Birth of Stephen William Hawking
Birth of Stephen William Hawking
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
Stephen William Hawking Biography and Timeline
Follow Stephen William Hawking through 21 dated historical records for Great Britain.
Stephen William Hawking, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
21Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1942–2016Years on this page
1942
1970
Relativity, Theory of
Proves first of many singularity theorems; a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a singularity in space-time showing that, far from being mathematical curiosities singularities are a fairly generic feature of general relativity.
Singularity Theorem
Proves first of many singularity theorems; a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a singularity in space-time showing that, far from being mathematical curiosities singularities are a fairly generic feature of general relativity. Hawking provides the first of many singularity theorems; such theorems provide a set of sufficient conditions for the existence of a singularity in space-time
Singularity Theorem
Hawking proves singularity theorems showing that spacetime singularities are generic in general relativity
1971
Black Hole Area Theorem
Hawking proves that the area of a classical black-hole event horizon cannot decrease.
1974
Big Bang
In collaboration with Jim Hartle, Hawking develops a model in which the Universe has no boundary in space-time
Royal Society
Elected as one of the youngest Fellows of the Royal Society
1976
Black Holes and Thermodynamics
Explores the thermodynamic interpretation of black holes and the relationship between horizon area, entropy and temperature.
Breakdown of Predictability
Argues that black hole evaporation creates a fundamental challenge for predictability and quantum information conservation.
1982
OBE
Created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire
1983
Hawking-Page Transition
With Don Page, identifies a phase transition between thermal anti-de Sitter space and a stable large black hole.
1989
Companion of Honour
Created Companion of Honour
2000
Copley Medal
Awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society
The Universe in a Nutshell
"The Universe in a Nutshell" is winner of the Aventis Prizes for Science Books 2002. Publication of "The Universe in a Nutshell"
2004
Black Hole Information Revision
Announces a revised position on the black hole information problem, arguing that quantum information need not be permanently lost.
2005
Big Bang
Asked on the British daytime chat show Richard & Judy, to explain his assertion that the question "What came before the Big Bang?" was meaningless, he compared it to asking "What lies north of the North Pole?"
A Briefer History of Time", co-written by Leonard Mlodinow
Publication of "A Briefer History of Time", co-written by Leonard Mlodinow
A Briefer History of Time
Publication of "A Briefer History of Time", co-written by Leonard Mlodinow
2006
Royal Society
Awarded the Copley Medal of the Royal Society
2008
Chronophage Corpus Clock
Presides over the unveiling of the Chronophage Corpus Clock (time eating) clock at Corpus Christi College Cambridge
2016
Soft Hair on Black Holes
With Malcolm Perry and Andrew Strominger, proposes that soft quantum degrees of freedom on horizons may carry information about black holes.
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.