Stephen Hawking

Showed black holes radiate and evaporate, joining quantum theory to gravitation.

Core Principles & Analysis

• Showed in 1974 that black holes emit thermal radiation, now called Hawking radiation.
• Proved singularity theorems with Roger Penrose showing general relativity implies a Big Bang singularity.
• Held the Lucasian Professorship of Mathematics at Cambridge, Newton's old chair, from 1979 to 2009.

Specifications & Metrics

• ERA: 1942 – 2018