Stephen Hawking

If you casually mention the name Stephen Hawking in conversation, you are likely to get a number of reactions from people.Some people know him from cameo appearances in movies or TV shows like The Big Bang Theory. Others have leafed through his popular book, A Brief History of Time. People recognize him as an outspoken representative for the disabled, and a leader of the scientific community.But how many people know him for his research? Professor Hawking has certainly lived an impressive life, and he is an inspiring public figure.With all the distractions surrounding Professor Hawking, most people forget about the groundbreaking discoveries that he has helped develop in the science of Cosmology.Through this essay, I hope to share some of his scientific work the reader.

Like with any story, we must begin at the beginning.Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, exactly 300 years after the death of Galileo.He came from a relatively modest background.His family did have a rather strong academic tradition though.Both of his parents had attended and graduated from Oxford, and his father, Frank, was appointed Head of the Division of Parasitology at the National Institute of Medical Research after the end of World War II.His family lived in the small town of St. Albans.When Stephen was 10 he was sent to St. Albans School, a private school with an excellent academic reputation.Stephen was naturally gifted and remained near the top of his class.He ran with a small group of friends who were all good students and they spent a great deal of time discussing intellectual matters.Hawking graduated from St Albans and was admitted to Oxford on a scholarship1.

Many scholars are surprised to hear that Hawking did his undergrad...

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...agraph comes from White & Gribbin pgs. 175-182

15) The preceding paragraph comes from Hawking pgs. 139-146

16) The preceding quote comes from White & Gribbin pgs. 187-188

Sources:

- Hawking, Stephen. (1988). A Brief History of Time.

New York: Bantam Books. (pp 191).

- Hawking, Stephen & Ellis, George. (1973). The Large Scale Structure of Space-time. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (pp 364).

- White, Michael & Gribbin, John. (1992). Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science.

New York: Dutton. (pp 293).

- Hawking, Stephen. Does God Play Dice?. Public Lecture

http://www.hawking.org.uk/pdf/dice.pdf

- Hawking, Stephen. Space and Time Warps. Public Lecture

http://www.hawking.org.uk/pdf/warp.pdf

- Hawking, Stephen. The Beginning of Time. Public Lecture

http://www.hawking.org.uk/pdf/bot.pdf