Stephen Hawking

 Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA (8 January 1942 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and writer who was at the time of his demise was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge Between 1979 and 2009, he was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most highly regarded academic posts in the world Hawking was born in Oxford into an extended family of doctors. When he was 17 years old, Hawking began his college education at University College in Oxford. He was awarded an A-grade BA in Physics. The graduate program began at Trinity Hall, University of Cambridge in the month of October, 1962. In March 1966 Hawking received his PhD in applied mathematics and theoretical Physics. His area of expertise was general relativity, cosmology, as well as other areas. In 1963, at age 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of motor neurone disorder that slowly, over time became paralyzed. After the loss of speech, he communicated through a speech-generating device initially through making use of a handheld switch, then eventually using only one cheek muscle. Hawking's research included collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems within the general relativity framework, and the theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation, often called Hawking radiation. Hawking radiation at first was viewed as controversial. By the late 1970s and following the publication of more research it was widely recognized as a significant breakthrough in the field of theoretical physics. Hawking was the first to propose a theory for Cosmology that combined the general theory with quantum mechanics. He was a strong advocate of the many-worlds view of quantum mechanics. Hawking made a name for himself in the marketplace with several works of popular science in which he presented his theories and cosmology in general. A Brief History Of Time, the book written by Hawking made it to the top of the Sunday Times bestsellers list for 237 weeks. Hawking was an honorary Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the BBC's poll of 100 Most Influential Britons. He passed away in the year 2018 at the age of 76, after living with motor neurone disease for more than 50 years.