HawkinggrewupoutsideLondoninanintellectualfamily.Hisfatherwasaphysicianandspecialistintropicaldiseases;hismotherwasactiveintheLiberalParty.Hewasanawkwardschoolboy,butknewfromearlyonthathewantedtostudyscience.Hebecameincreasinglyskilledinmathematicsandin1958heandsomefriendsbuiltaprimitivecomputerthatactuallyworked.In1959hewonascholarshiptoOxfordUniversity,wherehisintellectualcapabilitiesbecamemorenoticeable.In1962hegothisdegreewithhonorsandwenttoCambridgeUniversitytopursueaPhDincosmology.Therehebecameintriguedwithblackholes(firstproposedbyJ.RobertOppenheimer)and"space-timesingularities,"oreventsinwhichthelawsofphysicsseemtobreakdown.AfterreceivinghisPhD,hestayedatCambridge,becomingknowneveninhis20sforhispioneeringideasanduseofEinstein'sformulas,aswellashisquestioningofolder,establishedphysicists.

　　In1968hejoinedthestaffoftheInstituteofAstronomyinCambridgeandbegantoapplythelawsofthermodynamicstoblackholesbymeansofverycomplicatedmathematics.Hepublishedtheverytechnicalbook,LargeScaleStructureofSpace-Timebutsoonafterwardsmadeastartlingdiscovery.Ithadalwaysbeenthoughtthatnothingcouldescapeablackhole;Hawkingsuggestedthatundercertainconditions,ablackholecouldemitsubatomicparticles.ThatisnowknowasHawkingRadiation.Hecontinuedworkingonthetheoryoftheoriginoftheuniverse,andindoingsofoundwaystolinkrelativity(gravity)withquantummechanics(theinnerworkingsofatoms).ThiscontributedenormouslytowhatphysicistscallGrandUnifiedTheory,awayofexplaining,inoneequation,allphysicalmatterintheuniverse.

　　Attheremarkablyyoungageof32,hewasnamedafellowoftheRoyalSociety.HereceivedtheAlbertEinsteinAward,themostprestigiousintheoreticalphysics.Andin1979,hewasappointedLucasianProfessorofMathematicsatCambridge,thesamepostheldbySirIsaacNewton300yearsearlier.Therehebegantoquestionthebigbangtheory,whichbythenmosthadaccepted.Perhaps,hesuggested,therewasneverastartandwouldbenoend,butjustchange--aconstanttransitionofone"universe"givingwaytoanotherthroughglitchesinspace-time.Allthewhile,hewasdiggingintoexplodingblackholes,stringtheory,andthebirthofblackholesinourowngalaxy.

　　In1988HawkingwroteABriefHistoryofTime:FromtheBigBangtoBlackHoles,explainingtheevolutionofhisthinkingaboutthecosmosforageneralaudience.Itbecameabest-selleroflongstandingandestablishedhisreputationasanaccessiblegenius.Hewroteotherpopulararticlesandappearedinmoviesandtelevision.Heremainsextremelybusy,hisworkhardlyslowedbyLouGehrig'sdisease(amyotrophiclateralsclerosis,adiseasethataffectsmusclecontrol)forwhichheusesawheelchairandspeaksthroughacomputerandvoicesynthesizer.

　　"Mygoalissimple.Itiscompleteunderstandingoftheuniverse,whyitisasitisandwhyitexistsatall."