1)", "Brave New World with Stephen Hawking, episode one, Channel 4, review", "Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Mine – TV review", "Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking in 'Theory of Everything' trailer", "Is the end in sight for the Lucasian chair? Corrections? [308] Fears that the manoeuvres would cause him undue discomfort proved groundless, and the flight was extended to eight parabolic arcs. In collaboration with G. Ellis, Hawking is the author of an impressive and original treatise on "Space-time in the Large". [60][61], Hawking began his university education at University College, Oxford,[26] in October 1959 at the age of 17. [104][106], His results, which Hawking presented from 1974, showed that black holes emit radiation, known today as Hawking radiation, which may continue until they exhaust their energy and evaporate. Mike Hutchings / Reuters file March 17, 2018, 9:57 AM UTC / Updated March 17, 2018, 9:57 AM UTC Introducing Stephen Hawking is a brilliantly conceived introduction to Hawking's work, ranging from Einstein's General Theory of Relativity to Quantum Mechanics, Black Holes and the Big Bang. He had an amazing mind, incredible determination and didn’t let his illness stand in his way. He predicted that black holes emitted radiations. [127] His promotion coincided with a health-crisis which led to his accepting, albeit reluctantly, some nursing services at home. [349][350] Also in October 2018, Hawking's last book, Brief Answers to the Big Questions, a popular science book presenting his final comments on the most important questions facing humankind, was published. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. [Excerpt]", "Stephen Hawking: "I'm happy if I have added something to our understanding of the universe, "Stephen Hawking's PhD thesis, explained simply", "Stephen Hawking to retire as Cambridge's Professor of Mathematics", "Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story, "How God propelled Stephen Hawking into the bestsellers lists", "Stephen Hawking warns Government over 'disastrous' science funding cuts", "Why Professor Stephen Hawking never had a knighthood", "John Preskill's comments about Stephen Hawking's concession", "Stephen Hawking: driven by a cosmic force of will", "Populating the landscape: A top-down approach", "Stephen Hawking's black holes 'blunder' stirs debate", "Why Some Physicists Bet Against the Higgs Boson", "Stephen Hawking loses Higgs boson particle bet – Video", "Higgs boson breakthrough should earn physicist behind search Nobel Prize: Stephen Hawking", "Oldest, space-travelled, science prize awarded to Hawking", "Obama presents presidential medal of freedom to 16 recipients", "2013 Fundamental Physics Prize Awarded to Alexander Polyakov", "The Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in San Salvador Central America Honours the Fortitude of a Great Living Scientist", "Grand Opening of the Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute", "Professor Stephen Hawking to stay at Cambridge University beyond 2012", "Time Travel Simulation Resolves 'Grandfather Paradox, "Searching for ET: Hawking to look for extraterrestrial life", "Tomorrow's World returns to BBC with startling warning from Stephen Hawking – we must leave Earth", "Stephen Hawking will test his theory that humans must leave Earth. [357] The same month, it was reported that Hawking's nurse, Patricia Dowdy, had been handed an interim suspension in 2016 for "failures over his care and financial misconduct. [133][134][135] Hawking also began a new line of quantum-theory research into the origin of the universe. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76, after living with motor neurone disease for more than 50 years. ---a possibly dramatized anecdote from Introducing Stephen Hawking (2006)---Near the end of his term at Oxford and no doubt beginning to feel the effects of ALS, Hawking took a terrible fall down a staircase in the university hall. It is a complete revelation to a man's struggle to the eternal question "Quid est veritas? [249] After his second marriage, Hawking's family felt excluded and marginalised from his life. [211] Appropriately, given Hawking's association with time, he unveiled the mechanical "Chronophage" (or time-eating) Corpus Clock at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in September 2008. [257][258] The MND diagnosis came when Hawking was 21, in 1963. It also explains Hawking's research into Quantum Gravity, which could emerge as a Theory of Everything. [269] Hawking was a popular and witty colleague, but his illness, as well as his reputation for brashness, distanced him from some. The citation continues, "Other important work by Hawking relates to the interpretation of cosmological observations and to the design of gravitational wave detectors. ", "Stephen Hawking, "Equal to Anything!" 1) Stephen Hawking was a famous cosmologist, physicist, and professor. The wager was an "insurance policy" against the proposition that black holes did not exist. [165][166], He received further academic recognition, including five more honorary degrees,[162] the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1985),[167] the Paul Dirac Medal (1987)[162] and, jointly with Penrose, the prestigious Wolf Prize (1988). These unimpressive study habits made sitting his finals a challenge, and he decided to answer only theoretical physics questions rather than those requiring factual knowledge. To the public he is a tragic figure - a brilliant scientist and author of the 9 million-copy-selling "A Brief History of Time", and yet confined to a wheelchair and almost completely paralyzed. [63][64] His physics-tutor, Robert Berman, later said, "It was only necessary for him to know that something could be done, and he could do it without looking to see how other people did it. [86], The couple resided in Cambridge, within Hawking's walking distance to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). [151][152] Instead of publishing with an academic press, he signed a contract with Bantam Books, a mass-market publisher, and received a large advance for his book. [88][87], In his work, and in collaboration with Penrose, Hawking extended the singularity theorem concepts first explored in his doctoral thesis. [244] For a period of about five years in the early 2000s, his family and staff became increasingly worried that he was being physically abused. He was later scheduled to appear as the keynote speaker at a 2017 Humanists UK conference. Stephen Hawking is the world-famous physicist with a cameo in "The Simpsons" on his CV, but outside his academic field his work is little understood. His book A Brief History of Time appeared on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. [281][282] Nurses were hired for the three shifts required to provide the round-the-clock support he required. [292] Originally, Hawking activated a switch using his hand and could produce up to 15 words a minute. Stephen Hawking. [38] Hawking's father wanted his son to attend the well-regarded Westminster School, but the 13-year-old Hawking was ill on the day of the scholarship examination. [49][50] A positive consequence was that Hawking remained close to a group of friends with whom he enjoyed board games, the manufacture of fireworks, model aeroplanes and boats,[51] and long discussions about Christianity and extrasensory perception. Hawking used a variety of different chairs from that time, including a DragonMobility Dragon elevating powerchair from 2007, as shown in the April 2008 photo of Hawking attending NASA's 50th anniversary;[271] a Permobil C350 from 2014; and then a Permobil F3 from 2016. He said, "Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it's one we can prevent if we act now. [369], If you like, you can call the laws of science 'God', but it wouldn't be a personal God that you would meet and put questions to. Stephen Hawking worked on the physics of black holes. [196], As part of another longstanding scientific dispute, Hawking had emphatically argued, and bet, that the Higgs boson would never be found. [91][92][93] In 1969, Hawking accepted a specially created Fellowship for Distinction in Science to remain at Caius. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Photograph: Murdo Macleod. He began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in October 1962, where he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology in March 1966. Although Hawking had difficulty walking unsupported, and his speech was almost unintelligible, an initial diagnosis that he had only two years to live proved unfounded. The cost of the care was funded by an American foundation. 5) His first research field was the Singularity Theorem to expand it. The Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication is an annual award initiated in 2016 to honour members of the arts community for contributions that help build awareness of science. [251], In 2006, Hawking and Mason quietly divorced,[252][253] and Hawking resumed closer relationships with Jane, his children, and his grandchildren. By denying the evidence for climate change, and pulling out of the Paris Agreement, Donald Trump will cause avoidable environmental damage to our beautiful planet, endangering the natural world, for us and our children. [1][326][331][332], Inscribed on his memorial stone are the words "Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking 1942–2018" and his most famed equation. Stephen Hawking is the world-famous physicist with a cameo in The Simpsons on his CV", but outside his academic field his work is little understood. [34] Despite their families' financial constraints, both parents attended the University of Oxford, where Frank read medicine and Isobel read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. It also explains Hawking's research into Quantum Gravity, which could emerge as a Theory of Everything. [231] Upon his appointment in 1974 to a year-long position at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, Jane proposed that a graduate or post-doctoral student live with them and help with his care. [285][297] Near the end of his life, Hawking experienced increased breathing difficulties, often resulting in his requiring the usage of a ventilator, and being regularly hospitalised. This one specified that such singularities would occur without extra conditions. [355], In March 2019, it was announced that the Royal Mint issued a commemorative 50 pence coin in honour of Hawking. A film version of A Brief History of Time, directed by Errol Morris and produced by Steven Spielberg, premiered in 1992. [402], Hawking allowed the use of his copyrighted voice[403][404] in the biographical 2014 film The Theory of Everything, in which he was portrayed by Eddie Redmayne in an Academy Award-winning role. [294] With this decline there was a risk of his developing locked-in syndrome, so Hawking collaborated with Intel researchers on systems that could translate his brain patterns or facial expressions into switch activations. fee-paying) schools, first Radlett School[46] and from September 1952, St Albans School,[26][47] after passing the eleven-plus a year early. [415] After receiving the award from Prime Minister Theresa May, Hawking humorously requested that she not seek his help with Brexit. Hawking’s contributions to physics earned him many exceptional honours. [175] The same year, Thorne, Hawking and Preskill made another bet, this time concerning the black hole information paradox.