Renowned Physicist Stephen Hawking Dies

Famed for his work on black holes and cosmology, he also survived decades with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Written byAshley Yeager

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WIKIMEDIA, JIM CAMPBELL/AERO-NEWS NETWORKStephen Hawking died today (March 14) at his home in Cambridge, England. He was 76.

Hawking was known in the scientific community for his work on black holes and relativity, but he was also beloved by the public for his science books including A Brief History of Time and his appearances on popular television shows, such as The Simpsons and The Big Bang Theory. He was also outspoken about artificial intelligence and humanity’s yearning to explore.

Born in 1942 in Oxford, England, Hawking was later urged by his father—a researcher in tropical medicine—to pursue biology and medicine. But Hawking did not think those fields quantitative enough for his liking so he took on the study of mathematics and physics instead. After attending the University of Oxford for his undergraduate degree, Hawking went to the University of Cambridge for a PhD, ...

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Meet the Author

Ashley Yeager
Ashley started at The Scientist in 2018. Before joining the staff, she worked as a freelance editor and writer, a writer at the Simons Foundation, and a web producer at Science News, among other positions. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a master’s degree in science writing from MIT. Ashley edits the Scientist to Watch and Profile sections of the magazine and writes news, features, and other stories for both online and print.
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