Picture of Stephen Hawking
Courtesy UPI/Bettmann

Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is an English astrophysicist who was born in 1942. He is a leader in the fields of theoretical physics and cosmology (the origins of the universe).

Hawking is famous for his studies of black holes, bodies of matter so dense and compact that their gravitational fields trap even light inside. He theorized that black holes in fact do emit some type of radiation and can eventually blow up.

In his early twenties, Hawking was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, and today is confined to a wheelchair, unable to speak. Nevertheless, he communicates his brilliant ideas with the aid of computers and holds a professorship at the University of Oxford.


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