View source for Stephen Hawking

{{Short description|English theoretical physicist (1942–2018)}}
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{{Use British English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name              = Stephen Hawking
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|country=GBR|size=100%|CH|CBE|FRS|FRSA}}
| image             = Stephen Hawking.StarChild.jpg
| alt               = Black-and-white photograph of Steven Hawking at NASA's StarChild Learning Center. He is a white man with short, dark hair wearing glasses and a suit. He is sitting down on his wheelchair with his arms crossed on his lap and is smiling at the camera.
| caption           = Hawking, {{circa|1980}}
| birth_name        = Stephen William Hawking
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|df=y|1942|01|08}}
| birth_place       = [[Oxford]], England
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|df=y|2018|03|14|1942|01|08}}
| death_place       = [[Cambridge]], England
| resting_place     = [[Westminster Abbey]]<ref name="HawkingWestminster">{{cite news |title=Stephen Hawking to Join Newton, Darwin in Final Resting Place |first=Estelle |last=Shirbon |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-hawking-ashes/stephen-hawking-to-join-newton-darwin-in-final-resting-place-idUSKBN1GW2GV |access-date=21 March 2018 |publisher=Reuters |location=London |date=20 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180321030924/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-hawking-ashes/stephen-hawking-to-join-newton-darwin-in-final-resting-place-idUSKBN1GW2GV |archive-date=21 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| education         = {{ubl
  | item_style = {{longitem}}
  | [[University College, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
  | [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]] ([[Doctor of Philosophy|PhD]])
  }}
| known_for         = {{clist
  | title      = {{nobold|''See list''}}
  | liststyle  = {{longitem}}
  | [[Hawking radiation]]
  | ''[[A Brief History of Time]]''
  | ''[[A Briefer History of Time (Hawking and Mlodinow book)|A Briefer History of Time]]''
  | [[Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems|Penrose–Hawking theorems]]
  | [[Black hole information paradox]]
  | [[Micro black hole]]
  | [[Primordial black hole]]
  | [[Chronology protection conjecture]]
  | [[No-hair theorem#Soft hair|Soft hair (No hair theorem)]]
  | [[Bekenstein–Hawking formula]]
  | [[Hawking energy]]
  | [[Hawking–Page phase transition]]
  | [[Gibbons–Hawking ansatz]]
  | [[Gibbons–Hawking effect]]
  | [[Gibbons–Hawking space]]
  | [[Gibbons–Hawking–York boundary term]]
  | [[Hartle–Hawking state]]
  | [[Thorne–Hawking–Preskill bet]]
  }}
| spouse            = {{ubl
  | {{marriage|[[Jane Hawking|Jane Wilde]]|14 July 1965|1995|end=div}}
  | {{marriage|Elaine Mason|16 September 1995|2007|end=div}}
  }}
| children          = 3, including [[Lucy Hawking|Lucy]]
| awards            = {{collapsible list
  | title      = {{nobold|''See list''}}
  | liststyle  = {{longitem}}
  | [[Adams Prize]] (1966)
  | [[Eddington Medal]] (1975)
  | [[Maxwell Medal and Prize]] (1976)
  | [[Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics|Heineman Prize]] (1976)
  | [[Hughes Medal]] (1976)
  | [[Albert Einstein Award]] (1978)
  | [[Albert Einstein Medal]] (1979)
  | [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society|RAS Gold Medal]] (1985)
  | [[Dirac Medal (IOP)]] (1987)
  | [[Wolf Prize]] (1988)
  | [[Prince of Asturias Award]] (1989)
  | [[Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences]] (1992)
  | [[Andrew Gemant Award]] (1998)
  | [[Naylor Prize and Lectureship]] (1999)
  | [[Lilienfeld Prize]] (1999)
  | [[Albert Medal (Royal Society of Arts)|Albert Medal]] (1999)
  | [[Copley Medal]] (2006)
  | [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (2009)
  | [[Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics]] (2012)
  | [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] (2015)
  }}
| website           = {{Official URL}}
| fields            = {{hlist|[[General relativity]]|[[quantum gravity]]}}
| workplaces        = {{ubl|item_style={{longitem}}
  | [[University of Cambridge]]
  | [[California Institute of Technology]]
  | [[Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics]]
  }}
| thesis_title      = Properties of Expanding Universes
| thesis_url        = https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.11283
| thesis_year       = 1966
| doctoral_advisor  = [[Dennis W. Sciama]]<ref name="mathgene" />
| academic_advisors = Robert Berman{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=29}}
| doctoral_students = {{collapsible list
  | title={{nobold|''See list''}}
  | [[Bruce Allen (physicist)|Bruce Allen]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="allenphd" />
  | [[Raphael Bousso]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="boussophd" />
  | [[Bernard Carr]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="carrphd" /><ref name="rsbm" />
  | [[Fay Dowker]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="dowkerphd" />
  | [[Christophe Galfard]]<ref name="galfardphd" />
  | [[Gary Gibbons]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="gibbonsphd" /><ref name="rsbm" />
  | [[Thomas Hertog]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="hertogphd" />
  | [[Raymond Laflamme]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="laflammephd" />
  | [[Don Page (physicist)|Don Page]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="pagephd" />|[[Malcolm Perry (physicist)|Malcolm Perry]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="perryphd" /><ref name="rsbm" />
  | [[Christopher Pope (physicist)|Christopher Pope]]|[[Marika Taylor]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Cambridge|url=http://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44CAM_ALMA21433438300003606&context=L&vid=44CAM_PROD&search_scope=SCOP_CAM_ALL&tab=cam_lib_coll&lang=en_US|title=Problems in M theory|first=Marika Maxine|last=Taylor-Robinson|date=1998|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.625075}}|website=lib.cam.ac.uk|oclc=894603647|access-date=1 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501160856/http://idiscover.lib.cam.ac.uk/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=44CAM_ALMA21433438300003606&context=L&vid=44CAM_PROD&search_scope=SCOP_CAM_ALL&tab=cam_lib_coll&lang=en_US|archive-date=1 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>|[[Alan Yuille]]|[[Wu Zhongchao]]<ref name="mathgene" /><ref name="wuphd" />
  | 27 others<ref name="mathgene" />
  }}
| signature         =
| signature_alt     = Signature of Steven Hawking written as "S. Hawking".
}}
{{Cosmology|scientists}}
'''Stephen William Hawking''' (8{{nbsp}}January 1942{{snd}}14{{nbsp}}March 2018) was an English [[theoretical physics|theoretical physicist]], [[cosmologist]], and author who was director of research at the [[Centre for Theoretical Cosmology]] at the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref name="rsbm">{{cite Q|Q63347107|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Auto2J-2" /><ref name="Auto2J-3" /> Between 1979 and 2009, he was the [[Lucasian Professor of Mathematics]] at Cambridge, widely viewed as one of the most prestigious academic posts in the world.<ref>{{cite news|title=Michael Green to become Lucasian Professor of Mathematics|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/6389935/Michael-Green-to-become-Lucasian-Professor-of-Mathematics.html|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=11 December 2012|archive-date=25 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190525172515/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/6389935/Michael-Green-to-become-Lucasian-Professor-of-Mathematics.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking was born in [[Oxford]] into a family of physicians. In October 1959, at the age of 17, he began his university education at [[University College, Oxford]], where he received a [[First Class Honours|first-class]] [[Honours degree|BA degree]] in [[physics]]. In October 1962, he began his graduate work at [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]], where, in March 1966, he obtained his [[PhD]] in [[applied mathematics]] and theoretical physics, specialising in [[general relativity]] and [[cosmology]]. In 1963, at age 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset slow-progressing form of [[motor neurone disease]]<!-- please DON'T change "neurone" to "neuron", this is not a typo --> that gradually, over decades, paralysed him.<ref>{{cite news|date=26 November 2015|title=Mind over matter: How Stephen Hawking defied Motor Neurone Disease for 50 years|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mind-over-matter-how-stephen-hawking-defied-motor-neurone-disease-for-50-years-6286313.html|url-status=live|access-date=15 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823050027/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/mind-over-matter-how-stephen-hawking-defied-motor-neurone-disease-for-50-years-6286313.html|archive-date=23 August 2017}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite news|date=7 January 2012|title=How Has Stephen Hawking Lived to 70 with ALS?|work=[[Scientific American]]|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-als/|url-status=live|access-date=23 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830050822/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-als/|archive-date=30 August 2015|quote=Q: How frequent are these cases of very slow-progressing forms of ALS? A: I would say probably less than a few percent.}}</ref> After the loss of his speech, he communicated through a [[speech-generating device]], initially through use of a handheld switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle.<ref>Stephen Hawking: An inspirational story of willpower and strength. Swagatham Canada https://www.swagathamcanada.com/inspirational/stephen-hawking-an-inspirational-story-of-willpower-and-strength/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106200001/https://www.swagathamcanada.com/inspirational/stephen-hawking-an-inspirational-story-of-willpower-and-strength/ |date=6 November 2021}} 26 October 2021</ref>

Hawking's scientific works included a collaboration with [[Roger Penrose]] on [[Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems|gravitational singularity theorems]] in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that [[black hole]]s emit radiation, often called [[Hawking radiation]]. Initially, Hawking radiation was controversial. By the late 1970s, and following the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a major breakthrough in theoretical physics. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the general theory of relativity and [[quantum mechanics]]. Hawking was a vigorous supporter of the [[many-worlds interpretation]] of quantum mechanics.<ref>[[Gardner, Martin]] (September/October 2001). [http://www.csicop.org/si/show/multiverses_and_blackberries "Multiverses and Blackberries"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160728035541/http://www.csicop.org/si/show/multiverses_and_blackberries|date=28 July 2016}}. "Notes of a Fringe-Watcher". ''[[Skeptical Inquirer]]''. Volume 25, No. 5.</ref><ref>Price, Michael Clive (February 1995). [http://webarchiveproject.org/32699/ "THE EVERETT FAQ"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420235958/http://webarchiveproject.org/32699/|date=20 April 2016}}. Department of Physics, [[Washington University in St. Louis]]. Retrieved 17 December 2014.</ref> He also introduced the notion of a [[micro black hole]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hawking |first=S. |date=1 April 1971 |title=Gravitationally Collapsed Objects of Very Low Mass |journal=Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |language=en |volume=152 |issue=1 |pages=75–78 |doi=10.1093/mnras/152.1.75 |doi-access=free |issn=0035-8711}}</ref>

Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of [[popular science]] in which he discussed his theories and cosmology in general. His book ''[[A Brief History of Time]]'' appeared on the ''[[The Sunday Times|Sunday Times]]'' bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Hawking was a [[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 award in the United States. In 2002, Hawking was ranked number 25 in the [[BBC]]'s poll of the ''[[100 Greatest Britons]]''. He died in 2018 at the age of 76, having lived more than 50 years following his diagnosis of motor neurone disease.<ref name=Penrose>{{cite news| last=Penrose| first=Roger| author-link=Roger Penrose| title='Mind over matter': Stephen Hawking – obituary| date=14 March 2018| work=[[The Guardian]]| url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/stephen-hawking-obituary}}</ref>

== Early life ==
=== Family ===
Hawking was born on 8 January 1942<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2018/01/08/UPI-Almanac-for-Monday-Jan-8-2018/2171515208436/|title= UPI Almanac for Monday, 8 Jan 2018|work= [[United Press International]]|date=8 January 2018|access-date=21 September 2019| archive-date= 8 January 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180108222931/https://www.upi.com/Top_News/2018/01/08/UPI-Almanac-for-Monday-Jan-8-2018/2171515208436/|url-status=live|quote=…British physicist and author Stephen Hawking 1942 (age 76)}}</ref><ref name="whoswho" /> in [[Oxford]] to Frank and Isobel Eileen Hawking (''née'' Walker).{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=xiii, 2}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=21}} Hawking's mother was born into a family of doctors in [[Glasgow]], Scotland.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12304843.Mind_over_matter_Stephen_Hawking/ |title=Mind over matter Stephen Hawking |website=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |location=Glasgow |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530095207/http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/12304843.Mind_over_matter_Stephen_Hawking/ |archive-date=30 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="SA">{{cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-biography/|title=Stephen Hawking, "Equal to Anything!" [Excerpt]|author=Ferguson, Kitty|date=6 January 2012|publisher=Scientific American|access-date=21 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322021001/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/stephen-hawking-biography/|archive-date=22 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His wealthy paternal great-grandfather, from [[Yorkshire]], over-extended himself buying farm land and then went bankrupt in the [[Great Depression of British Agriculture|great agricultural depression]] during the early 20th century.<ref name="SA" /> His paternal great-grandmother saved the family from financial ruin by opening a school in their home.<ref name="SA" /> Despite their families' financial constraints, both parents attended the [[University of Oxford]], where Frank read medicine and Isobel read [[Philosophy, Politics and Economics]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=21}} Isobel worked as a secretary for a medical research institute, and Frank was a medical researcher specialising in [[tropical diseases]].<ref name=Penrose/> Hawking said of his father, "I modelled myself on him. Because he was a scientific researcher, I felt that scientific research was the natural thing to do when one grew up. The only difference was that I was not attracted to medicine or biology because they seemed too inexact and descriptive. I wanted something more fundamental, and I found it in physics."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs/>

In 1950, when Hawking's father became head of the division of [[parasitology]] at the [[National Institute for Medical Research]], the family moved to [[St Albans]], Hertfordshire.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=22}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xiii}} In St Albans, the family was considered highly intelligent and somewhat eccentric;{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=22}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=12}} meals were often spent with each person silently reading a book.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=22}} They lived a frugal existence in a large, cluttered, and poorly maintained house and travelled in a converted London taxicab.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=22–23}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=11–12}} During one of Hawking's father's frequent absences working in Africa,{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=13}} the rest of the family spent four months in [[Mallorca]] visiting his mother's friend Beryl and her husband, the poet [[Robert Graves]].{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=3}}

=== Primary and secondary school years ===
Hawking began his schooling at the [[Byron House School]] in [[Highgate]], London. He later blamed its "[[progressive education|progressive methods]]" for his failure to learn to read while at the school.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-12-07/stephen-hawking-im-happy-if-i-have-added-something-to-our-understanding-of-the-universe|title=Stephen Hawking: "I'm happy if I have added something to our understanding of the universe"|first=Stephen|last=Hawking|date=7 December 2013|website=Radio Times|access-date=6 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107095605/http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2013-12-07/stephen-hawking-im-happy-if-i-have-added-something-to-our-understanding-of-the-universe|archive-date=7 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=22}} In St Albans, the eight-year-old Hawking attended [[St Albans High School for Girls]] for a few months. At that time, younger boys could attend one of the houses.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=3}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=24}}

Hawking attended two [[Private schools in the United Kingdom|private (i.e. fee-paying) schools]], first Radlett School{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=24}} and from September 1952, [[St Albans School, Hertfordshire]],<ref name="whoswho" />{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=8}} after passing the [[eleven-plus]] a year early.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hawking |first=Stephen |title=My Brief History |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PYYaAAAAQBAJ |year=2013 |publisher=Bantam |isbn=978-0-345-53528-3 |access-date=9 September 2013}}</ref> The family placed a high value on education.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=22}} Hawking's father wanted his son to attend [[Westminster School]], but the 13-year-old Hawking was ill on the day of the scholarship examination. His family could not afford the school fees without the financial aid of a scholarship, so Hawking remained at St Albans.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=7–8}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=4}} 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,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=25–26}} and long discussions about [[Christianity]] and [[extrasensory perception]].{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=14–16}} From 1958 on, with the help of the mathematics teacher [[Dikran Tahta]], they built a computer from clock parts, an old telephone switchboard and other recycled components.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=26}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=19–20}} In 1959, he built a record player from spare parts: "My father would have regarded it as recklessly self-indulgent, to buy a record player, but I persuaded him that I could assemble one from parts that I could buy cheap. That appealed to him as a Yorkshireman."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs/> 

Although known at school as "Einstein", Hawking was not initially successful academically.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=25}} With time, he began to show considerable aptitude for scientific subjects and, inspired by Tahta, decided to study mathematics at university.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=17–18}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=27}}<ref name="Auto2J-5" /> Hawking's father advised him to study medicine, concerned that there were few jobs for mathematics graduates.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=41}} He also wanted his son to attend [[University College, Oxford]], his own ''alma mater''. As it was not possible to read mathematics there at the time, Hawking decided to study physics and chemistry. Despite his headmaster's advice to wait until the next year, Hawking was awarded a scholarship after taking the examinations in March 1959.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=27–28}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=42–43}}

=== Undergraduate years ===
Hawking began his university education at [[University College, Oxford]],<ref name="whoswho" /> in October 1959 at the age of 17.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=28}} For the first eighteen months, he was bored and lonely{{snd}}he found the academic work "ridiculously easy".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=28–29}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=46–47, 51}} 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."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=29}} A change occurred during his second and third years when, according to Berman, Hawking made more of an effort "to be one of the boys". He developed into a popular, lively and witty college member, interested in classical music and science fiction.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=28}} Part of the transformation resulted from his decision to join the college boat club, the [[University College Boat Club (Oxford)|University College Boat Club]], where he [[coxswain (rowing)|coxed]] a rowing crew.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|Hawking|1992|p=44}} The rowing coach at the time noted that Hawking cultivated a daredevil image, steering his crew on risky courses that led to damaged boats.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=30–31}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=50}} Hawking estimated that he studied about 1,000 hours during his three years at Oxford. These unimpressive study habits made sitting his [[final examination|finals]] a challenge, and he decided to answer only [[theoretical physics]] questions rather than those requiring factual knowledge. A [[British undergraduate degree classification#First Class Honours|first-class degree]] was a condition of acceptance for his planned graduate study in [[cosmology]] at the [[University of Cambridge]].{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=53}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=31}} Anxious, he slept poorly the night before the examinations, and the result was on the borderline between first- and second-class honours, making a ''[[oral exam|viva]]'' (oral examination) with the Oxford examiners necessary.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=31}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=54}}

Hawking was concerned that he was viewed as a lazy and difficult student. So, when asked at the ''viva'' to describe his plans, he said, "If you award me a First, I will go to Cambridge. If I receive a Second, I shall stay in Oxford, so I expect you will give me a First."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=31}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=54–55}} He was held in higher regard than he believed; as Berman commented, the examiners "were intelligent enough to realise they were talking to someone far cleverer than most of themselves".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=31}} After receiving a [[First-Class Honours#First-class honours|first-class]] [[Honours degree|BA degree]] in physics and completing a trip to [[Iran]] with a friend,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2016/04/my-dinner-with-dr-hawking/|title=My dinner with Dr. Hawking|first=Peter|last=Reuell|date=29 April 2016|website=Harvard Gazette}}</ref> he began his graduate work at [[Trinity Hall, Cambridge]], in October 1962.<ref name="whoswho" />{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=56}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=31–32}}

=== Post-graduate years ===
Hawking's first year as a doctoral student was difficult. He was initially disappointed to find that he had been assigned [[Dennis William Sciama]], one of the founders of modern cosmology, as a supervisor rather than the noted astronomer [[Fred Hoyle]],{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=33}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=58}} and he found his training in mathematics inadequate for work in [[general relativity]] and cosmology.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=33–34}} After being diagnosed with [[motor neurone disease]], Hawking fell into a depression{{snd}}though his doctors advised that he continue with his studies, he felt there was little point.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=61–63}} His disease progressed more slowly than doctors had predicted. 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. With Sciama's encouragement, he returned to his work.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=36}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=69–70}} Hawking started developing a reputation for brilliance and brashness when he publicly challenged the work of Hoyle and his student [[Jayant Narlikar]] at a lecture in June 1964.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=42}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=68–69}} Hawking reflected, "Before I got motor neuron disease, I was bored with life. But the prospect of an early death made me realize life was really worth living."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs/>

When Hawking began his doctoral studies, there was much debate in the physics community about the prevailing theories of the creation of the universe: the [[Big Bang]] and [[Steady State theory|Steady State]] theories.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=34}} Inspired by [[Roger Penrose]]'s theorem of a [[spacetime]] singularity in the centre of black holes, Hawking applied the same thinking to the entire universe; and, during 1965, he wrote his thesis on this topic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/stephen-hawkings-phd-thesis-explained-simply|title=Stephen Hawking's PhD thesis, explained simply|date=30 October 2017 |access-date=27 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213201244/https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2017/10/stephen-hawkings-phd-thesis-explained-simply|archive-date=13 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=71–72}} Hawking's thesis<ref name="hawkingphd" /> was approved in 1966.<ref name="hawkingphd" /> There were other positive developments: Hawking received a research fellowship at [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge|Gonville and Caius College]] at [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]];{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=43–44}} he obtained his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in general relativity and cosmology, in March 1966;{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=47}} and his essay "Singularities and the Geometry of Space–Time" shared top honours with one by Penrose to win that year's prestigious [[Adams Prize]].{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xix}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=47}}

== Career ==

=== 1966–1975 ===
In his work, and in collaboration with Penrose, Hawking extended the [[Penrose–Hawking singularity theorems|singularity theorem]] concepts first explored in his doctoral thesis. This included not only the existence of singularities but also the theory that the universe might have started as a singularity. Their joint essay was the runner-up in the 1968 [[Gravity Research Foundation]] competition.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=101}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=61, 64}} In 1970, they published a proof that if the universe obeys [[general relativity|the general theory of relativity]] and fits any of the [[Friedmann equations|models]] of [[physical cosmology]] developed by [[Alexander Friedmann]], then it must have begun as a singularity.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=64–65}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=115–16}}<ref name="Q55872061" /> In 1969, Hawking accepted a specially created Fellowship for Distinction in Science to remain at Caius.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=49}}

In 1970, Hawking postulated what became known as [[Second law of black hole mechanics|the second law of black hole dynamics]], that the event horizon of a black hole can never get smaller.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=65–67}} With [[James M. Bardeen]] and [[Brandon Carter]], he proposed the four [[laws of black hole mechanics]], drawing an analogy with [[thermodynamics]].{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=38}} To Hawking's irritation, [[Jacob Bekenstein]], a graduate student of [[John Archibald Wheeler|John Wheeler]], went further—and ultimately correctly—to apply thermodynamic concepts literally.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=67–68}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=123–24}}

In the early 1970s, Hawking's work with Carter, [[Werner Israel]], and [[David C. Robinson]] strongly supported Wheeler's [[no-hair theorem]], one that states that no matter what the original material from which a black hole is created, it can be completely described by the properties of [[mass]], [[electrical charge]] and rotation.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=33}}<ref name="HawkingIsrael1989" /> His essay titled "Black Holes" won the [[Gravity Research Foundation]] Award in January 1971.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=35}} Hawking's first book, ''[[The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time]],'' written with [[George Francis Rayner Ellis|George Ellis]], was published in 1973.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=68}}

Beginning in 1973, Hawking moved into the study of [[quantum gravity]] and [[quantum mechanics]].{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=39}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=68}} His work in this area was spurred by a visit to Moscow and discussions with [[Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich]] and [[Alexei Starobinsky]], whose work showed that according to the [[uncertainty principle]], rotating black holes emit particles.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=146}} To Hawking's annoyance, his much-checked calculations produced findings that contradicted his second law, which claimed black holes could never get smaller,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=70}} and supported Bekenstein's reasoning about their [[Black hole entropy|entropy]].{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=146}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=41}}

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 [[Black hole#Evaporation|evaporate]].<ref name="Q54017915" /><ref name="Q55869076" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=69–73}} Initially, Hawking radiation was controversial. By the late 1970s and following the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a significant breakthrough in theoretical physics.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=70–74}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=42–43}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=150–51}} Hawking was elected a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 1974|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 1974]], a few weeks after the announcement of Hawking radiation. At the time, he was one of the youngest scientists to become a Fellow.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=44}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=133}}

Hawking was appointed to the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Visiting Professorship at the [[California Institute of Technology]] (Caltech) in 1974. He worked with a friend on the faculty, [[Kip Thorne]],{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=82, 86}}<ref name="rsbm" /> and engaged him in a [[scientific wager]] about whether the [[Astrophysical X-ray source|X-ray source]] [[Cygnus X-1]] was a black hole. The wager was an "insurance policy" against the proposition that black holes did not exist.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=86–88}} Hawking acknowledged that he had lost the bet in 1990, a bet that was the first of several he was to make with Thorne and others.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=150, 189, 219}} Hawking had maintained ties to Caltech, spending a month there almost every year since this first visit.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=95}}

=== 1975–1990 ===
Hawking returned to Cambridge in 1975 to a more academically senior post, as [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]] in gravitational physics. The mid-to-late 1970s were a period of growing public interest in black holes and the physicists who were studying them. Hawking was regularly interviewed for print and television.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=90}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=132–33}} He also received increasing academic recognition of his work.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=92}} In 1975, he was awarded both the [[Eddington Medal]] and the [[Pontifical Academy of Sciences|Pius XI Gold Medal]], and in 1976 the [[Dannie Heineman Prize for Mathematical Physics|Dannie Heineman Prize]], the [[Maxwell Medal and Prize]] and the [[Hughes Medal]].{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=162}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xv}} He was appointed a professor with a chair in [[gravitational physics]] in 1977.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=91}} The following year he received the [[Albert Einstein Medal]] and an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xiv}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=92}}

In 1979, Hawking was elected [[Lucasian Professor of Mathematics]] at the University of Cambridge.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=92}}<ref name="lucasian">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3248858/Stephen-Hawking-to-retire-as-Cambridges-Professor-of-Mathematics.html|title=Stephen Hawking to retire as Cambridge's Professor of Mathematics|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=23 October 2008|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180316023008/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3248858/Stephen-Hawking-to-retire-as-Cambridges-Professor-of-Mathematics.html|archive-date=16 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> His inaugural lecture in this role was titled: "Is the End in Sight for Theoretical Physics?" and proposed [[N = 8 supergravity|''N'' = 8 supergravity]] as the leading theory to solve many of the outstanding problems physicists were studying.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=93–94}} His promotion coincided with a health-crisis which led to his accepting, albeit reluctantly, some nursing services at home.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=92–93}} At the same time, he was also making a transition in his approach to physics, becoming more intuitive and speculative rather than insisting on mathematical proofs. "I would rather be right than rigorous", he told Kip Thorne.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=96}} In 1981, he proposed that information in a black hole is irretrievably lost when a black hole evaporates. This [[Black hole information paradox|information paradox]] violates the fundamental tenet of quantum mechanics, and led to years of debate, including "[[the Black Hole War]]" with [[Leonard Susskind]] and [[Gerard 't Hooft]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=96–101}}<ref name="Susskind2008" />

[[File:Stephen Hawking - San Francisco ALS convention.jpg|thumb|upright|Hawking at an [[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis|ALS]] convention in San Francisco in the 1980s]]

[[Inflation (cosmology)|Cosmological inflation]]{{snd}}a theory proposing that following the Big Bang, the universe initially expanded incredibly rapidly before settling down to a slower expansion{{snd}}was proposed by [[Alan Guth]] and also developed by [[Andrei Linde]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=108–11}} Following a conference in Moscow in October 1981, Hawking and [[Gary Gibbons]]<ref name="rsbm" /> organised a three-week Nuffield Workshop in the summer of 1982 on "The Very Early Universe" at Cambridge University, a workshop that focused mainly on inflation theory.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=111–14}}<ref name="Auto2J-12" /><ref name="Q29398982" /> Hawking also began a new line of quantum-theory research into the origin of the universe. In 1981 at a Vatican conference, he presented work suggesting that there might be no boundary{{snd}}or beginning or ending{{snd}}to the universe.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=102–103}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=180}}

Hawking subsequently developed the research in collaboration with [[James Hartle|Jim Hartle]],<ref name="rsbm" /> and in 1983 they published a model, known as the [[Hartle–Hawking state]]. It proposed that prior to the [[Planck epoch]], the [[universe]] had no boundary in space-time; before the Big Bang, time did not exist and the concept of the beginning of the universe is meaningless.<ref name="Q21707690" /> The initial singularity of the classical Big Bang models was replaced with a region akin to the North Pole. One cannot travel north of the North Pole, but there is no boundary there{{snd}}it is simply the point where all north-running lines meet and end.{{sfn|Baird|2007|p=234}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=180–83}} Initially, the no-boundary proposal predicted a [[Shape of the universe|closed universe]], which had implications about the existence of God. As Hawking explained, "If the universe has no boundaries but is self-contained... then God would not have had any freedom to choose how the universe began."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=129}}

Further work by Hawking in the area of [[Arrow of Time|arrows of time]] led to the 1985 publication of a paper theorising that if the no-boundary proposition were correct, then when the universe stopped expanding and eventually collapsed, time would run backwards.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=180–182}} A paper by Don Page and independent calculations by [[Raymond Laflamme]] led Hawking to withdraw this concept.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=182}} Honours continued to be awarded: in 1981 he was awarded the American [[Franklin Medal]],{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=274}} and in the [[1982 New Year Honours]] appointed a [[Order of the British Empire|Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] (CBE).{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=x–xix}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=114}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=48837 |date=30 December 1981 |page=8 |supp=y}}</ref> These awards did not significantly change Hawking's financial status, and motivated by the need to finance his children's education and home-expenses, he decided in 1982 to write a popular book about the universe that would be accessible to the general public.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=134–35}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=205, 220–21}} 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.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=134}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=220–27}} A first draft of the book, called ''[[A Brief History of Time]]'', was completed in 1984.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=135}}

One of the first messages Hawking produced with his [[speech-generating device]] was a request for his assistant to help him finish writing ''A Brief History of Time''.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=175}} Peter Guzzardi, his editor at Bantam, pushed him to explain his ideas clearly in non-technical language, a process that required many revisions from an increasingly irritated Hawking.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=140–42}} The book was published in April 1988 in the US and in June in the UK, and it proved to be an extraordinary success, rising quickly to the top of best-seller lists in both countries and remaining there for months.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=143}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=243–45}}<ref name="g2009" /> The book was translated into many languages,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=143–44}} and as of 2009, has sold an estimated 9{{nbsp}}million copies.<ref name="g2009" />

Media attention was intense,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=143–44}} and a ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine-cover and a television special both described him as "Master of the Universe".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=146}} Success led to significant financial rewards, but also the challenges of celebrity status.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=145–46}} Hawking travelled extensively to promote his work, and enjoyed partying into the late hours.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=143–44}} A difficulty refusing the invitations and visitors left him limited time for work and his students.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=149}} Some colleagues were resentful of the attention Hawking received, feeling it was due to his disability.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=147–48}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=230–31}}

He received further academic recognition, including five more honorary degrees,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=146}} the [[Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society]] (1985),{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xvi}} the [[Dirac Medal (IOP)|Paul Dirac Medal]] (1987){{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=146}} and, jointly with Penrose, the prestigious [[Wolf Prize]] (1988).{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=279}} In the [[1989 Birthday Honours]], he was appointed a [[Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour]] (CH).{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=149}}<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=48837 |date=16 June 1989 |page=18 |supp=y}}</ref> He reportedly declined a knighthood in the late 1990s in objection to the UK's science funding policy.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3344540/Stephen-Hawking-warns-Government-over-disastrous-science-funding-cuts.html |title=Stephen Hawking Warns Government over 'Disastrous' Science Funding Cuts |first=Tom |last=Peterkin |date=15 June 2008 |work=The Telegraph |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225846/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3344540/Stephen-Hawking-warns-Government-over-disastrous-science-funding-cuts.html |archive-date=2 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://inews.co.uk/news/science/why-professor-stephen-hawking-never-had-a-knighthood/|title=Why Professor Stephen Hawking Never Had a Knighthood|first=Sally |last=Guyoncourt|date=14 March 2018|work=I News|access-date=15 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616001932/https://inews.co.uk/news/science/why-professor-stephen-hawking-never-had-a-knighthood/|archive-date=16 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== 1990–2000 ===
[[File:Gross Witten Hawking TIFR 2001.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|alt=Hawking outside, in his wheelchair, talking to David Gross and Edward Witten|Hawking with [[string theory|string theorists]] [[David Gross]] and [[Edward Witten]] during [[Strings (conference)|Strings 2001]] at [[TIFR]], India]]

Hawking pursued his work in physics: in 1993 he co-edited a book on [[Euclidean quantum gravity]] with Gary Gibbons and published a collected edition of his own articles on black holes and the Big Bang.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=180}} In 1994, at Cambridge's [[Newton Institute]], Hawking and Penrose delivered a series of six lectures that were published in 1996 as "The Nature of Space and Time".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=188}} In 1997, he conceded a 1991 public [[scientific wager]] made with Kip Thorne and [[John Preskill]] of [[California Institute of Technology|Caltech]]. Hawking had bet that Penrose's proposal of a "cosmic censorship conjecture"{{snd}}that there could be no "naked singularities" unclothed within a horizon{{snd}}was correct.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=189–90}}

After discovering his concession might have been premature, a new and more refined wager was made. This one specified that such singularities would occur without extra conditions.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=190}} The same year, Thorne, Hawking and Preskill made another bet, this time concerning the [[black hole information paradox]].<ref name="Auto2J-18" /><ref name="concedbet" /> Thorne and Hawking argued that since general relativity made it impossible for black holes to radiate and lose information, the mass-energy and information carried by Hawking radiation must be "new", and not from inside the black hole [[event horizon]]. Since this contradicted the quantum mechanics of microcausality, quantum mechanics theory would need to be rewritten. Preskill argued the opposite, that since quantum mechanics suggests that the information emitted by a black hole relates to information that fell in at an earlier time, the concept of black holes given by general relativity must be modified in some way.<ref name="presskill" />

Hawking also maintained his public profile, including bringing science to a wider audience. The documentary ''[[A Brief History of Time (film)|A Brief History of Time]]'', directed by [[Errol Morris]] and produced by [[Steven Spielberg]], premiered in 1991; the film contains material from the book as well as interviews with Hawking, his friends, family and colleagues. Hawking had wanted the film to be scientific rather than biographical, but he was persuaded otherwise. The film, while a critical success, was not widely released.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=168–70}} A popular-level collection of essays, interviews, and talks titled ''[[Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays]]'' was published in 1993,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=178}} and a six-part television series ''[[Stephen Hawking's Universe]]'' and a companion book appeared in 1997. As Hawking insisted, this time the focus was entirely on science.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=189}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=97}}

=== 2000–2018 ===
[[File:Stephen Hawking 050506.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Stephen Hawking sitting in his wheelchair inside|upright|Hawking at the {{lang|fr|[[Bibliothèque nationale de France]]}} to inaugurate the Laboratory of Astronomy and Particles in Paris, and the French release of his work ''[[God Created the Integers]]'', 5 May 2006]]

Hawking continued his writings for a popular audience, publishing ''[[The Universe in a Nutshell]]'' in 2001,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=199–200}} and ''[[A Briefer History of Time (Hawking and Mlodinow book)|A Briefer History of Time]]'', which he wrote in 2005 with [[Leonard Mlodinow]] to update his earlier works with the aim of making them accessible to a wider audience, and ''[[God Created the Integers]]'', which appeared in 2006.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=222–23}} Along with Thomas Hertog at [[CERN]] and Jim Hartle, from 2006 on Hawking developed a theory of [[top-down cosmology]], which says that the universe had not one unique initial state but many different ones, and therefore that it is inappropriate to formulate a theory that predicts the universe's current configuration from one particular initial state.<ref name="Auto2J-23" /> Top-down cosmology posits that the present "selects" the past from a superposition of many possible histories. In doing so, the theory suggests a possible resolution of the [[Fine-tuned universe|fine-tuning question]].<ref name="dt70" /><ref name="Q27442267" />

Hawking continued to travel widely, including trips to Chile, [[Easter Island]], South Africa, Spain (to receive the [[Fonseca Prize]] in 2008),{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=233}}<ref name="Auto2J-29" /> Canada,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=239}} and numerous trips to the United States.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=269}} For practical reasons related to his disability, Hawking increasingly travelled by private jet, and by 2011 that had become his only mode of international travel.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=197, 269}}

By 2003, consensus among physicists was growing that Hawking was wrong about the loss of information in a black hole.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=216–17}} In a 2004 lecture in Dublin, he conceded his 1997 bet with Preskill, but described his own, somewhat controversial solution to the information paradox problem, involving the possibility that black holes have more than one [[topology]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=217–20}}<ref name="presskill" /> In the 2005 paper he published on the subject, he argued that the information paradox was explained by examining all the alternative histories of universes, with the information loss in those with black holes being cancelled out by those without such loss.<ref name="concedbet" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=223–24}} In January 2014, he called the alleged loss of information in black holes his "biggest blunder".<ref>{{cite news |last=Kwong |first=Matt |date=28 January 2014 |title=Stephen Hawking's black holes 'blunder' stirs debate |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/stephen-hawking-s-black-holes-blunder-stirs-debate-1.2514299 |publisher=[[CBC News]] |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317142127/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/stephen-hawking-s-black-holes-blunder-stirs-debate-1.2514299 |archive-date=17 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

As part of another longstanding scientific dispute, Hawking had emphatically argued, and bet, that the [[Higgs boson]] would never be found.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=95, 236}} The particle was proposed to exist as part of the [[Higgs field]] theory by [[Peter Higgs]] in 1964. Hawking and Higgs engaged in a heated and public debate over the matter in 2002 and again in 2008, with Higgs criticising Hawking's work and complaining that Hawking's "celebrity status gives him instant credibility that others do not have".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=94–95, 236}} The particle was discovered in July 2012 at [[CERN]] following construction of the [[Large Hadron Collider]]. Hawking quickly conceded that he had lost his bet<ref name="Auto2J-42" /><ref name="Auto2J-43" /> and said that Higgs should win the [[Nobel Prize for Physics]],<ref name="Auto2J-44" /> which he did in 2013.<ref>{{cite news |last=Amos |first=Jonathan |date=8 October 2013 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24445325 |title=Higgs: Five decades of noble endeavour |work=BBC News |access-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160611120757/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24445325 |archive-date=11 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2007, Hawking and his daughter [[Lucy Hawking|Lucy]] published ''[[George's Secret Key to the Universe]]'', a children's book designed to explain theoretical physics in an accessible fashion and featuring characters similar to those in the Hawking family.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=230–231}} The book was followed by [[George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt|sequels]] in 2009, 2011, 2014 and 2016.<ref name="books" />

In 2002, following a UK-wide vote, the [[BBC]] included Hawking in their list of the [[100 Greatest Britons]].<ref>{{cite web |date=21 August 2002 |title=100 great British heroes |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2208671.stm |website=BBC News |access-date=10 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101104074956/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2208671.stm |archive-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref> He was awarded the [[Copley Medal]] from the [[Royal Society]] (2006),<ref name="Auto2J-45" /> the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], which is America's highest civilian honour (2009),<ref name="presidential" /> and the Russian [[Fundamental Physics Prize|Special Fundamental Physics Prize]] (2013).<ref name="FPP-Dec2012" />

[[File:Relative time (2886233692) (Stephen Hawking cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Hawking at the unveiling of the Corpus Clock in September 2008]]
Several buildings have been named after him, including the Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in [[San Salvador]], El{{nbsp}}Salvador,<ref name="Auto2J-46" /> the Stephen Hawking Building in Cambridge,<ref name="Auto2J-47" /> and the [[Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics#Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute|Stephen Hawking Centre]] at the [[Perimeter Institute]] in Canada.<ref name="Auto2J-48" /> 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.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=237–38}}<ref name="Auto2J-49" />

During his career, Hawking supervised 39 successful PhD students.<ref name="mathgene" /> One doctoral student did not successfully complete the PhD.<ref name="mathgene" />{{better source needed|date=August 2018}} As required by Cambridge University policy, Hawking retired as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in 2009.<ref name="lucasian" /><ref name="Auto2J-11" /> Despite suggestions that he might leave the United Kingdom as a protest against public funding cuts to basic scientific research,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=238–39}} Hawking worked as director of research at the Cambridge University Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.<ref name="tel2012" />

On 28 June 2009, as a tongue-in-cheek test of his 1992 conjecture that travel into the past is effectively impossible, Hawking held a party open to all, complete with hors d'oeuvres and iced champagne, but publicised the party only after it was over so that only time-travellers would know to attend; as expected, nobody showed up to the party.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Billings|first1=Lee|title=Time Travel Simulation Resolves 'Grandfather Paradox'|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-travel-simulation-resolves-grandfather-paradox/|access-date=2 September 2016|work=[[Scientific American]]|date=2 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904053855/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-travel-simulation-resolves-grandfather-paradox/|archive-date=4 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Stephen Hawking in Stockholm, 2015.jpg|thumb|left|Hawking holding a public lecture at the [[Stockholm Waterfront]] congress centre, 24 August 2015]]
On 20 July 2015, Hawking helped launch [[Breakthrough Initiatives]], an effort to search for [[extraterrestrial life]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Katz |first=Gregory |title=Searching for ET: Hawking to look for extraterrestrial life |url=http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150720/eu--britain-extraterrestrials-e52c157915.html |date=20 July 2015 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=20 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150722045619/http://apnews.excite.com/article/20150720/eu--britain-extraterrestrials-e52c157915.html |archive-date=22 July 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking created ''Stephen Hawking: Expedition New Earth'', a documentary on space colonisation, as a 2017 episode of ''[[Tomorrow's World]]''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Tomorrow's World returns to BBC with startling warning from Stephen Hawking – we must leave Earth|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/02/tomorrows-world-returns-bbc-startling-warning-stephen-hawking/|access-date=5 May 2017|work=The Telegraph|date=2 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505013510/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2017/05/02/tomorrows-world-returns-bbc-startling-warning-stephen-hawking/|archive-date=5 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Stephen Hawking will test his theory that humans must leave Earth. Let's hope he's wrong.|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2017/05/04/stephen-hawking-test-his-theory-humans-must-leave-earth-lets-hope-hes-wrong/310545001/|access-date=5 May 2017|work=USA Today|date=4 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170504212324/https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/nation-now/2017/05/04/stephen-hawking-test-his-theory-humans-must-leave-earth-lets-hope-hes-wrong/310545001/|archive-date=4 May 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

In August 2015, Hawking said that not all information is lost when something enters a black hole and there might be a possibility to retrieve information from a black hole according to his theory.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stephen Hawking says he has a way to escape from a black hole|url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28090-stephen-hawking-says-he-has-a-way-to-escape-from-a-black-hole/|website=New Scientist|access-date=31 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170108151818/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn28090-stephen-hawking-says-he-has-a-way-to-escape-from-a-black-hole/|archive-date=8 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> In July 2017, Hawking was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from [[Imperial College London]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/180588/stephen-hawking-awarded-imperial-college-londons/|title=Stephen Hawking awarded Imperial College London's highest honour|date=17 July 2017 |publisher=[[Imperial College London]]|access-date=19 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314174613/http://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/180588/stephen-hawking-awarded-imperial-college-londons/|archive-date=14 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking's final paper – ''A smooth exit from eternal inflation?'' – was posthumously published in the ''[[Journal of High Energy Physics]]'' on 27 April 2018.<ref name="Q55878494">{{Cite Q|Q55878494}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/erc-hlp043018.php|title=Hawking's last paper co-authored with ERC grantee posits new cosmology|work=EurekAlert!|date=2 May 2018|access-date=3 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502163440/https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/erc-hlp043018.php|archive-date=2 May 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{clear}}

== Personal life ==
=== Marriages ===

Hawking met his future wife, [[Jane Hawking|Jane Wilde]], at a party in 1962. The following year, Hawking was diagnosed with [[motor neurone disease]]. In October 1964, the couple became engaged to marry, aware of the potential challenges that lay ahead due to Hawking's shortened life expectancy and physical limitations.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=xiv}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=37–40}} Hawking later said that the engagement gave him "something to live for".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=40}} The two were married on 14 July 1965 in their shared hometown of St Albans.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=43–44}}

The couple resided in Cambridge, within Hawking's walking distance to the [[Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics]] (DAMTP). During their first years of marriage, Jane lived in London during the week as she completed her degree at [[Westfield College]]. They travelled to the United States several times for conferences and physics-related visits. Jane began a PhD programme through Westfield College in [[Medieval Spanish literature#Lyric poetry of the Middle Ages|medieval Spanish poetry]] (completed in 1981). The couple had three children: Robert, born May 1967,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=45–47}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=92–98}} [[Lucy Hawking|Lucy]], born November 1970,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=65}} and Timothy, born April 1979.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=92}}

Hawking rarely discussed his illness and physical challenges—even, in a precedent set during their courtship, with Jane.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=37–39, 77}} His disabilities meant that the responsibilities of home and family rested firmly on his wife's shoulders, leaving him more time to think about physics.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=78}} 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. Hawking accepted, and [[Bernard Carr]] travelled with them as the first of many students who fulfilled this role.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=82–83}}<ref name="black" /> The family spent a generally happy and stimulating year in Pasadena.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=83–88}}

Hawking returned to Cambridge in 1975 to a new home and a new job, as [[Reader (academic rank)|reader]]. [[Don Page (physicist)|Don Page]], with whom Hawking had begun a close friendship at Caltech, arrived to work as the live-in graduate student assistant. With Page's help and that of a secretary, Jane's responsibilities were reduced so she could return to her doctoral thesis and her new interest in singing.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=89–90}}

Around December 1977, Jane met organist Jonathan Hellyer Jones when singing in a church choir. Hellyer Jones became close to the Hawking family and, by the mid-1980s, he and Jane had developed romantic feelings for each other.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=91}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=xiv, 79}}{{sfn|Hawking|2007|pp=279–80}} According to Jane, her husband was accepting of the situation, stating "he would not object so long as I continued to love him".{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=91}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=79}}{{sfn|Hawking|2007|p=285}} Jane and Hellyer Jones were determined not to break up the family, and their relationship remained platonic for a long period.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=91–92}}

By the 1980s, Hawking's marriage had been strained for many years. Jane felt overwhelmed by the intrusion into their family life of the required nurses and assistants.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=164–65}} The impact of his celebrity status was challenging for colleagues and family members, while the prospect of living up to a worldwide fairytale image was daunting for the couple.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=185}}<ref name="dt70" /> Hawking's views of religion also contrasted with her strong Christian faith and resulted in tension.<ref name="dt70" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=80–81}}<ref name="obs2004" /> After a tracheotomy in 1985, Hawking required a full-time nurse and nursing care was split across three shifts daily. In the late 1980s, Hawking grew close to one of his nurses, Elaine Mason, to the dismay of some colleagues, caregivers, and family members, who were disturbed by her strength of personality and protectiveness.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=145}} In February 1990, Hawking told Jane that he was leaving her for Mason{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=165}} and departed the family home.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=x–xix}} After his divorce from Jane in 1995, Hawking married Mason in September,{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=x–xix}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=186–87}} declaring, "It's wonderful{{snd}}I have married the woman I love."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=187}}

In 1999, Jane Hawking published a memoir, ''Music to Move the Stars'', describing her marriage to Hawking and its breakdown. Its revelations caused a sensation in the media but, as was his usual practice regarding his personal life, Hawking made no public comment except to say that he did not read biographies about himself.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=187, 192}} After his second marriage, Hawking's family felt excluded and marginalised from his life.<ref name="obs2004" /> For a period of about five years in the early 2000s, his family and staff became increasingly worried that he was being physically abused.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=197}} Police investigations took place, but were closed as Hawking refused to make a complaint.<ref name="sundaytimes" />

In 2006, Hawking and Mason quietly divorced,<ref name="Auto2J-25" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=225}} and Hawking resumed closer relationships with Jane, his children, and his grandchildren.<ref name="dt70" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=225}} Reflecting on this happier period, a revised version of Jane's book, re-titled ''Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen'', appeared in 2007,<ref name="sundaytimes" /> and was made into a film, ''[[The Theory of Everything (2014 film)|The Theory of Everything]]'', in 2014.<ref>{{cite news|title=Eddie Redmayne wins first Oscar for 'Theory of Everything'|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-awards-oscars-actor/eddie-redmayne-wins-first-oscar-for-theory-of-everything-idUSKBN0LR0AF20150223|access-date=7 March 2015|work=Reuters|date=10 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201132243/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-awards-oscars-actor/eddie-redmayne-wins-first-oscar-for-theory-of-everything-idUSKBN0LR0AF20150223|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Disability ===
Hawking had a rare early-onset, slow-progressing form of [[ALS|motor neurone disease]] (MND; also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease), which gradually paralysed him over decades.<ref name=":0" />

Hawking had experienced increasing clumsiness during his final year at Oxford, including a fall on some stairs and difficulties when rowing.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=32}}<ref name="Auto2J-6" /> The problems worsened, and his speech became slightly [[dysarthria|slurred]]. His family noticed the changes when he returned home for Christmas, and medical investigations were begun.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=59}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=34–35}} The MND diagnosis came when Hawking was 21, in 1963. At the time, doctors gave him a life expectancy of two years.{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=18–19}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=59–61}}

In the late 1960s, Hawking's physical abilities declined: he began to use crutches and could no longer give lectures regularly.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=48–49}} As he slowly lost the ability to write, he developed compensatory visual methods, including seeing equations in terms of geometry.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=76–77}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=124–25}} The physicist [[Werner Israel]] later compared the achievements to [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Mozart]] composing an entire symphony in his head.<ref name="Auto2J-8" />{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=124}} Hawking was fiercely independent and unwilling to accept help or make concessions for his disabilities. He preferred to be regarded as "a scientist first, popular science writer second, and, in all the ways that matter, a normal human being with the same desires, drives, dreams, and ambitions as the next person".{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=viii}} His wife Jane later noted: "Some people would call it determination, some obstinacy. I've called it both at one time or another."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=48}} He required much persuasion to accept the use of a wheelchair at the end of the 1960s,{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=117}} but ultimately became notorious for the wildness of his wheelchair driving.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=162}} Hawking was a popular and witty colleague, but his illness, as well as his reputation for brashness, distanced him from some.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=48}}

When Hawking first began using a wheelchair he was using standard motorised models. The earliest surviving example of these chairs was made by BEC Mobility and sold by Christie's in November 2018 for £296,750.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/shoulders-giants-newton-darwin-einstein-hawking/motorised-wheelchair-52/62112 |title=A motorised wheelchair |date=November 2018 |access-date=18 June 2019 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618110459/https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/shoulders-giants-newton-darwin-einstein-hawking/motorised-wheelchair-52/62112 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking continued to use this type of chair until the early 1990s, at which time his ability to use his hands to drive a wheelchair deteriorated. 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;<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/50th/NASA_lecture_series/hawking.html |title=NASA Lecture Series – Dr. Stephen Hawking |date=21 April 2008 |access-date=18 June 2019 |archive-date=23 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170623172731/https://www.nasa.gov/50th/NASA_lecture_series/hawking.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> a Permobil C350 from 2014; and then a Permobil F3 from 2016.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.accessandmobilityprofessional.com/exclusive-stephen-hawkings-powerchair-provider-permobil-pays-tribute-physics-titan/ |title=Stephen Hawking's powerchair provider Permobil pays tribute to physics titan |date=15 March 2018 |access-date=18 June 2019 |archive-date=18 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190618110459/https://www.accessandmobilityprofessional.com/exclusive-stephen-hawkings-powerchair-provider-permobil-pays-tribute-physics-titan/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Hawking's speech deteriorated, and by the late 1970s he could be understood by only his family and closest friends. To communicate with others, someone who knew him well would interpret his speech into intelligible speech.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=81–82}} Spurred by a dispute with the university over who would pay for the ramp needed for him to enter his workplace, Hawking and his wife campaigned for improved access and support for those with disabilities in Cambridge,{{sfn|Mialet|2003|pp=450–51}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=79, 149}} including adapted student housing at the university.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=273–74}} In general, Hawking had ambivalent feelings about his role as a [[disability rights]] champion: while wanting to help others, he also sought to detach himself from his illness and its challenges.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=193–94}} His lack of engagement in this area led to some criticism.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=194}}

During a visit to [[CERN]] on the border of France and Switzerland in mid-1985, Hawking contracted [[pneumonia]], which in his condition was life-threatening; he was so ill that Jane was asked if life support should be terminated. She refused, but the consequence was a [[tracheotomy]], which required round-the-clock nursing care and caused the loss of what remained of his speech.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=135–36}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=232–36}} The [[National Health Service]] was ready to pay for a [[nursing home]], but Jane was determined that he would live at home. The cost of the care was funded by an American foundation.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=136–37}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=235–36}} Nurses were hired for the three shifts required to provide the round-the-clock support he required. One of those employed was Elaine Mason, who was to become Hawking's second wife.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=139}}

For his communication, Hawking initially raised his eyebrows to choose [[Partner-assisted scanning|letters on a spelling card]],{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=136}} but in 1986 he received a computer program called the "Equalizer" from Walter Woltosz, CEO of Words Plus, who had developed an earlier version of the software to help his mother-in-law, who also had ALS and had lost her ability to speak and write.<ref name="Medeiros" /> In a method he used for the rest of his life, Hawking could now simply press a switch to select phrases, words or letters from a bank of about 2,500–3,000 that were [[Switch access scanning|scanned]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=137–38}}{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|pp=236–37}} The program was originally run on a desktop computer. Elaine Mason's husband, David, a computer engineer, adapted a small computer and attached it to his wheelchair.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=140}}

Released from the need to use somebody to interpret his speech, Hawking commented that "I can communicate better now than before I lost my voice."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=140–41}} The voice he used had an American accent and is no longer produced.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=138}}<ref name="Auto2J-15" /> Despite the later availability of other voices, Hawking retained this original voice, saying that he preferred it and identified with it.<ref name="Auto2J-16" /> Originally, Hawking activated a switch using his hand and could produce up to [[Typing#Alphanumeric entry|15 words per minute]].{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=175}} Lectures were prepared in advance and were sent to the [[speech synthesis]]er in short sections to be delivered.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=138}}

Hawking gradually lost the use of his hand, and in 2005 he began to control his communication device with movements of his cheek muscles,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=224}}<ref name="tech" /><ref name="hacked" /> with a rate of about one word per minute.<ref name="tech" /> With this decline there was a risk of him developing [[locked-in syndrome]], so Hawking collaborated with [[Intel Corporation]] researchers on systems that could translate his [[Neural oscillation|brain patterns]] or facial expressions into switch activations. After several prototypes that did not perform as planned, they settled on an adaptive word predictor made by the London-based startup [[SwiftKey]], which used a system similar to his original technology. Hawking had an easier time adapting to the new system, which was further developed after inputting large amounts of Hawking's papers and other written materials and uses predictive software similar to other smartphone keyboards.<ref name="dt70" /><ref name="Medeiros">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/01/intel-gave-stephen-hawking-voice/|title=How Intel Gave Stephen Hawking a Voice|first=Joao|last=Medeiros|date=13 January 2015|magazine=[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314050104/https://www.wired.com/2015/01/intel-gave-stephen-hawking-voice/|archive-date=14 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="hacked" /><ref name="start" />

By 2009, he could no longer drive his wheelchair independently, but the same people who created his new typing mechanics were working on a method to drive his chair using movements made by his chin. This proved difficult, since Hawking could not move his neck, and trials showed that while he could indeed drive the chair, the movement was sporadic and jumpy.<ref name="Medeiros" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=240}} 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.<ref name="dt70" />

=== Disability outreach ===
Starting in the 1990s, Hawking accepted the mantle of role model for disabled people, lecturing and participating in fundraising activities.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=164, 178}} At the turn of the century, he and eleven other humanitarians signed the ''Charter for the Third Millennium on Disability'', which called on governments to prevent disability and protect the rights of disabled people.<ref name="Auto2J-19" />{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=196}} In 1999, Hawking was awarded the [[Lilienfeld Prize|Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize]] of the [[American Physical Society]].<ref name="Auto2J-20" />

In August 2012, Hawking narrated the "Enlightenment" segment of the [[2012 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony]] in London.<ref name="Auto2J-54" /> In 2013, the biographical documentary film ''[[Hawking (2013 film)|Hawking]]'', in which Hawking himself is featured, was released.<ref name="NYT-20130913" /> In September 2013, he expressed support for the legalisation of [[assisted suicide]] for the terminally ill.<ref name="Auto2J-55" /> In August 2014, Hawking accepted the [[Ice Bucket Challenge]] to promote ALS/MND awareness and raise contributions for research. As he had pneumonia in 2013, he was advised not to have ice poured over him, but his children volunteered to accept the challenge on his behalf.<ref name="Auto2J-57" />

=== Plans for a trip to space ===
[[File:Physicist Stephen Hawking in Zero Gravity NASA.jpg|alt=Hawking, without his wheelchair, floating weightless in the air inside a plane|thumb|upright=1.15|Hawking taking a zero-gravity flight in a [[reduced-gravity aircraft]], April 2007]]
In late 2006, Hawking revealed in a BBC interview that one of his greatest unfulfilled desires was to travel to space.<ref name="Auto2J-32" /> On hearing this, [[Richard Branson]] offered a free flight into space with [[Virgin Galactic]], which Hawking immediately accepted. Besides personal ambition, he was motivated by the desire to increase public interest in spaceflight and to show the potential of people with disabilities.<ref name="nyt2007" /> On 26 April 2007, Hawking flew aboard a [[reduced-gravity aircraft|specially-modified]] Boeing 727–200 jet operated by [[Zero Gravity Corporation|Zero-G Corp]] off the coast of Florida to experience weightlessness.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=232–33}} Fears that the manoeuvres would cause him undue discomfort proved incorrect, and the flight was extended to eight parabolic arcs.<ref name="Auto2J-32" /> It was described as a successful test to see if he could withstand the g-forces involved in space flight.<ref>{{cite news | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549898/Branson-to-help-Hawking-live-space-dream.html | title =Branson to help Hawking live space dream | last1 =Leonard | first1 =T. | last2 =Osborne | first2 =A. | date =27 April 2007 | website =The Telegraph | access-date =15 March 2018 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20180316081851/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1549898/Branson-to-help-Hawking-live-space-dream.html | archive-date =16 March 2018 | url-status=live | df =dmy-all}}</ref> At the time, the date of Hawking's trip to space was projected to be as early as 2009, but [[Private spaceflight|commercial flights to space]] did not commence before his death.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2018/03/14/stephen-hawking-experienced-freedom-weightlessness-during-kennedy-space-center-visit/424663002/ | title = Stephen Hawking felt freedom of weightlessness during KSC visit | last = Dean | first = James | date = 14 March 2018 | website = USA Today | access-date = 15 March 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180315200338/https://www.floridatoday.com/story/tech/science/space/2018/03/14/stephen-hawking-experienced-freedom-weightlessness-during-kennedy-space-center-visit/424663002/ | archive-date = 15 March 2018 | url-status=live | df = dmy-all}}</ref>

== Death ==
Hawking died at his home in [[Cambridge]] on 14 March 2018, at the age of 76.<ref>{{cite Q|Q56551506|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="NYT=20180314">{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Stephen Hawking Dies at 76; His Mind Roamed the Cosmos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/stephen-hawking-dead.html |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314041252/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/stephen-hawking-dead.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Guardian.Death">{{Cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/stephen-hawking-obituary |title='Mind over matter': Stephen Hawking |last=Penrose |first=Roger |date=14 March 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314045723/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/stephen-hawking-obituary |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> His family stated that he "died peacefully".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/award-winning-scientist-stephen-hawking-dies-76/story?id=53729818|first=Karma|last=Allen|title=Stephen Hawking, author of 'A Brief History of Time,' dies at 76|date=14 March 2018|work=ABC News|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314070052/https://abcnews.go.com/International/award-winning-scientist-stephen-hawking-dies-76/story?id=53729818|archive-date=14 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Physicist-Stephen-Hawking-dies-after-living-with-12751523.php|title=Physicist Stephen Hawking dies after living with ALS for 50-plus years|first=Robert|last=Barr|work=San Francisco Chronicle|access-date=14 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314072346/https://www.sfgate.com/world/article/Physicist-Stephen-Hawking-dies-after-living-with-12751523.php|archive-date=14 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He was eulogised by figures in science, entertainment, politics, and other areas.{{efn|group=lower-alpha|Attributed to multiple references:<ref>{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Stephen Hawking's Beautiful Mind |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/science/stephen-hawking-timeline.html |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314233440/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/science/stephen-hawking-timeline.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Mlodinow |first=Leonard |author-link=Leonard Mlodinow |title=Stephen Hawking, Force of Nature |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/opinion/stephen-hawking-death-.html |date=14 March 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315020924/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/opinion/stephen-hawking-death-.html |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/we-lost-a-great-one-today-world-reacts-to-stephen-hawkings-death-on-social-media/ |title='We lost a great one today': World reacts to Stephen Hawking's death on social media |first=Benjamin |last=Brown |publisher=Fox News Channel |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314080723/http://www.foxnews.com/science/2018/03/14/world-reacts-to-stephen-hawkings-death-on-social-media.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=14 March 2018 |title=Stephen Hawking: Tributes pour in for 'inspirational' physicist |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43398187 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314155046/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43398187 |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>}} The [[Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge|Gonville and Caius College]] flag flew at [[half-mast]] and a [[book of condolence]]s was signed by students and visitors.<ref>{{cite news |last=Marsh |first=Sarah |date=14 March 2018 |title=Cambridge colleagues pay tribute to 'inspirational' Hawking |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/cambridge-students-pay-tribute-to-inspirational-hawking |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314170905/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/14/cambridge-students-pay-tribute-to-inspirational-hawking |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=14 March 2018 |title=Queue of people sign book of condolence at Stephen Hawking's former college |url=http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/queue-of-people-sign-book-of-condolence-at-stephen-hawkings-former-college-11364258015099 |publisher=BT News |agency=Press Association |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315134506/http://home.bt.com/news/uk-news/queue-of-people-sign-book-of-condolence-at-stephen-hawkings-former-college-11364258015099 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Stephen Hawking Taught Us a Lot About How to Live |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/science/stephen-hawking-life.html |date=15 March 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314225714/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/science/stephen-hawking-life.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> A tribute was made to Hawking in the closing speech by [[International Paralympic Committee|IPC]] President [[Andrew Parsons (sports administrator)|Andrew Parsons]] at the [[2018 Winter Paralympics closing ceremony|closing ceremony]] of the [[2018 Winter Paralympics|2018 Paralympic Winter Games]] in [[Pyeongchang County|Pyeongchang]], South Korea.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/paralympics/news/ipc-to-pay-tribute-to-stephen-hawking-during-pyeongchang-paralympics-closing-ceremony|title=IPC to Pay Tribute to Stephen Hawking During PyeongChang Paralympics Closing Ceremony|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180320105643/https://www.pyeongchang2018.com/en/paralympics/news/ipc-to-pay-tribute-to-stephen-hawking-during-pyeongchang-paralympics-closing-ceremony|archive-date=20 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

His private funeral took place on 31 March 2018,<ref name="CNWS-20180331" /> at [[Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge|Great St Mary's Church]], Cambridge.<ref name="CNWS-20180331">{{cite news |last=Elliott |first=Chris |title=The day Cambridge said goodbye to Stephen Hawking – one of our city's greatest ever academics |url=https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/stephen-hawking-funeral-14479609 |date=31 March 2018 |work=[[Cambridge News]] |access-date=31 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331235000/https://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/stephen-hawking-funeral-14479609 |archive-date=31 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=The Associated Press |title=At Stephen Hawking Funeral, Eddie Redmayne and Astronomer Royal Give Readings |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/world/europe/stephen-hawking-funeral-eddie-redmayne.html |date=31 March 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=31 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180331164552/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/world/europe/stephen-hawking-funeral-eddie-redmayne.html |archive-date=31 March 2018 |url-status=live |author-link=The Associated Press}}</ref> Guests at the funeral included ''[[The Theory of Everything (2014 film)|The Theory of Everything]]'' actors [[Eddie Redmayne]] and [[Felicity Jones]], [[Queen (band)|Queen]] guitarist and astrophysicist [[Brian May]], and model [[Lily Cole]].<ref name="BBC-20180331">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43582950 Prof Stephen Hawking funeral: Legacy 'will live forever'] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618045542/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43582950 |date=18 June 2018}}. [[BBC News]]. Published 31 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43604754 |title=Famous guests attend Prof Stephen Hawking's funeral |access-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228140419/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-43604754 |archive-date=28 February 2019 |url-status=live |work=BBC News |date=31 March 2018}}</ref> In addition, actor [[Benedict Cumberbatch]], who played Stephen Hawking in ''[[Hawking (2004 film)|Hawking]]'', astronaut [[Tim Peake]], [[Astronomer Royal]] [[Martin Rees]] and physicist [[Kip Thorne]] provided readings at the service.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/benedict-cumberbatch-to-take-lead-role-in-stephen-hawking-memorial-service-7k6wmvbk7 |title=Benedict Cumberbatch to take lead role in Stephen Hawking memorial service |access-date=28 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190228191841/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/benedict-cumberbatch-to-take-lead-role-in-stephen-hawking-memorial-service-7k6wmvbk7 |archive-date=28 February 2019 |url-status=live |newspaper=The Sunday Times |date=10 June 2018}}</ref> Although Hawking was an atheist, the funeral took place with a traditional Anglican service.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/stephen-hawking-funeral-his-city-stops-to-salute-genius-who-unlocked-secrets-of-the-universe/ |title=Stephen Hawking funeral: His city stops to salute genius who unlocked secrets of the universe |date=31 March 2018 |access-date=26 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191026051714/https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/stephen-hawking-funeral-his-city-stops-to-salute-genius-who-unlocked-secrets-of-the-universe/ |archive-date=26 October 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.space.com/40178-stephen-hawking-funeral-cambridge-university.html |title=Stephen Hawking Mourned by Hundreds at Cambridge Funeral |website=[[Space.com]] |date=3 April 2018 |access-date=5 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190405055850/https://www.space.com/40178-stephen-hawking-funeral-cambridge-university.html |archive-date=5 April 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> Following the cremation, a service of thanksgiving was held at [[Westminster Abbey]] on 15 June 2018, after which his ashes were [[Burials and memorials in Westminster Abbey#Nave|interred in]] the Abbey's [[nave]], between the graves of Sir [[Isaac Newton]] and [[Charles Darwin]].{{efn|group=lower-alpha|Attributed to multiple references:<ref name="HawkingWestminster" /><ref name="BBC-20180331" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.westminster-abbey.org/press/news/2018/march/professor-stephen-hawking-to-be-honoured-at-the-abbey|title=Professor Stephen Hawking to be honoured at the Abbey – Westminster Abbey|first=PixelToCode|last=pixeltocode.uk|access-date=20 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180329230419/http://www.westminster-abbey.org/press/news/2018/march/professor-stephen-hawking-to-be-honoured-at-the-abbey|archive-date=29 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Castle |first1=Stephen |title=Stephen Hawking Enters 'Britain's Valhalla,' Where Space Is Tight |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/world/europe/uk-stephen-hawking-westminster-abbey.html |access-date=21 July 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=15 June 2018 |quote=when Stephen Hawking's ashes were interred there on Friday, they were placed between the remains of Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin |archive-date=2 January 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190102094722/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/world/europe/uk-stephen-hawking-westminster-abbey.html |url-status=live}}</ref>}}

[[File:Stephen_Hawking%27s_grave_at_Westminster_Abbey.jpg#/media/File:Stephen_Hawking's_grave_at_Westminster_Abbey.jpg|thumb|Stephen Hawking's memorial stone in Westminster Abbey]]
Inscribed on his memorial stone are the words "Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking 1942–2018" and his most famed equation.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-hawkings-ashes-buried-westminster-abbey-1120478|title=Stephen Hawking's Ashes Buried in Westminster Abbey|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180616033931/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/stephen-hawkings-ashes-buried-westminster-abbey-1120478|archive-date=16 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> He directed, at least fifteen years before his death, that the [[Bekenstein–Hawking entropy equation]] be his [[epitaph]].<ref name="Highfield2002">{{citation|newspaper=Telegraph Media Group|title=A simple formula that will make a fitting epitaph|author=Roger Highfield|date=20 February 2002|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/4768008/A-simple-formula-that-will-make-a-fitting-epitaph.html|author-link=Roger Highfield (historian)|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180318041106/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/4768008/A-simple-formula-that-will-make-a-fitting-epitaph.html|archive-date=18 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{citation|first=Stuart|last=Clark|author-link=Stuart Clark (author)|year=2016|title=The Unknown Universe|publisher=Pegasus|isbn=978-1-68177-153-3|page=281}}</ref>{{efn|group=lower-alpha|By considering the effect of a black hole's [[event horizon]] on [[virtual particle]] production, Hawking found in 1974, much to his surprise, that [[Hawking radiation|black holes emit]] [[black-body radiation]] associated with a temperature that can be expressed (in the [[Schwarzschild metric|nonspinning case]]) as:

:<math>T = \frac{\hbar c^3}{8 \pi G M k},</math>

where <math>T</math> is [[Black hole thermodynamics|black hole temperature]], <math>\hbar</math> is the [[reduced Planck constant]], <math>c</math> is the [[speed of light]], <math>G</math> is the [[Newtonian constant of gravitation]], <math>M</math> is the [[mass]] of the black hole, and <math>k</math> is the [[Boltzmann constant]]. This relationship between concepts from the disparate fields of [[general relativity]], [[quantum mechanics]] and [[thermodynamics]] implies the existence of deep connections between them and may presage their [[Theory of everything|unification]]. It is inscribed on Hawking's memorial stone.<ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/06/15/stephen-hawkings-farewell-as-his-ashes-were-buried-his-voice-was-beamed-into-space/ | title= Stephen Hawking's farewell: As his ashes were buried, his voice was beamed into space | last= Bever | first= Lindsey | date= 15 June 2018 | newspaper= Washington Post | access-date= 31 July 2018 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180731123652/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2018/06/15/stephen-hawkings-farewell-as-his-ashes-were-buried-his-voice-was-beamed-into-space/ | archive-date= 31 July 2018 | url-status=live | df= dmy-all}}</ref>

The equation's most fundamental implication can be obtained as follows. According to thermodynamics, this temperature is associated with an [[entropy]], <math>S</math>, such that <math>T = M c^2/2 S,</math> where <math>M c^2</math> is the energy of a (nonspinning) black hole as expressed with [[Mass–energy equivalence|Einstein's formula]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Walecka|first= John Dirk|title= Introduction to General Relativity|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=2V-ulG8RMtoC&pg=PA305|year= 2007|publisher= World Scientific|isbn= 978-981-270-584-6|page= 305|access-date= 31 July 2018|archive-date= 6 May 2024|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240506010722/https://books.google.com/books?id=2V-ulG8RMtoC&pg=PA305#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status= live}}</ref> Combining equations then gives:

:<math>S = \frac{4 \pi G M^2 k}{\hbar c}.</math>

Now, the [[Schwarzschild radius|radius of a nonspinning black hole]] is given by <math>r = \frac{2 G M}{c^2},</math> and since its [[Surface area of a sphere|surface area]] is just <math>A = 4 \pi r^2,</math> <math>S</math> can be expressed in terms of surface area as:<ref name="Highfield2002" /><ref>{{cite news |last1=Griffin |first1=Andrew |title=Stephen Hawking death: The equation the professor asked to be put on his tombstone |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-death-dies-equation-discovery-tombstone-radiation-nobel-a8254966.html |access-date=17 March 2018 |work=[[The Independent (UK)|The Independent]] |date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317083125/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-death-dies-equation-discovery-tombstone-radiation-nobel-a8254966.html |archive-date=17 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
:<math>S_\text{BH} = \frac{k c^3}{4 \hbar G} A,</math>
where the subscript BH stands for either "black hole" or "Bekenstein–Hawking". This can be expressed more simply as a proportionality between two [[dimensionless]] ratios:
:<math>\frac{S_\text{BH}}{k} = \frac{1}{4} \frac{A}{l_\text{P}^2},</math>
where <math>l_\text{P} = \sqrt{\hbar G / c^3}</math> is the [[Planck length]].

[[Jacob Bekenstein]] had conjectured the proportionality; Hawking confirmed it and established the constant of proportionality at <math>1/4</math>.<ref name="Guardian.Death" /><ref name="Q55869076" /> Calculations based on [[string theory]], first carried out in 1995, have been found to yield the same result.<ref>{{Cite Q|Q29013523}}</ref>

This relationship is conjectured to be valid not just for black holes, but also (since [[Entropy (information theory)|entropy is proportional to information]]) as an [[Bekenstein bound|upper bound]] on the amount of information that can be contained in any volume of space, which has in turn spawned deeper reflections on the possible [[Holographic principle|nature of reality]].}} In June 2018, it was announced that Hawking's words, set to music by Greek composer [[Vangelis]], would be beamed into space from a European space agency satellite dish in Spain with the aim of reaching the nearest black hole, [[A0620-00|1A 0620-00]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Stephen Hawking's words will be beamed into space |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-44481914 |access-date=20 October 2018 |agency=BBC |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022020836/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-44481914 |archive-date=22 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking's final broadcast interview, about the detection of [[gravitational waves]] resulting from the [[GW170817|collision of two neutron stars]], occurred in October 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |title=Stephen Hawking's final interview: A beautiful Universe |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43499024 |date=26 March 2018 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=26 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180326232419/http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-43499024 |archive-date=26 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> His final words to the world appeared posthumously, in April 2018, in the form of a [[Smithsonian Channel|Smithsonian TV Channel]] documentary entitled, ''Leaving Earth: Or How to Colonize a Planet''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Taylor |first=Dan |title=Stephen Hawking's incredible last words will stun you |url=https://www.morningticker.com/2018/03/stephen-hawkings-astonishing-last-words-will-stun-you/ |date=24 March 2018 |work=MorningTicker.com |access-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325061251/https://www.morningticker.com/2018/03/stephen-hawkings-astonishing-last-words-will-stun-you/ |archive-date=25 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Tasoff |first=Harrison |title=4 Smithsonian Space Documentaries You Don't Want to Miss |url=https://www.space.com/39950-smithsonian-channel-space-specials.html |date=13 March 2018 |website=[[Space.com]] |access-date=24 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325232411/https://www.space.com/39950-smithsonian-channel-space-specials.html |archive-date=25 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> One of his final research studies, entitled ''A smooth exit from eternal inflation?'', about the [[Physical cosmology|origin of the universe]], was published in the ''[[Journal of High Energy Physics]]'' in May 2018.<ref>{{cite web |author=Staff ([[University of Cambridge]]) |title=Taming the multiverse—Stephen Hawking's final theory about the big bang |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-05-multiversestephen-hawking-theory-big.html |date=2 May 2018 |website=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=2 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180502161819/https://phys.org/news/2018-05-multiversestephen-hawking-theory-big.html |archive-date=2 May 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Q55878494" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Starr |first=Michelle |title=Stephen Hawking's Final Theory About Our Universe Will Melt Your Brain |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/stephen-hawking-s-final-theory-about-our-universe-will-melt-your-brain |date=22 December 2018 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=22 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222052151/https://www.sciencealert.com/stephen-hawking-s-final-theory-about-our-universe-will-melt-your-brain |archive-date=22 December 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Later, in October 2018, another of his final research studies, entitled ''Black Hole Entropy and Soft Hair'',<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Haco |first1=Sasha |last2=Hawking |first2=Stephen W. |last3=Perry |first3=Malcolm J. |last4=Strominger |first4=Andrew |title=Black Hole Entropy and Soft Hair| journal=Journal of High Energy Physics | publisher=Springer Science and Business Media LLC | volume=2018 | issue=12 | year=2018 |page=98 | issn=1029-8479 | doi=10.1007/jhep12(2018)098 |doi-access=free|arxiv=1810.01847v2|bibcode=2018JHEP...12..098H}}</ref> was published, and dealt with the "mystery of what happens to the information held by objects once they disappear into a black hole".<ref>{{cite web |last=Nield |first=David |title=The Very Last Paper Stephen Hawking Worked on Has Just Been Published Online – He continued the quest to understand black holes until the end. |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/stephen-hawking-last-paper-continues-understanding-of-black-holes |date=12 October 2018 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=12 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181012033035/https://www.sciencealert.com/stephen-hawking-last-paper-continues-understanding-of-black-holes |archive-date=12 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Overbye |first=Dennis |author-link=Dennis Overbye |title=Stephen Hawking's Final Paper: How to Escape From a Black Hole – In a study from beyond the grave, the theoretical physicist sings (mathematically) of memory, loss and the possibility of data redemption. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/science/stephen-hawking-final-paper.html |date=23 October 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=23 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181024003617/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/23/science/stephen-hawking-final-paper.html |archive-date=24 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Also in October 2018, Hawking's last book, [[Brief Answers to the Big Questions (book)|''Brief Answers to the Big Questions'']], a popular science book presenting his final comments on the most important questions facing humankind, was published.<ref name="WP-20181015" /><ref>{{cite news |author=AP News |title=In Posthumous Message, Hawking Says Science Under Threat |url=https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/10/15/world/europe/ap-eu-britain-stephen-hawking.html |date=15 October 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016034207/https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2018/10/15/world/europe/ap-eu-britain-stephen-hawking.html |archive-date=16 October 2018 |url-status=live |author-link=AP News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Brief Answers to the Big Questions – Hardcover – 16 October 2018 by Stephen Hawking |url=https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984819194 |date=2018 |work=[[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-date=27 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200527195909/https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1984819194 |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 8 November 2018, an auction of 22 personal possessions of Hawking, including his doctoral thesis (''Properties of Expanding Universes'', PhD thesis, [[Cambridge University]], 1965) and wheelchair, took place, and fetched about £1.8 million.<ref>{{cite news |author=Staff |title=Stephen Hawking personal effects fetch £1.8 m at auction |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46144363 |date=8 November 2018 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181108222932/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-46144363 |archive-date=8 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="NYT-2011108">{{cite news |last=Fortin |first=Jacey |title=Stephen Hawking's Wheelchair and Thesis Fetch More Than $1 Million at Auction |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/science/stephen-hawking-wheelchair-auction-.html |date=8 November 2018 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=8 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181109053105/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/08/science/stephen-hawking-wheelchair-auction-.html |archive-date=9 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Proceeds from the auction sale of the wheelchair went to two charities, the [[Motor Neurone Disease Association]] and the Stephen Hawking Foundation;<ref>{{cite web |last=Lawless |first=Jill |title=Stephen Hawking's wheelchair, thesis for sale |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-10-stephen-hawking-wheelchair-thesis-sale.html |date=22 October 2018 |work=[[Phys.org]] |access-date=22 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181022103946/https://phys.org/news/2018-10-stephen-hawking-wheelchair-thesis-sale.html |archive-date=22 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> proceeds from the other items went to his estate.<ref name="NYT-2011108" />

In March 2019, it was announced that the [[Royal Mint]] would issue a commemorative [[Fifty pence (British coin)|50p coin]], only available as a commemorative edition,<ref>[https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/events/stephen-hawking/celebrating-the-life-of-stephen-hawking-2019-uk-50p-brilliant-uncirculated-coin/ "Celebrating the Life of Stephen Hawking 2019 UK 50p Brilliant Uncirculated Coin."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423134212/https://www.royalmint.com/our-coins/events/stephen-hawking/celebrating-the-life-of-stephen-hawking-2019-uk-50p-brilliant-uncirculated-coin/ |date=23 April 2022}} [[The Royal Mint]]. Retrieved 3 December 2022.</ref> in honour of Hawking.<ref>{{cite news |last=McRae |first=Mike |title=UK Put a Black Hole on a 50p Coin to Honour Stephen Hawking, And It Looks Stunning |url=https://www.sciencealert.com/the-royal-mint-has-put-a-black-hole-onto-a-50p-coin-to-honour-stephen-hawking |date=13 March 2019 |work=ScienceAlert.com |access-date=13 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190330055736/https://www.sciencealert.com/the-royal-mint-has-put-a-black-hole-onto-a-50p-coin-to-honour-stephen-hawking |archive-date=30 March 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> The same month, Hawking's nurse, Patricia Dowdy, was struck off the nursing register for "failures over his care and financial misconduct".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-47540621|title=Hawking's nurse struck off over his care|date=12 March 2019|access-date=12 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312175445/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-suffolk-47540621|archive-date=12 March 2019|url-status=live|work=BBC News}}</ref>

In May 2021, it was announced that an Acceptance-in-Lieu agreement between HMRC, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Cambridge University Library, Science Museum Group, and the Hawking Estate, would see around 10,000 pages of Hawking's scientific and other papers remain in Cambridge, while objects including his wheelchairs, speech synthesisers, and personal memorabilia from his former Cambridge office would be housed at the Science Museum.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Stuart |date=27 May 2021 |title=Hawking Archive saved for the nation |url=https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/HawkingArchive |access-date=7 June 2022 |website=University of Cambridge |language=en |archive-date=30 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220530091116/https://www.cam.ac.uk/stories/HawkingArchive |url-status=live}}</ref> In February 2022 the "Stephen Hawking at Work" display opened at the [[Science Museum, London|Science Museum]], London as the start of a two-year nationwide tour.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore incredible objects from Stephen Hawking's office at the Science Museum |url=https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about-us/press-office/explore-incredible-objects-stephen-hawkings-office-science-museum |access-date=7 June 2022 |website=Science Museum |date=8 January 2022 |language=en |archive-date=31 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331035915/https://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/about-us/press-office/explore-incredible-objects-stephen-hawkings-office-science-museum |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Personal views ==
=== Relevance of philosophy ===
At Google's Zeitgeist Conference in 2011, Stephen Hawking said that "philosophy is dead". He believed that philosophers "have not kept up with modern developments in science", "have not taken science sufficiently seriously and so Philosophy is no longer relevant to knowledge claims", "their art is dead" and that scientists "have become the bearers of the torch of discovery in our quest for [[knowledge]]". He said that philosophical problems can be answered by science, particularly new scientific theories which "lead us to a new and very different picture of the [[universe]] and our place in it".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen Hawking tells Google 'philosophy is dead' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8520033/Stephen-Hawking-tells-Google-philosophy-is-dead.html |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk |date=17 May 2011 |archive-date=22 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622072517/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/8520033/Stephen-Hawking-tells-Google-philosophy-is-dead.html |url-status=live}}</ref> His view was both praised and criticised.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Scott |first=Callum D. |date=2012 |title=The death of Philosophy: a response to Stephen Hawking |journal=South African Journal of Philosophy |volume=31 |issue=2 |pages=384–404 |doi=10.1080/02580136.2012.10751783|s2cid=144498480 |issn = 0258-0136 }}</ref> He said, "Love, faith and morality belong to a different category to physics. You cannot deduce how one should behave from the laws of physics. But one could hope that the logical thought that physics and mathematics involves would guide one also in one's moral behavior."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs/>

=== Future of humanity ===
[[File:Barack Obama speaks to Stephen Hawking (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Photograph of Barack Obama talking to Stephen Hawking in the White House|President [[Barack Obama]] talks with Hawking in the [[White House]] before a ceremony presenting him with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] on 12 August 2009.]]
In 2006, Hawking posed an open question on the Internet: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?", later clarifying: "I don't know the answer. That is why I asked the question, to get people to think about it, and to be aware of the dangers we now face."<ref>{{cite news |last=Sample |first=Ian |date=2 August 2006 |title=The great man's answer to the question of human survival: Er, I don't know |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/aug/03/scientists.spaceexploration |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314230514/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/aug/03/scientists.spaceexploration |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking expressed concern that life on Earth is at risk from a sudden nuclear war, a genetically engineered virus, [[global warming]], an [[asteroid collision]], or other dangers humans have not yet thought of.<ref name="nyt2007" /><ref name="telegraph planet Earth">{{cite news |title=Prof Stephen Hawking: disaster on planet Earth is a near certainty |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12107623/Prof-Stephen-Hawking-disaster-on-planet-Earth-is-a-near-certainty.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=2 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180402225616/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/12107623/Prof-Stephen-Hawking-disaster-on-planet-Earth-is-a-near-certainty.html |archive-date=2 April 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WP-20181015" /> Hawking stated: "I regard it as almost inevitable that either a nuclear confrontation or environmental catastrophe will cripple the Earth at some point in the next 1,000 years".<ref name="WP-20181015">{{cite news |last=Stanley-Becker |first=Isaac |title=Stephen Hawking feared race of 'superhumans' able to manipulate their own DNA |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/10/15/stephen-hawking-feared-race-of-superhumans-able-to-manipulate-their-own-dna/ |date=15 October 2018 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181015124821/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/10/15/stephen-hawking-feared-race-of-superhumans-able-to-manipulate-their-own-dna/ |archive-date=15 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Such a planet-wide disaster need not result in [[human extinction]] if the human race were to be able to colonise additional planets before the disaster.<ref name="telegraph planet Earth" /> Hawking viewed spaceflight and the colonisation of space as necessary for the future of humanity.<ref name="nyt2007" /><ref name="Auto2J-31" />

Hawking stated that, given the vastness of the universe, [[Extraterrestrial life|aliens]] likely exist, but that contact with them should be avoided.<ref name="Auto2J-30" /><ref name="alien" /> He warned that aliens might pillage Earth for resources. In 2010 he said, "If aliens visit us, the outcome would be much as when [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]] landed in America, which didn't turn out well for the Native Americans."<ref name="alien" />

Hawking warned that [[superintelligent]] [[artificial intelligence]] could be pivotal in steering humanity's fate, stating that "the potential benefits are huge... Success in creating AI would be the biggest event in human history. It might also be the last, unless we learn how to avoid the risks."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Hawking |first1=Stephen |last2=Tegmark |first2=Mark |last3=Wilczek |first3=Frank |title=Stephen Hawking: 'Transcendence looks at the implications of artificial intelligence – but are we taking AI seriously enough?' |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-transcendence-looks-at-the-implications-of-artificial-intelligence-but-are-we-taking-9313474.html |date=1 May 2014 |work=The Independent |access-date=3 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151002023652/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-transcendence-looks-at-the-implications-of-artificial-intelligence-but-are-we-taking-9313474.html |archive-date=2 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stephen Hawking warns artificial intelligence could end mankind |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540 |access-date=3 December 2014 |work=BBC News |date=2 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151030054329/http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-30290540 |archive-date=30 October 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> He feared that "an extremely intelligent future AI will probably [[Instrumental convergence|develop a drive]] to survive and acquire more resources as a step toward accomplishing whatever goal it has", and that "The real risk with AI isn't malice but competence. A super-intelligent AI will be extremely good at accomplishing its goals, and if those goals aren't [[AI alignment|aligned]] with ours, we're in trouble".<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine |last=stevenson |first=matt |date=8 October 2015 |title=Answers to Stephen Hawking's AMA are Here! |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/10/stephen-hawkings-ama/ |access-date=28 April 2023 |issn=1059-1028 |archive-date=2 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230502051006/https://www.wired.com/brandlab/2015/10/stephen-hawkings-ama/ |url-status=live}}</ref> He also considered that the enormous wealth generated by machines needs to be redistributed to prevent exacerbated [[economic inequality]].<ref name=":1" />

Hawking was concerned about the future emergence of a race of "superhumans" that would be able to design their own evolution<ref name="WP-20181015" /> and, as well, argued that [[computer virus]]es in today's world should be considered a new form of life, stating that "maybe it says something about human nature, that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive. Talk about creating life in our own image."{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=179}}

=== Religion and atheism ===
Hawking did not rule out the existence of a Creator, asking in ''[[A Brief History of Time]]'' "Is the unified theory so compelling that it brings about its own existence?",{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=130}} also stating "If we discover a complete theory, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason{{snd}}for then we should know the mind of God";<ref name="sample" /> in his early work, Hawking spoke of God in a metaphorical sense. In the same book he suggested that the existence of God was not necessary to explain the origin of the universe. Later discussions with [[Neil Turok]] led to the realisation that the existence of God was also compatible with an open universe.{{sfn|Yulsman|2003|pp=174–176}} He said "All my work has shown is that you don't have to say that the way the Universe began was the personal whim of God. But you still have the question, 'Why does the Universe bother to exist?' If you like, you can define God as the answer to that question."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs/>

Hawking was an [[Atheism|atheist]].<ref name="atheist" /><ref name="Auto2J-52" /> In an interview published in ''[[The Guardian]]'', Hawking regarded "the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail", and the concept of an [[afterlife]] as a "fairy story for people afraid of the dark".<ref name="NYT=20180314" /><ref name="sample" /> In 2011, narrating the first episode of the American television series ''[[Curiosity (TV series)|Curiosity]]'' on the [[Discovery Channel]], Hawking declared:

{{blockquote|We are each free to believe what we want and it is my view that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realisation. There is probably no heaven, and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that, I am extremely grateful.<ref name="Auto2J-50" /><ref name="Auto2J-51" />}}

Hawking's association with atheism and [[freethinking]] was in evidence from his university years onwards, when he had been a member of Oxford University's [[secular humanism|humanist]] group. He was later scheduled to appear as the keynote speaker at a 2017 [[Humanists UK]] conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://humanism.org.uk/2018/03/14/humanists-uk-mourns-death-of-stephen-hawking/|title=Humanists UK mourns death of Stephen Hawking|access-date=18 March 2019|work=[[Humanists UK]]|date=14 March 2019|archive-date=23 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200923073018/https://humanism.org.uk/2018/03/14/humanists-uk-mourns-death-of-stephen-hawking/|url-status=live}}</ref> In an interview with ''[[El Mundo (Spain)|El Mundo]]'', he said:

{{blockquote|Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation. What I meant by 'we would know the mind of God' is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn't. I'm an atheist.<ref name="atheist">{{cite news|last1=Boyle|first1=Alan|title='I'm an Atheist': Stephen Hawking on God and Space Travel|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/im-atheist-stephen-hawking-god-space-travel-n210076|access-date=12 January 2017|work=NBC News|date=23 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170125223518/http://www.nbcnews.com/science/space/im-atheist-stephen-hawking-god-space-travel-n210076|archive-date=25 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

In addition, Hawking stated:
{{blockquote|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.<ref name="WP-20181015" />}}

=== Politics ===
Hawking was a longstanding [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] supporter.{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=195}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=223}} He recorded a tribute for the 2000 [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] presidential candidate [[Al Gore]],{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=195}} called the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] a "[[war crime]]",{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=223}}<ref name="Auto2J-34" />  campaigned for [[nuclear disarmament]],{{sfn|White|Gribbin|2002|p=195}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=223}} and supported [[stem cell]] research,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=223}}<ref name="Auto2J-37" /> [[universal health care]],{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=242}} and action to prevent [[climate change]].<ref name="ind2007" /> In August 2014, Hawking was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to ''[[The Guardian]]'' expressing their hope that Scotland would vote to remain part of the United Kingdom in September's [[2014 Scottish independence referendum|referendum on that issue]].<ref name="Auto2J-56" /> Hawking believed a [[United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union]] (Brexit) would damage the UK's contribution to science as modern research needs international collaboration, and that free movement of people in Europe encourages the spread of ideas.<ref>{{cite news |last=Radford |first=Tim |date=31 May 2016 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/31/stephen-hawking-donald-trump-popularity-inexplicable-and-brexit-spells-disaster |title=Trump's popularity inexplicable and Brexit spells disaster, says Stephen Hawking |work=The Guardian |access-date=31 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531170538/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/may/31/stephen-hawking-donald-trump-popularity-inexplicable-and-brexit-spells-disaster |archive-date=31 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking said to Theresa May, "I deal with tough mathematical questions every day, but please don't ask me to help with Brexit."<ref>[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43399019 Stephen Hawking's political views] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314222943/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43399019 |date=14 March 2018}} ''[[BBC]]''</ref>  Hawking was disappointed by Brexit and warned against envy and isolationism.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43399019|title=Stephen Hawking's political views|date=14 March 2018|access-date=19 March 2018|work=BBC News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180317031315/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43399019|archive-date=17 March 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking was greatly concerned over health care, and maintained that without the UK [[National Health Service]], he could not have survived into his 70s.<ref name="bbc20/8/2017" /> Hawking especially feared privatisation. He stated, "The more profit is extracted from the system, the more private monopolies grow and the more expensive healthcare becomes. The NHS must be preserved from commercial interests and protected from those who want to privatise it."<ref>{{cite news |last=Triggle |first=Nick |date=19 August 2017 |title=Stephen Hawking: I'm worried about the future of the NHS |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/health-40967309 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315091333/http://www.bbc.com/news/health-40967309 |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking blamed the Conservatives for cutting funding to the NHS, weakening it by privatisation, lowering staff morale through holding pay back and reducing social care.<ref>{{cite news |last=Campbell |first=Denis |date=18 August 2017 |title=Stephen Hawking blames Tory politicians for damaging NHS |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/18/stephen-hawking-blames-tory-politicians-for-damaging-nhs |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315005120/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/aug/18/stephen-hawking-blames-tory-politicians-for-damaging-nhs |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking accused [[Jeremy Hunt]] of [[cherry picking]] evidence which Hawking maintained debased science.<ref name="bbc20/8/2017">{{cite news |date=20 August 2017 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-40990288/stephen-hawking-i-wouldn-t-be-here-without-the-nhs |title=Hawking v Hunt: What happened? |work=BBC News |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314204857/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-40990288/stephen-hawking-i-wouldn-t-be-here-without-the-nhs |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live  }}</ref> Hawking also stated, "There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse."<ref>{{cite news |last=Kennedy |first=Maev |date=27 August 2017 |title=Jeremy Hunt continues war of words with Stephen Hawking over NHS |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/27/jeremy-hunt-continues-war-of-words-with-stephen-hawking-over-nhs |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315005109/https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/27/jeremy-hunt-continues-war-of-words-with-stephen-hawking-over-nhs |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
In June 2017, Hawking endorsed the Labour Party in the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 UK general election]], citing the Conservatives' proposed cuts to the NHS. But he was also critical of Labour leader [[Jeremy Corbyn]], expressing scepticism over whether the party could win a general election under him.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stephen Hawking announces he is voting Labour: 'The Tories would be a disaster' |author=Griffin, Andrew |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-jeremy-corbyn-labour-theresa-may-conservatives-endorsement-general-election-a7774016.html |newspaper=The Independent |date=6 June 2017 |access-date=6 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170605165406/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-jeremy-corbyn-labour-theresa-may-conservatives-endorsement-general-election-a7774016.html |archive-date=5 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking feared [[Donald Trump]]'s policies on global warming could endanger the planet and make global warming irreversible. He said, "Climate change is one of the great dangers we face, and it's one we can prevent if we act now. 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."<ref>{{cite news |last=Ghosh |first=Pallab |date=2 July 2017 |title=Hawking says Trump's climate stance could damage Earth |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40461726 |work=BBC News |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314232752/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-40461726 |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking further stated that this could lead Earth "to become like [[Venus]], with a temperature of two hundred and fifty degrees, and raining [[sulphuric acid]]".<ref>{{cite news |last=Eleftheriou-Smith |first=Loulla-Mae |date=3 July 2017 |title=Stephen Hawking says Donald Trump could turn Earth into Venus-like planet with 250C and sulphuric acid rain |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-earth-brink-global-warming-us-fossil-a7820336.html |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319063733/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-donald-trump-paris-climate-change-agreement-earth-brink-global-warming-us-fossil-a7820336.html |archive-date=19 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking was also a supporter of a [[universal basic income]].<ref>{{cite news |last= Brooks |first= Libby |date= 25 December 2017 |title= Scotland united in curiosity as councils trial universal basic income |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/25/scotland-universal-basic-income-councils-pilot-scheme |work= The Guardian |access-date= 4 October 2020 |quote= Universal basic income is, according to its many and various supporters, an idea whose time has come. The deceptively simple notion of offering every citizen a regular payment without means testing or requiring them to work for it has backers as disparate as Mark Zuckerberg, Stephen Hawking, Caroline Lucas and Richard Branson. |archive-date= 21 October 2020 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201021024857/https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/dec/25/scotland-universal-basic-income-councils-pilot-scheme |url-status= live}}</ref> He was critical of the [[Government of Israel|Israeli government]]'s position on the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict]], stating that their policy "is likely to lead to disaster".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sherwood |first1=Harriet |last2=Kalman |first2=Matthew |last3=Jones |first3=Sam |title=Stephen Hawking: Furore deepens over Israel boycott |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/08/hawking-israel-boycott-furore |access-date=16 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=9 May 2013 |language=en |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516185837/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/may/08/hawking-israel-boycott-furore |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Appearances in popular media ==
{{Further|Stephen Hawking in popular culture}}
[[File:Monty Python Live 02-07-14 12 55 10 (14415565317).jpg|thumb|right|Hawking in [[Monty Python]]'s "[[Galaxy Song]]" video at the comedy troupe's 2014 reunion show, ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'']]

In 1988, Hawking, [[Arthur C. Clarke]] and [[Carl Sagan]] were interviewed in ''[[God, the Universe and Everything Else]]''. They discussed the [[Big Bang theory]], God and the possibility of [[extraterrestrial life]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Watch this: 'God, the Universe and Everything Else' with Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking and Arthur C. Clarke |url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/7/22/3173928/watch-this-god-the-universe-and-everything-else |access-date=19 August 2019 |work=The Verge |archive-date=9 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211209080842/https://www.theverge.com/2012/7/22/3173928/watch-this-god-the-universe-and-everything-else |url-status=live}}</ref>

At the release party for the home video version of the ''A Brief History of Time'', [[Leonard Nimoy]], who had played [[Spock]] on ''[[Star Trek]]'', learned that Hawking was interested in appearing on the show. Nimoy made the necessary contact, and Hawking played a holographic simulation of himself in an episode of ''[[Star Trek: The Next Generation]]'' in 1993.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|pp=177–78}}{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=93–94}} The same year, his synthesiser voice was recorded for the [[Pink Floyd]] song "[[Keep Talking (Pink Floyd song)|Keep Talking]]",{{sfn|Larsen|2005|pp=xiii, 94}}{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=178}} and in 1999 for an appearance on ''[[The Simpsons]]''.{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=192}} Hawking appeared in documentaries titled ''The Real Stephen Hawking'' (2001),{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=196}} ''Stephen Hawking: Profile'' (2002){{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=221}} and ''[[Hawking (2013 film)|Hawking]]'' (2013), and the documentary series ''Stephen Hawking, Master of the Universe'' (2008).<ref name="Auto2J-26" /> Hawking also guest-starred in ''[[Futurama]]''<ref name="dt70" /> and had a recurring role in ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]''.<ref name="bbc-bbt" />

Hawking allowed the use of his copyrighted voice<ref>{{cite book |last=Mialet |first=Hélène |title=Hawking Incorporated: Stephen Hawking and the Anthropology of the Knowing Subject |date=28 June 2012 |page=211 |publisher=[[University of Chicago Press]] |location=Chicago, Illinois |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sGCBQPZMyqIC&pg=PA211 |isbn=978-0-226-52226-5 |access-date=14 September 2019 |archive-date=6 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506010702/https://books.google.com/books?id=sGCBQPZMyqIC&pg=PA211#v=onepage&q&f=false |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Edgar |first=James |title='Have you still got that American voice?' Queen asks Stephen Hawking |date=30 May 2014 |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10866057/Have-you-still-got-that-American-voice-Queen-asks-Stephen-Hawking.html |access-date=12 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150806021149/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/10866057/Have-you-still-got-that-American-voice-Queen-asks-Stephen-Hawking.html |archive-date=6 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> in the biographical 2014 film ''[[The Theory of Everything (2014 film)|The Theory of Everything]]'', in which he was portrayed by [[Eddie Redmayne]] in an Academy Award-winning role.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Setoodeh |first1=Ramin |title=How Eddie Redmayne Became Stephen Hawking in 'The Theory of Everything' |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/news/eddie-redmayne-theory-of-everything-stephen-hawking-1201340498/ |website=Variety |access-date=24 February 2015 |date=28 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226190152/http://variety.com/2014/film/news/eddie-redmayne-theory-of-everything-stephen-hawking-1201340498/ |archive-date=26 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Hawking was featured at the ''[[Monty Python Live (Mostly)]]'' show in 2014. He was shown to sing an extended version of the "[[Galaxy Song]]", after running down [[Brian Cox (physicist)|Brian Cox]] with his wheelchair, in a pre-recorded video.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McAfee|first1=Melonyce|title=Stephen Hawking sings Monty Python's 'Galaxy Song'|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/14/entertainment/feat-stephen-hawking-sings-galaxy-song/|access-date=12 January 2017|publisher=CNN|date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113163207/http://edition.cnn.com/2015/04/14/entertainment/feat-stephen-hawking-sings-galaxy-song/|archive-date=13 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Grow|first1=Korry|title=Hear Stephen Hawking Sing Monty Python's 'Galaxy Song'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/hear-stephen-hawking-sing-monty-pythons-galaxy-song-20150414|access-date=12 January 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=14 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113162206/http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/hear-stephen-hawking-sing-monty-pythons-galaxy-song-20150414|archive-date=13 January 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking used his fame to advertise products, including a wheelchair,{{sfn|Ferguson|2011|p=196}} [[NS&I|National Savings]],<ref name="Auto2J-38" /> [[British Telecom]], [[Specsavers]], [[Egg Banking]],<ref name="Auto2J-39" /> and [[Go Compare]].<ref name="Auto2J-40" /> In 2015, he applied to trademark his name.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Buchanan |first1=Rose Troup |title=Professor Stephen Hawking to trademark name |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/professor-stephen-hawking-to-trademark-name-10142840.html |access-date=2 April 2015 |work=The Independent |date=20 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402053152/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/professor-stephen-hawking-to-trademark-name-10142840.html |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Broadcast in March 2018 just a week or two before his death, Hawking was the voice of The Book Mark II on ''[[The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' radio series, and he was the guest of [[Neil deGrasse Tyson]] on ''[[StarTalk (2015 TV series)|StarTalk]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tufnell |first1=Nicholas |title=The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy' is back with the original cast |url=https://www.cnet.com/news/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-is-back-with-the-original-cast/ |access-date=14 March 2018 |publisher=[[CNET]] |date=9 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070553/https://www.cnet.com/news/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy-is-back-with-the-original-cast/ |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}} and {{cite web |title=StarTalk Season 4, Episode 20: Stephen Hawking |date=4 March 2018 |url=http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/startalk/videos/stephen-hawking/ |publisher=National Geographic Partners, LLC |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070500/http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/startalk/videos/stephen-hawking/ |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 2021 animated sitcom ''[[The Freak Brothers]]'' features a recurring character, Mayor Pimco, who is apparently modelled after Stephen Hawking.<ref>|url=https://thefreakbrothers.com/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120170814/https://thefreakbrothers.com/ |date=20 November 2023}}}}</ref> 

On 8 January 2022, Google featured Hawking in a [[Google Doodle]] on the occasion of his 80th birthday.<ref>{{Citation|title=Stephen Hawking's 80th Birthday| date=7 January 2022 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isim0ysZ6X4|language=en|access-date=7 January 2022|archive-date=7 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220107114502/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isim0ysZ6X4|url-status=live}}</ref> 

On ''[[Desert Island Discs]]'', Hawking chose [[Francis Poulenc]]'s [[Gloria (Poulenc)| Gloria]], [[Brahms]]'s [[Violin Concerto (Brahms)| Violin Concerto]], [[Beethoven]]'s [[String Quartet No. 15 (Beethoven)| String Quartet No. 15]], [[Wagner]]'s ''[[Die Walküre]]'', Act 1, [[The Beatles]]'s "[[Please Please Me]]", [[Mozart]]'s [[Requiem (Mozart)| Requiem]], [[Puccini]]'s "O Principe, che a lunghe carovane" and [[Edith Piaf]]'s "[[Non, je ne regrette rien]]" ("That just about sums up my life.") For his book, he chose [[George Eliot]]'s ''[[Middlemarch]]'': "I think someone, maybe it was [[Virginia Woolf]], said it was a book for adults. I'm not sure I'm grownup yet, but I will give it a try."<ref name=DesertIslandDiscs>{{cite news| last=Lawley| first=Sue| author-link=Sue Lawley| title=Desert Island Discs, Stephen Hawking| date=25 December 1992| work=[[BBC Radio 4]]| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0093xb2}}</ref>

== Awards and honours ==
{{multiple image
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Hawking received numerous awards and honours. Already early in the list, in 1974 he was elected a Fellow of the [[Royal Society]] (FRS).<ref name="rsbm" /> At that time, his nomination read:

{{blockquote|Hawking has made major contributions to the field of general relativity. These derive from a deep understanding of what is relevant to physics and astronomy, and especially from a mastery of wholly new mathematical techniques. Following the pioneering work of Penrose he established, partly alone and partly in collaboration with Penrose, a series of successively stronger theorems establishing the fundamental result that all realistic cosmological models must possess singularities. Using similar techniques, Hawking has proved the basic theorems on the laws governing black holes: that stationary solutions of Einstein's equations with smooth event horizons must necessarily be axisymmetric; and that in the evolution and interaction of black holes, the total surface area of the event horizons must increase. In collaboration with G. Ellis, Hawking is the author of an impressive and original treatise on "Space-time in the Large".}}

The citation continues, "Other important work by Hawking relates to the interpretation of cosmological observations and to the design of gravitational wave detectors."<ref name="royal" />

Hawking was also a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]] (1984),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen William Hawking |url=https://www.amacad.org/person/stephen-william-hawking |access-date=19 May 2022 |website=American Academy of Arts & Sciences |language=en |archive-date=30 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221130134309/https://www.amacad.org/person/stephen-william-hawking |url-status=live}}</ref> the [[American Philosophical Society]] (1984),<ref>{{Cite web |title=APS Member History |url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Stephen+Hawking&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |access-date=19 May 2022 |website=search.amphilsoc.org |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519152448/https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Stephen+Hawking&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced |url-status=live}}</ref> and the United States [[National Academy of Sciences]] (1992).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stephen Hawking |url=http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/62159.html |access-date=19 May 2022 |website=www.nasonline.org |archive-date=19 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220519152448/http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/62159.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking received the 2015 [[BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award]] in Basic Sciences shared with [[Viatcheslav Mukhanov]] for discovering that the galaxies were formed from quantum fluctuations in the early Universe. At the 2016 [[Pride of Britain Awards]], Hawking received the lifetime achievement award "for his contribution to science and British culture".<ref name="Corkery" /> After receiving the award from Prime Minister [[Theresa May]], Hawking humorously requested that she not seek his help with [[Brexit]].<ref name="Corkery">{{cite news |last=Corkery |first=Claire |date=1 November 2016 |title=Pride of Britain 2016: Stephen Hawking makes Brexit joke at PM Theresa May's expense |url=https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/727766/Pride-of-Britain-awards-2016-Stephen-Hawking-Brexit-Theresa-May-Carol-Vorderman |work=Express |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070543/https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/727766/Pride-of-Britain-awards-2016-Stephen-Hawking-Brexit-Theresa-May-Carol-Vorderman |archive-date=15 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

=== The Hawking Fellowship ===
{{Main|Hawking Fellowship}}
In 2017, the [[Cambridge Union|Cambridge Union Society]], in conjunction with Hawking, established the [[Hawking Fellowship|Professor Stephen Hawking Fellowship]]. The fellowship is awarded annually to an individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the STEM fields and social discourse,<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Hawking Fellowship |url=https://www.varsity.co.uk/science/16135 |website=Varsity |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=9 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230809023824/https://www.varsity.co.uk/science/16135 |url-status=live}}</ref> with a particular focus on impacts affecting the younger generations. Each fellow delivers a lecture on a topic of their choosing, known as the 'Hawking Lecture'.<ref>{{cite web |title=Jony Ive Hawking Fellowship |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2018/11/20/apples-jony-ive-talks-about-the-iphone-design-and-nearly-giving-up/?sh=626763341175 |website=Forbes |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=28 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230728012103/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidphelan/2018/11/20/apples-jony-ive-talks-about-the-iphone-design-and-nearly-giving-up/?sh=626763341175 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Hawking himself accepted the inaugural fellowship, and he delivered the first Hawking Lecture in his last public appearance before his death.<ref>{{cite web |title=Stephen Hawking's Biography |url=https://www.hawking.org.uk/biography |website=Hawking.org.uk |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=5 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230905203335/https://www.hawking.org.uk/biography |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Hawking in Pictures |url=https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-pictures/30?position=26 |website=Hawking.org.uk |access-date=15 August 2023 |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807234618/https://www.hawking.org.uk/in-pictures/30?position=26 |url-status=live}}</ref> 

=== Medal for Science Communication ===
{{Main|Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication}}
Hawking was a member of the advisory board of the [[Starmus Festival]], and had a major role in acknowledging and promoting science communication. 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.starmus.com/stephen-hawking-medals-for-science-communication/|title=Stephen Hawking Medals For Science Communication|publisher=STARMUS|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161007112326/http://www.starmus.com/stephen-hawking-medals-for-science-communication/|archive-date=7 October 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Recipients receive a medal bearing a portrait of Hawking by [[Alexei Leonov]], and the other side represents an image of Leonov himself performing the [[Extravehicular activity#First spacewalk|first spacewalk]] along with an image of the "[[Red Special]]", the guitar of [[Queen (band)|Queen]] musician and astrophysicist [[Brian May]] (with music being another major component of the Starmus Festival).<ref>[https://www.starmus.com/stephen-hawking-medal-for-science-communication "Stephen Hawking medal"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191105000758/https://www.starmus.com/stephen-hawking-medal-for-science-communication/ |date=5 November 2019}}. Starmus. Retrieved 19 August 2019</ref>

The [[Starmus Festival#2016|Starmus III Festival]] in 2016 was a tribute to Stephen Hawking and the book of all Starmus III lectures, "Beyond the Horizon", was also dedicated to him. The first recipients of the medals, which were awarded at the festival, were chosen by Hawking himself. They were composer [[Hans Zimmer]], physicist [[Jim Al-Khalili]], and the science documentary ''[[Particle Fever]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Davis |first1=Nicola |title=Winners of inaugural Stephen Hawking medal announced |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/16/winners-of-inaugural-stephen-hawking-medal-announced-hans-zimmer-jim-al-khalili-particle-fever |website=The Guardian |date=16 June 2016 |access-date=19 August 2019 |archive-date=8 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171208231459/https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/jun/16/winners-of-inaugural-stephen-hawking-medal-announced-hans-zimmer-jim-al-khalili-particle-fever |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Publications ==
=== Popular books ===
* ''[[A Brief History of Time]]'' (1988)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays]]'' (1993)<ref name="KirkusBaby" />
* ''[[The Universe in a Nutshell]]'' (2001)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[On the Shoulders of Giants (book)|On the Shoulders of Giants]]'' (2002)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[God Created the Integers]]: The Mathematical Breakthroughs That Changed History'' (2005)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[The Dreams That Stuff Is Made of: The Most Astounding Papers of Quantum Physics and How They Shook the Scientific World]]'' (2011)<ref>{{cite news|title=How Physics got Weird|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204791104577110461358473418|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=5 December 2016|access-date=11 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220070538/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204791104577110461358473418|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[My Brief History]]'' (2013)<ref name="books" /> Hawking's memoir.
* [[Brief Answers to the Big Questions (book)|''Brief Answers to the Big Questions'']] (2018)<ref name="WP-20181015" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Griffin |first=Andrew |title=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 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-book-final-death-latest-big-questions-universe-discovery-a8354301.html |date=16 May 2018 |work=[[The Independent]] |access-date=15 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181016032608/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-book-final-death-latest-big-questions-universe-discovery-a8354301.html |archive-date=16 October 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Co-authored ====
* ''[[The Nature of Space and Time]]'' (with [[Roger Penrose]]) (1996)
* ''[[The Large, the Small and the Human Mind]]'' (with Roger Penrose, [[Abner Shimony]] and Nancy Cartwright) (1997)
* ''The Future of Spacetime'' (with [[Kip Thorne]], [[Igor Dmitriyevich Novikov|Igor Novikov]], [[Timothy Ferris]] and introduction by [[Alan Lightman]], [[Richard H. Price]]) (2002)
* ''[[A Briefer History of Time (Hawking and Mlodinow book)|A Briefer History of Time]]'' (with [[Leonard Mlodinow]]) (2005)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[The Grand Design (book)|The Grand Design]]'' (with [[Leonard Mlodinow]]) (2010)<ref name="books" />

==== Forewords ====
* ''[[Black Holes and Time Warps|Black Holes & Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy]]'' ([[Kip Thorne]], and introduction by [[Frederick Seitz]]) (1994)
* ''[[The Physics of Star Trek]]'' ([[Lawrence Krauss]]) (1995)

=== Children's fiction ===
Co-written with his daughter [[Lucy Hawking|Lucy]].
* ''[[George's Secret Key to the Universe]]'' (2007)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[George's Cosmic Treasure Hunt]]'' (2009)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[George and the Big Bang]]'' (2011)<ref name="books" />
* ''[[George and the Unbreakable Code]]'' (2014)
* ''[[George and the Blue Moon]]'' (2016)

=== Films and series ===
* ''[[A Brief History of Time (film)|A Brief History of Time]]'' (1992)<ref name="Auto2J-58" />
* ''[[Stephen Hawking's Universe]]'' (1997)<ref name="Auto2J-59" />{{sfn|Larsen|2005|p=79}}
* ''[[Hawking (2004 film)|Hawking]]'' – BBC television film (2004) starring [[Benedict Cumberbatch]]
* ''[[Horizon (BBC TV series)|Horizon]]: The Hawking Paradox'' (2005)<ref name="Auto2J-60" />
* ''[[Masters of Science Fiction]]'' (2007)<ref name="art" />
* ''Stephen Hawking and the Theory of Everything'' (2007)
* ''[[Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe]]'' (2008)<ref name="Auto2J-61" />
* ''[[Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking]]'' (2010)<ref name="Auto2J-62" />
* ''[[Brave New World with Stephen Hawking]]'' (2011)<ref name="Auto2J-63" />
* ''Stephen Hawking's Grand Design'' (2012)<ref name="Auto2J-64" />
* ''[[The Big Bang Theory]]'' (2012, 2014–2015, 2017)
* ''[[Hawking (2013 film)|Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Mine]]'' (2013)<ref name="Auto2J-65" />
* ''[[The Theory of Everything (2014 film)|The Theory of Everything]]'' – Feature film (2014) starring [[Eddie Redmayne]]<ref name="Auto2J-66" />
* ''[[Genius by Stephen Hawking]]'' (2016)

=== Selected academic works ===
* {{Cite Q|Q55872061|doi-access=free|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q21706376|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q56453197|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q54017915|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q29398982|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q21707690|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q56551504|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q21651473|ref=none}}
* {{Cite Q|Q55878494|ref=none}}

== See also ==
* [[List of things named after Stephen Hawking]]
* ''[[On the Origin of Time]]'', a book by Thomas Hertog about Hawking's theories

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{reflist|1=22em|refs=
<ref name="whoswho">{{Who's Who | title=Hawking, Prof. Stephen William | id = U19510 | year = 2015 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.19510|author=Anon}}</ref>
<ref name="mathgene">{{MathGenealogy|id=78459}}</ref>
<ref name="hawkingphd">{{cite Q|Q42307084}}</ref>
<ref name="allenphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Bruce |last=Allen |title=Vacuum energy and general relativity |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1983 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=5544 |author-link=Bruce Allen (physicist) |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=5544 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="boussophd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Raphael |last=Bousso |title=Pair creation of black holes in cosmology |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1997 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=18697 |author-link=Raphael Bousso |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=18697 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="carrphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Bernard John |last=Carr |title=Primordial black holes |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1976 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6798 |author-link=Bernard Carr |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=6798 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="dowkerphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Helen Fay |last=Dowker |title=Space-time wormholes |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1991 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=7858 |author-link=Fay Dowker |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=7858 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="galfardphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Christophe Georges Gunnar Sven |last=Galfard |title=Black hole information & branes |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=2006 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=28782 |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=28782 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="gibbonsphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Gary William |last=Gibbons |title=Some aspects of gravitational radiation and gravitational collapse |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1973 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=8671 |author-link=Gary Gibbons |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=8671 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="hertogphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Thomas |last=Hertog |title=The origin of inflation |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=2002 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=23554 |author-link=Thomas Hertog |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=23554 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="laflammephd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Raymond |last=Laflamme |title=Time and quantum cosmology |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1988 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=10575 |author-link=Raymond Laflamme |access-date=5 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=10575 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="pagephd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Don Nelson |last=Page |title=Accretion into and emission from black holes |publisher=California Institute of Technology |year=1976 |url=https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/7179/ |author-link=Don Page (physicist) |access-date=6 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221222836/https://thesis.library.caltech.edu/7179/ |archive-date=21 February 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="perryphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Malcolm John |last=Perry |title=Black holes and quantum mechanics |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1978 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=12538 |author-link=Malcolm Perry (physicist) |access-date=6 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=12538 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="wuphd">{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Zhongchao |last=Wu |title=Cosmological models and the inflationary universe |publisher=University of Cambridge |year=1984 |url=http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=15549 |author-link=Wu Zhongchao |access-date=7 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092707/http://ulmss-newton.lib.cam.ac.uk/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=15549 |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="royal">{{cite web |url=http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo==%27EC%2F1974%2F12%27) |title=Certificate of election: Hawking, Stephen, EC/1974/12 |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=4 February 2014 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20140204063238/http://royalsociety.org/DServe/dserve.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqCmd=show.tcl&dsqSearch=(RefNo=='EC/1974/12') |location=London |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-2">{{cite web |url=http://www.ctc.cam.ac.uk/outreach/stephen_hawking.php |title=Centre for Theoretical Cosmology: Outreach Stephen Hawking |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=23 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830050418/http://www.ctc.cam.ac.uk/outreach/stephen_hawking.php |archive-date=30 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-3">{{cite web |url=http://www.hawking.org.uk/about-stephen.html |title=About Stephen |publisher=Stephen Hawking Official Website |access-date=23 June 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830050622/http://www.hawking.org.uk/about-stephen.html |archive-date=30 August 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-5">{{cite news |access-date=5 March 2012 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/05/guardianobituaries.obituaries |title=Dick Tahta |work=The Guardian |location=London |date=5 January 2007 |last1=Hoare |first1=Geoffrey |last2=Love |first2=Eric |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108183855/http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/jan/05/guardianobituaries.obituaries |archive-date=8 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-6">{{cite news |last=Donaldson |first=Gregg J. |title=The Man Behind the Scientist |url=http://www.mdtap.org/TT/1999.05/1-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050511104943/http://www.mdtap.org/TT/1999.05/1-art.html |archive-date=11 May 2005 |publisher=Tapping Technology |date=May 1999 |access-date=23 December 2012}}</ref>
<ref name="Q55872061">{{cite Q|Q55872061|doi-access=free}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-8">{{cite web |last=Ridpath |first=Ian |title=Black hole explorer |website=New Scientist |date=4 May 1978 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmxb4_WjDUYC&pg=PA307 |access-date=9 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118130119/https://books.google.com/books?id=kmxb4_WjDUYC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA307 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="HawkingIsrael1989">{{cite book |editor1-first=S.W. |editor1-last=Hawking |editor2-first=W. |editor2-last=Israel |title=Three Hundred Years of Gravitation |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vq787qC5PWQC |date=30 March 1989 |page=278 |chapter=Astrophysical Black Holes |author=R.D. Blandford |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-37976-2}}</ref>
<ref name="Q54017915">{{cite Q|Q54017915}}</ref>
<ref name="Q55869076">{{cite Q|Q55869076}}</ref>
<ref name="black">{{cite book |first=Stephen |last=Hawking |title=Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other Essays |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NU9SoEwgdskC&pg=PT20 |year=1994 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-0-553-37411-7 |page=20 |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118042933/https://books.google.com/books?id=NU9SoEwgdskC&pg=PT20 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-11">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/8282358.stm |title=Hawking gives up academic title |work=BBC News |date=30 September 2009 |access-date=1 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091003123417/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/8282358.stm |archive-date=3 October 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Susskind2008">{{cite book |first=Leonard |last=Susskind |title=The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f3_rnRVxGIsC&pg=PT9 |date=7 July 2008 |publisher=Hachette Digital, Inc. |isbn=978-0-316-01640-7 |pages=9, 18 |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118114717/https://books.google.com/books?id=f3_rnRVxGIsC&pg=PT9 |archive-date=18 January 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-12">See Guth (1997) for a popular description of the workshop, or ''The Very Early Universe'', {{isbn|0-521-31677-4}} eds Gibbons, Hawking & Siklos for a detailed report.</ref>
<ref name="Q29398982">{{cite Q|Q29398982}}</ref>
<ref name="Q21707690">{{cite Q|Q21707690}}</ref>
<ref name="sample">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/may/15/stephen-hawking-interview-there-is-no-heaven |title=Stephen Hawking: 'There is no heaven; it's a fairy story' |last=Sample |first=Ian |date=15 May 2011 |work=The Guardian |access-date=17 May 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920002119/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/may/15/stephen-hawking-interview-there-is-no-heaven |archive-date=20 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-15">{{cite news |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/assistive-communication/ |title=Getting Back the Gift of Gab: Next-Gen Handheld Computers Allow the Mute to Converse |work=[[Scientific American]] |date=10 August 2009 |first=Larry |last=Greenemeier |access-date=11 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512014319/http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/assistive-communication/ |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-16">{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-06-15-hawking_x.htm |title=Stephen Hawking says pope told him not to study beginning of universe |date=15 June 2006 |work=USA Today |access-date=12 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830051417/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/people/2006-06-15-hawking_x.htm |archive-date=30 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="g2009">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/30/stephen-hawking-brief-history-time |title=How God propelled Stephen Hawking into the bestsellers lists |work=The Guardian |date=31 July 2009 |access-date=5 March 2012 |last=Radford |first=Tim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131216162104/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/30/stephen-hawking-brief-history-time |archive-date=16 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="dt70">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking/8989060/Stephen-Hawking-driven-by-a-cosmic-force-of-will.html |title=Stephen Hawking: driven by a cosmic force of will |first=Roger |last=Highfield |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=3 January 2012 |location=London |access-date=7 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109233720/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking/8989060/Stephen-Hawking-driven-by-a-cosmic-force-of-will.html |archive-date=9 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="obs2004">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/apr/04/features.review17 |title=Brief History of a first wife |first=Tim |last=Adams |work=[[The Observer]] |date=4 April 2004 |location=London |access-date=12 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161229104010/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2004/apr/04/features.review17 |archive-date=29 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-18">{{cite web |url=http://www.theory.caltech.edu/%7Epreskill/info_bet.html |title=Black hole information bet |last1=Hawking |first1=S.W. |last2=Thorne |first2=K.S. |last3=Preskill |location=Pasadena, California |date=6 February 1997 |access-date=20 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511005759/http://www.theory.caltech.edu/%7Epreskill/info_bet.html |archive-date=11 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="concedbet">{{cite Q|Q21651473}}</ref>
<ref name="presskill">{{cite web |title=John Preskill's comments about Stephen Hawking's concession |url=http://www.theory.caltech.edu/~preskill/jp_24jul04.html |access-date=29 February 2012 |first=John |last=Preskill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226230538/http://www.theory.caltech.edu/%7Epreskill/jp_24jul04.html |archive-date=26 February 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-19">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/441912.stm |title=Call for global disability campaign |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation|BBC]] |date=8 September 1999 |location=London |access-date=12 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121212172028/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/441912.stm |archive-date=12 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-20">{{cite web |url=http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/lilienfeld.cfm |title=Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize |publisher=American Physical Society |access-date=29 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026184057/http://www.aps.org/programs/honors/prizes/lilienfeld.cfm |archive-date=26 October 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="sundaytimes">{{cite news |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1751518.ece |title=Welcome back to the family, Stephen |work=The Times |date=6 May 2007 |access-date=6 May 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203111754/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1751518.ece |archive-date=3 December 2008}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-23">{{cite news |last=Highfield |first=Roger |title=Stephen Hawking's explosive new theory |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=26 June 2008 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3345641/Stephen-Hawkings-explosive-new-theory.html |access-date=9 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150205075721/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/science-news/3345641/Stephen-Hawkings-explosive-new-theory.html |archive-date=5 February 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Q27442267">{{cite Q|Q27442267}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-25">{{cite news |title=Hawking and second wife agree to divorce |work=The Daily Telegraph |date=20 October 2006 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1531891/Hawking-and-second-wife-agree-to-divorce.html |access-date=18 March 2007 |last=Sapsted |first=David |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080918192735/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1531891/Hawking-and-second-wife-agree-to-divorce.html |archive-date=18 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="books">{{cite web |title=Books |url=http://www.hawking.org.uk/books.html |website=Stephen Hawking Official Website |access-date=28 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120313143137/http://www.hawking.org.uk/books.html |archive-date=13 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-26">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/04/lastnightstvstephenhawking |title=Last night's TV: Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe |first=Sam |last=Wollaston |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=4 March 2008 |location=London |access-date=10 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131214115520/http://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2008/mar/04/lastnightstvstephenhawking |archive-date=14 December 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="bbc-bbt">{{cite news |title=Professor Stephen Hawking films Big Bang Theory cameo |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17337778 |access-date=12 March 2012 |work=BBC News |date=12 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314075539/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17337778 |archive-date=14 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-29">{{cite web |url=http://www.usc.es/en/cursos/conciencia/premio_fonseca2008.html |title=Fonseca Prize 2008 |publisher=University of Santiago de Compostela |access-date=7 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090605080757/http://www.usc.es/en/cursos/conciencia/premio_fonseca2008.html |archive-date=5 June 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-30">{{cite news |title=Stephen Hawking takes a hard line on aliens |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/26/stephen-hawking-issues-warning-on-aliens |access-date=24 February 2012 |first=Leo |last=Hickman |date=25 April 2010 |work=The Guardian |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101101210/https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/apr/26/stephen-hawking-issues-warning-on-aliens |archive-date=1 January 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="alien">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8642558.stm |work=BBC News |title=Stephen Hawking warns over making contact with aliens |date=25 April 2010 |access-date=24 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100512190757/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8642558.stm |archive-date=12 May 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="nyt2007">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/science/01hawking.html |title=Stephen Hawking Plans Prelude to the Ride of His Life |first=Dennis |last=Overbye |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 March 2007 |location=New York |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510193359/http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/01/science/01hawking.html |archive-date=10 May 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-31">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1359562/Colonies-in-space-may-be-only-hope-says-Hawking.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |location=London |title=Colonies in space may be only hope, says Hawking |date=16 October 2001 |access-date=5 August 2007 |last=Highfield |first=Roger |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090426232042/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1359562/Colonies-in-space-may-be-only-hope-says-Hawking.html |archive-date=26 April 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-32">{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6594821.stm |title=Hawking takes zero-gravity flight |date=27 April 2007 |access-date=17 June 2012 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120908124951/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/6594821.stm |archive-date=8 September 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-34">{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-03-hawking-iraq_x.htm |title=Scientist Stephen Hawking decries Iraq war |work=[[USA Today]] |date=3 November 2004 |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014172446/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-11-03-hawking-iraq_x.htm |archive-date=14 October 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="ind2007">{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/prophet-of-doomsday-stephen-hawking-ecowarrior-433064.html |title=Prophet of Doomsday: Stephen Hawking, eco-warrior – Climate Change – Environment |first=Geoffrey |last=Lean |work=The Independent |date=21 January 2007 |location=London |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410020827/http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/prophet-of-doomsday-stephen-hawking-ecowarrior-433064.html |archive-date=10 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-37">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/jul/24/genetics.europeanunion |title=Hawking urges EU not to stop stem cell funding |first=Debbie |last=Andalo |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 July 2006 |location=London |access-date=18 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130830065725/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2006/jul/24/genetics.europeanunion |archive-date=30 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-38">{{cite news |last=Haurant |first=Sandra |title=Savings: Heavyweight celebrities endorse National Savings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/money/2008/jun/03/savings |access-date=25 February 2013 |date=3 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130902101611/http://www.theguardian.com/money/2008/jun/03/savings |archive-date=2 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-39">{{cite news |title=Could Hawking's parody be sincerest form of flattery? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/4454268/Could-Hawkings-parody-be-sincerest-form-of-flattery.html |publisher=Telegraph Media Group Limited |access-date=19 February 2013 |date=13 June 2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110135451/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/comment/4454268/Could-Hawkings-parody-be-sincerest-form-of-flattery.html |archive-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-40">{{cite news |last=Usborne |first=Simon |title=Stephen Hawking, Go Compare and a brief history of selling out |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/stephen-hawking-go-compare-and-a-brief-history-of-selling-out-8434612.html |work=The Independent |access-date=19 February 2013 |date=1 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130225045616/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/advertising/stephen-hawking-go-compare-and-a-brief-history-of-selling-out-8434612.html |archive-date=25 February 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-42">{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/why-some-physicists-bet-against-the-higgs-boson/259977/ |title=Why Some Physicists Bet Against the Higgs Boson |first=Robert |last=Wright |work=The Atlantic |date=17 July 2012 |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407230110/http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/07/why-some-physicists-bet-against-the-higgs-boson/259977/ |archive-date=7 April 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-43">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2012/jul/05/stephen-hawking-higgs-boson-bet-video |title=Stephen Hawking loses Higgs boson particle bet – Video |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 July 2012 |location=London |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920001935/http://www.theguardian.com/science/video/2012/jul/05/stephen-hawking-higgs-boson-bet-video |archive-date=20 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-44">{{cite news |url=https://nationalpost.com/news/higgs-boson-stephen-hawking |title=Higgs boson breakthrough should earn physicist behind search Nobel Prize: Stephen Hawking |work=[[National Post]] |agency=Agence France-Presse |date=4 July 2012 |access-date=1 April 2013 |archive-date=6 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506010733/https://nationalpost.com/news/higgs-boson-stephen-hawking |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="tech">{{cite news |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21323-the-man-who-saves-stephen-hawkings-voice |title=The man who saves Stephen Hawking's voice |date=30 December 2011 |first=Catherine |last=de Lange |work=New Scientist |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830051611/https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn21323-the-man-who-saves-stephen-hawkings-voice/ |archive-date=30 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="hacked">{{cite web |url=http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/25/12401493-how-researchers-hacked-into-stephen-hawkings-brain?lite |title=How researchers hacked into Stephen Hawking's brain |date=25 June 2012 |first=Alan |last=Boyle |work=NBC News |access-date=29 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150830052332/http://cosmiclog.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/25/12401493-how-researchers-hacked-into-stephen-hawkings-brain?lite |archive-date=30 August 2015}}</ref>
<ref name="start">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18749963 |title=Start-up attempts to convert Prof Hawking's brainwaves into speech |date=7 July 2012 |publisher=BBC |access-date=29 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103164251/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18749963 |archive-date=3 November 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-45">{{cite web |url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/oldest-space-travelled-science-prize-awarded-to-hawking |title=Oldest, space-travelled, science prize awarded to Hawking |date=24 August 2006 |publisher=The Royal Society |access-date=29 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150122080730/http://www.cam.ac.uk/news/oldest-space-travelled-science-prize-awarded-to-hawking |archive-date=22 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="presidential">{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/13/obama-hawking-medal-freedom |title=Obama presents presidential medal of freedom to 16 recipients |newspaper=The Guardian |location=London |date=13 August 2009 |access-date=5 March 2012 |first=Ewen |last=MacAskill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130907034301/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/aug/13/obama-hawking-medal-freedom |archive-date=7 September 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="FPP-Dec2012">{{cite web |title=2013 Fundamental Physics Prize Awarded to Alexander Polyakov |url=http://breakthroughprize.org/News/11 |publisher=Fundamental Physics Prize |access-date=11 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150119124934/https://breakthroughprize.org/News/11 |archive-date=19 January 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-46">{{cite journal |last1=Komar |first1=Oliver |last2=Buechner |first2=Linda |title=The Stephen W. Hawking Science Museum in San Salvador Central America Honours the Fortitude of a Great Living Scientist |journal=Journal of College Science Teaching |volume=XXX |issue=2 |date=October 2000 |url=http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/5046/article.html |access-date=28 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090730162105/http://geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Hall/5046/article.html |archive-date=30 July 2009}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-47">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2007/04/18/hawking_building_feature.shtml |title=The Stephen Hawking Building |date=18 April 2007 |access-date=24 February 2012 |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323041242/http://www.bbc.co.uk/cambridgeshire/content/articles/2007/04/18/hawking_building_feature.shtml |archive-date=23 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-48">{{cite press release |title=Grand Opening of the Stephen Hawking Centre at Perimeter Institute |url=http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/outreach/general-public/special-events/grand-opening-2011 |access-date=6 June 2012 |publisher=Perimeter Institute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229222647/http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/outreach/general-public/special-events/grand-opening-2011 |archive-date=29 December 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-49">{{cite web |url=http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/time-to-unveil-corpus-clock/ |title=Time to unveil Corpus Clock |publisher=Cambridgenetwork.co.uk |date=22 September 2008 |access-date=10 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125092708/http://www.cambridgenetwork.co.uk/news/time-to-unveil-corpus-clock/ |archive-date=25 January 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="tel2012">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7528596/Professor-Stephen-Hawking-to-stay-at-Cambridge-University-beyond-2012.html |title=Professor Stephen Hawking to stay at Cambridge University beyond 2012 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=26 March 2010 |location=London |access-date=9 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109152243/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7528596/Professor-Stephen-Hawking-to-stay-at-Cambridge-University-beyond-2012.html |archive-date=9 January 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-50">{{cite web |title=Stephen Hawking – There is no God. There is no Fate |website = YouTube| date=15 August 2011 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L7VTdzuY7Y |access-date=4 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130816163357/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7L7VTdzuY7Y |archive-date=16 August 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-51">{{cite news |last=Lowry |first=Brian |date=4 August 2011 |title=Curiosity: Did God Create the Universe? |url=https://variety.com/2011/tv/reviews/curiosity-did-god-create-the-universe-1117945762/ |work=Variety |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104714/http://variety.com/2011/tv/reviews/curiosity-did-god-create-the-universe-1117945762/ |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-52">{{cite magazine|accessdate=15 May 2021|title=Stephen Hawking's Thoughts on Atheism, God and Death|url=https://time.com/5199149/stephen-hawking-death-god-atheist/|magazine=Time|archive-date=18 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210518213616/https://time.com/5199149/stephen-hawking-death-god-atheist/|url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-54">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19411225 |title=Paralympics: Games opening promises 'journey of discovery' |publisher=BBC |date=29 August 2012 |access-date=29 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829190233/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19411225 |archive-date=29 August 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="NYT-20130913">{{cite news |last=DeWitt |first=David |title=The Brilliance of His Universe |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/hawking-a-documentary-on-stephen-hawking.html |date=13 September 2013 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=13 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512065226/http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/13/movies/hawking-a-documentary-on-stephen-hawking.html |archive-date=12 May 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-55">{{cite news |last=Duffin |first=Claire |title=We don't let animals suffer, says Prof Stephen Hawking, as he backs assisted suicide |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/10315476/We-dont-let-animals-suffer-says-Prof-Stephen-Hawking-as-he-backs-assisted-suicide.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=London |date=17 September 2013 |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314110102/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/10315476/We-dont-let-animals-suffer-says-Prof-Stephen-Hawking-as-he-backs-assisted-suicide.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-56">{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |title=Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories |website=The Guardian |location=London |date=7 August 2014 |access-date=26 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140817131736/http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/aug/07/celebrities-open-letter-scotland-independence-full-text |archive-date=17 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-57">{{cite news |last=Culzac |first=Natasha |date=29 August 2014 |title=Stephen Hawking, MND sufferer, does ice bucket challenge with a twist |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-hawking-mnd-sufferer-does-ice-bucket-challenge-with-a-twist-9698539.html |work=The Independent |access-date=29 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140829225734/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/stephen-hawking-mnd-sufferer-does-ice-bucket-challenge-with-a-twist-9698539.html |archive-date=29 August 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="KirkusBaby">{{cite web |title=Black Holes and Baby Universes |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-hawking/black-holes-and-baby-universes/ |date=20 March 2010 |website=Kirkus Reviews |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120804061005/http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/stephen-hawking/black-holes-and-baby-universes/ |archive-date=4 August 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-58">{{cite web |url=http://www.errolmorris.com/film/bhot.html |title=A Brief History of Time: Synopsis |publisher=Errol Morris |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629001731/http://errolmorris.com/film/bhot.html |archive-date=29 June 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-59">{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/program/stephen-hawkings-universe/ |title=Stephen Hawking's Universe |publisher=PBS |access-date=26 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506191518/http://www.pbs.org/program/stephen-hawkings-universe/ |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-60">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/hawking_prog_summary.shtml |title=The Hawking Paradox |publisher=BBC |access-date=9 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309094958/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sn/tvradio/programmes/horizon/hawking_prog_summary.shtml |archive-date=9 March 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="art">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/review-television-masters-dc/masters-of-science-fiction-too-artistic-for-abc-idUSN0242298520070803?rpc=92 |title="Masters of Science Fiction" too artistic for ABC |access-date=7 December 2012 |last=Richmond |first=Ray |work=Reuters |date=3 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314174143/https://www.reuters.com/article/review-television-masters-dc/masters-of-science-fiction-too-artistic-for-abc-idUSN0242298520070803?rpc=92 |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-61">{{cite news |last=Walton |first=James |date=4 March 2008 |title=Last night on television: Stephen Hawking: Master of the Universe (Channel 4) – The Palace (ITV1) |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3671613/Last-night-on-television-Stephen-Hawking-Master-of-the-Universe-Channel-4-The-Palace-ITV1.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314110110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3671613/Last-night-on-television-Stephen-Hawking-Master-of-the-Universe-Channel-4-The-Palace-ITV1.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-62">{{cite web |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/stephen-hawking/about/about.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325010542/http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/stephen-hawking/about/about.html |archive-date=25 March 2011 |title=Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking |work=Discovery Channel |access-date=25 April 2010}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-63">{{cite news |last=Moulds |first=Josephine |date=17 October 2011 |title=Brave New World with Stephen Hawking, episode one, Channel 4, review |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8824454/Brave-New-World-with-Stephen-Hawking-episode-one-Channel-4-review.html |work=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314110105/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/8824454/Brave-New-World-with-Stephen-Hawking-episode-one-Channel-4-review.html |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-64">{{cite web |url=https://press.discovery.com/uk/dsc/programs/hawking-grand-design/ |title=Stephen Hawking's Grand Design |publisher=Discovery Channel UK |access-date=25 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427010043/http://press.discovery.com/uk/dsc/programs/hawking-grand-design/ |archive-date=27 April 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-65">{{cite news |last=Wollaston |first=Sam |date=9 December 2013 |title=Stephen Hawking: A Brief History of Mine – TV review |url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/dec/09/stephen-hawking-brief-history-mine-tv-review |work=The Guardian |access-date=14 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180314104715/https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2013/dec/09/stephen-hawking-brief-history-mine-tv-review |archive-date=14 March 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>
<ref name="Auto2J-66">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.ew.com/article/2014/08/06/stephen-hawking-theory-of-everything-trailer |title=Eddie Redmayne plays Stephen Hawking in 'Theory of Everything' trailer |first=Jeff |last=Labrecque |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=6 August 2014 |access-date=6 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809000049/http://www.ew.com/article/2014/08/06/stephen-hawking-theory-of-everything-trailer |archive-date=9 August 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}

=== Sources ===
{{refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Baird |first=Eric |title=Relativity in Curved Spacetime: Life Without Special Relativity |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bU4xUMuJlukC |year=2007 |publisher=Chocolate Tree Books |isbn=978-0-9557068-0-6 }}
* {{cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Kitty |title=Stephen Hawking: His Life and Work |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nZLMWpujVUcC |year=2011 |publisher=Transworld |isbn=978-1-4481-1047-6 |access-date=23 February 2016 |archive-date=6 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240506010709/https://books.google.com/books?id=nZLMWpujVUcC |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book |first=Jane |last=Hawking |title=Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kd_nLQAACAAJ |year=2007 |publisher=Alma |isbn=978-1-84688-115-2 }}
* {{cite book |last=Hawking |first=Stephen W. |title=Stephen Hawking's A brief history of time: a reader's companion |url=https://archive.org/details/stephenhawkingsb00step_0 |url-access=registration |year=1992 |publisher=Bantam Books |isbn=978-0-553-07772-8 |bibcode=1992bhtr.book.....H }}
* {{cite book |last=Larsen |first=Kristine |title=Stephen Hawking: a biography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yL3RBMEI5OgC |year=2005 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing |isbn=978-0-313-32392-8 }}
* {{cite book |first=Hélène |last=Mialet |editor1-first=Kevin C. |editor1-last=Knox |editor2-first=Richard |editor2-last=Noakes |chapter=Is the end in sight for the Lucasian chair? Stephen Hawking as Millennium Professor |title=From Newton to Hawking: A History of Cambridge University's Lucasian Professors of Mathematics |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QGX_rAeia4kC |year=2003 |pages=425–460 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-66310-6 }}
* {{cite book |last1=White |first1=Michael |last2=Gribbin |first2=John |year=2002 |title=Stephen Hawking: A Life in Science |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoE6FAnDtRYC |edition=2nd |publisher=National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-08410-9 }}
* {{cite book |last=Yulsman |first=Tom |title=Origins: the quest for our cosmic roots |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eh3_GfqlDlMC |year=2003 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-7503-0765-9 }}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
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* {{Official website|http://www.hawking.org.uk/}}
* {{In Our Time|Professor Stephen Hawking Collection|p06132wb|Stephen Hawking}}
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* {{discogs artist|Stephen Hawking}}
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* [https://hayadan.com/hawking-lecture-huji-14120610 Lecture at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem] – 2006

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