Stephen William Hawking (8 January 1942 – 14 March 2018) was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author, renowned for his directorship of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge. Notably, he held the Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics at Cambridge between 1979 and 2009, a position considered among the most prestigious in the academic world.

Hawking was born in Oxford into a family of physicians. He embarked on his higher education journey at University College, Oxford, where he achieved a first-class BA degree in physics. He furthered his studies at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, obtaining a PhD in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, focusing on general relativity and cosmology.

In 1963, at the young age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with an early-onset, slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease, which gradually paralysed him over decades. Despite losing his ability to speak, he communicated through a speech-generating device, eventually using a single cheek muscle.

Hawking's scientific legacy includes his collaboration with Roger Penrose on gravitational singularity theorems in general relativity and the theoretical prediction of black holes emitting radiation, now known as Hawking radiation. This discovery, initially met with skepticism, was later widely accepted as a significant breakthrough in theoretical physics. He was also the first to propose a cosmology theory unifying general relativity and quantum mechanics. Hawking was a staunch advocate of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics.

He achieved commercial success with his works of popular science, notably A Brief History of Time, which remained on the 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 received numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. In 2002, he was ranked 25th in the BBC's poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Hawking's extensive battle with motor neurone disease spanned over 50 years, ending with his death in 2018 at the age of 76.