Stephen Hawking was an extraordinary physicist who overcame significant health challenges to become a renowned figure in the world of physics.
Born on 8th January 1942, Hawking’s revolutionary work spanned the origin of the universe to the dynamics of black holes, captured in his best-selling books.
Despite his physical disability, he held 13 honorary degrees, numerous awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and memberships in prestigious societies.
Hawking’s work in black hole physics integrated Einstein’s Theory of Relativity and quantum mechanics.
He challenged and redefined cosmological theories, including his doctoral thesis discrediting the Steady State theory in favor of the Big Bang theory.
Furthermore, Hawking introduced the concept of Hawking Radiation, postulating that photons could seemingly radiate from black holes.
Related: Elon Musk Quotes and Dalai Lama Quotes.
Toward the end of his life, he speculated on the multiverse theory, leaving a significant and inspiring legacy.
I have selected the most inspiring quotes by Stephen Hawking here.
Best Stephen Hawking Quotes on Life
1. “The universe doesn’t allow perfection.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
2. “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. ” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
3. “Nothing is better than reading and gaining more and more knowledge.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
4. “Quiet people have the loudest minds.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
5. “However difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
6. “I have noticed that even those who assert that everything is predestined and that we can change nothing about it still look both ways before they cross the street.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
7. “When the going gets tough, the tough take a coffee break.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
8. “While there is life, there is hope.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
9. “My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
10. “If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
11. “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
12. “Look up at the stars, not down at your feet.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
13. “People who boast about their I.Q. are losers.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
14. “I don’t fear God – I fear His believers.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
15. “We only have to look at ourselves to see how intelligent life might develop into something we wouldn’t want to meet.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Top Stephen Hawking Quotes
16. “One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
17. “I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years, unless we spread into space.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
18. “To confine our attention to terrestrial matters would be to limit the human spirit.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
19. “There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. However bad life may seem, there is always hope.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
20. “I am just a child who has never grown up. I still keep asking these ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions. Occasionally, I find an answer.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
21. “Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
22. “The beatings will continue until morale improves.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
23. “Real science can be far stranger than science fiction and much more satisfying.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
24. “The more you learn, the more you know. The more you know, the more you forget. The more you forget, the less you know. So why bother to learn.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
25. “Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
26. “The past, like the future, is indefinite and exists only as a spectrum of possibilities.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
27. “So next time someone complains that you have made a mistake, tell him that may be a good thing. Because without imperfection, neither you nor I would exist.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
28. “I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
29. “It surprises me how disinterested we are today about things like physics, space, the universe and philosophy of our existence, our purpose, our final destination. Its a crazy world out there. Be curious.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
30. “To understand recursion, one must first understand recursion.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
31. “In my mind, I am free.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
32. “I have so much that I want to do. I hate wasting time.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
33. “You cannot predict the future.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
34. “Success is a relative term. It brings so many relatives.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
35. “I’m not religious in the normal sense. I believe the universe is governed by the laws of science. The laws may have been decreed by God, but God does not intervene to break the laws.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
36. “We are all now connected by the Internet, like neurons in a giant brain.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Famous Stephen Hawking Quotes
37. “Succeed in spite of management.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
38. “Life would be tragic if it weren’t funny.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
39. “It’s the gravity that shapes the large-scale structure of the universe, even though it is the weakest of four categories of forces.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
40. “The thing about smart people is that they seem like crazy people to dumb people.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
41. “No one undertakes research in physics with the intention of winning a prize. It is the joy of discovering something no one knew before.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
42. “If you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
43. “The lesson of the book is that the universe is governed by the laws of science.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
44. “Perhaps we could write code to optimize code, then run that code through the code optimizer?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
45. “I want to know why the universe exists, why there is something greater than nothing.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
46. “Whether you want to uncover the secrets of the universe, or you just want to pursue a career in the 21st century, basic computer programming is an essential skill to learn.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
47. “There is no unique picture of reality.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
48. “Why do we remember the past, but not the future?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
49. “Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
50. “For millions of years, mankind lived just like the animals. Then something happened which unleashed the power of our imagination. We learned to talk and we learned to listen.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
51. “The concern here is that financial services become a kind of tech-led Wild West.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
52. “Disability need not be an obstacle to success.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
53. “Science is beautiful when it makes simple explanations of phenomena or connections between different observations.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
54. “People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
55. “What was God doing before the divine creation? Was he preparing hell for people who asked such questions?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
56. “Without imperfection, you or I would not exist.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
57. “It matters if you don’t just give up.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
58. “To boldly go where no one has gone before.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
59. “In fact, if one considers the possible constants and laws that could have emerged, the odds against a universe that produced life like ours are immense.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Short Stephen Hawking Quotes
60. “We are very, very small, but we are profoundly capable of very, very big things.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
61. “I think the next century will be the century of complexity.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
62. “Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
63. “There is a fundamental difference between religion, which is based on authority, and science, which is based on observation and reason. Science will win because it works.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
64. “Doing a job RIGHT the first time gets the job done. Doing the job WRONG fourteen times gives you job security.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
65. “Science is not only a disciple of reason but, also, one of romance and passion.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
66. “Time travel may be possible, but it is not practical.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
67. “The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
68. “My expectations were reduced to zero when I was 21. Everything since then has been a bonus.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
69. “We are all different. There is no such thing as a standard or run-of-the-mill human being, but we share the same human spirit.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
70. “I have sold more books on physics than Madonna has on sex.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
71. “Although quantum mechanics has been around for nearly 70 years, it is still not generally understood or appreciated, even by those that use it to do calculations.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
72. “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
73. “I believe things cannot make themselves impossible.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
74. “Nuclear weapons need large facilities, but genetic engineering can be done in a small lab. You can’t regulate every lab in the world. The danger is that either by accident or design, we create a virus that destroys us.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
75. “Women. They are a complete mystery.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
76. “Time travel used to be thought of as just science fiction, but Einstein’s general theory of relativity allows for the possibility that we could warp space-time so much that you could go off in a rocket and return before you set out.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
77. “Science makes God unnecessary.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
78. “Plagiarism saves time.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
79. “The wise never marry, and when they marry they become otherwise.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
80. “The boundary condition of the universe is that it has no boundary.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
81. “I do not believe in a personal God.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
82. “I like physics, but I love cartoons.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
83. “Nothing cannot exist forever.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
84. “The human failing I would most like to correct is aggression. It may have had survival advantage in caveman days, to get more food, territory or partner with whom to reproduce, but now it threatens to destroy us all.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
85. “There should be a better way to start a day than waking up every morning.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Inspiring Stephen Hawking Quotes
86. “My first popular book, ‘A Brief History of Time,’ aroused a great deal of interest, but many found it difficult to understand.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
87. “The moment you understand the whole Universe, is the moment you slightly begin to understand the way God’s mind works.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
88. “One could imagine such technology outsmarting financial markets, out-inventing human researchers, out-manipulating human leaders, and developing weapons we cannot even understand.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
89. “We are only the temporary custodians of the particles which we are made of. They will go on to lead a future existence in the enormous universe that made them.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
90. “Our population and our use of the finite resources of planet Earth are growing exponentially, along with our technical ability to change the environment for good or ill.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
91. “Scientific discovery may not be better than sex, but the satisfaction lasts longer.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
92. “Equations are just the boring part of mathematics. I attempt to see things in terms of geometry.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
93. “Physics as we know it will be over in six months – Max Born.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
94. “I am damned if I’m going to die before I have unraveled more of the universe.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
95. “In real-time, the universe has a beginning and an end at singularities that form a boundary to space-time and at which the laws of science break down.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
96. “The fact that no one understands you doesn’t mean you’re an artist.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
97. “Why are we here? Where do we come from? Traditionally, these are questions for philosophy, but philosophy is dead.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
98. “There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe and what can be more special than that there is no boundary?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Stephen Hawking Quotes for Motivation
99. “God abhors a naked singularity.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
100. “We don’t let animals suffer, so why humans?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
101. “Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
102. “The development of full artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
103. “So Einstein was wrong when he said, “God does not play dice.” Consideration of black holes suggests, not only that God does play dice, but that he sometimes confuses us by throwing them where they can’t be seen.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
104. “Only time – whatever that may be – will tell.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
105. “Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away!” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
106. “I’m really easy to get along with once you see it my way.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
107. “The idea that we are alone in the universe seems to me completely implausible and arrogant, considering the number of planets and stars that we know exist, it’s extremely unlikely that we are the only form of evolved life.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
108. “Science can explain the universe without the need for a Creator.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
109. “The victim should have the right to end his life, if he wants. But I think it would be a great mistake. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
110. “There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
111. “We should seek the greatest value of our action.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
112. “What is important is that we have the ability to create.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
113. “You cannot understand the glories of the universe without believing there is some Supreme Power behind it.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
114. “One cannot really argue with a mathematical theorem.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
115. “Jesus loves you, but everyone else thinks you’re an ass.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
116. “Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and given two and a half years to live. I have always wondered how they could be so precise about the half.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
117. “One can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, but science makes God unnecessary. The laws of physics can explain the universe without the need for a creator.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
118. “We each exist for but a short time, and in that time explore but a small part of the whole universe.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
119. “We are in danger of destroying ourselves by our greed and stupidity. We cannot remain looking inwards at ourselves on a small and increasingly polluted and overcrowded planet.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
120. “It is no good getting furious if you get stuck. What I do is keep thinking about the problem but work on something else. Sometimes it is years before I see the way forward. In the case of information loss and black holes, it was 29 years.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
121. “If I have questions about the universe on my mind when I go to bed, I can’t turn off. I dream equations all night.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
122. “The Universe in a Nutshell.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Inspirational Stephen Hawking Quotes
123. “We find ourselves in a bewildering world. We want to make sense of what we see around us and to ask: What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it and where did it and we come from? Why is it the way it is?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
124. “The idea of 10 dimensions might sound exciting, but they would cause real problems if you forget where you parked your car.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
125. “Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
126. “I believe everyone should have a broad picture of how the universe operates and our place in it. It is a basic human desire. And it also puts our worries in perspective.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
127. “I don’t think the human race will survive the next thousand years unless we spread into space. There are too many accidents that can befall life on a single planet. But I’m an optimist. We will reach out to the stars.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
128. “I would like nuclear fusion to become a practical power source. It would provide an inexhaustible supply of energy, without pollution or global warming.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
129. “Observations indicate that the universe is expanding at an ever-increasing rate. It will expand forever, getting emptier and darker.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
130. “A zero-gravity flight is a first step toward space travel.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
131. “Time and space are finite in extent, but they don’t have any boundary or edge. They would be like the surface of the earth, but with two more dimensions.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
132. “If I had to choose a superhero to be, I would pick Superman. He’s everything that I’m not.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
133. “Love the neighbor. But don’t get caught.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
134. “So long as the universe had a beginning, we could suppose it had a creator. But if the universe is really completely self-contained, having no boundary or edge, it would have neither beginning nor end: it would simply be. What place, then, for a creator?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
135. “What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God is, we would know everything that God would know if there were a God. Which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
136. “There is a real danger that computers will develop intelligence and take over.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
137. “Philosophers have not kept up with modern developments in science. Particularly physics.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
138. “As a child, I wanted to know how things worked and to control them. With a friend, I built a number of complicated models that I could control. It was a natural next step to want to know how the universe works.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
139. “When something is made idiot-proof, they will just make better idiots.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
140. “I don’t believe that the ultimate theory will come by steady work along existing lines. We need something new. We can’t predict what that will be or when we will find it because if we knew that, we would have found it already!” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
141. “We think we have solved the mystery of creation. Maybe we should patent the universe and charge everyone royalties for their existence.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
142. “Sometimes I wonder if I’m as famous for my wheelchair and disabilities as I am for my discoveries.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
143. “The usual approach of science of constructing a mathematical model cannot answer the questions of why there should be a universe for the model to describe. Why does the universe go to all the bother of existing?” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
144. “So great a contribution to physics was Two New Sciences that scholars have long maintained that the book anticipated Isaac Newton’s laws of motion.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
145. “I believe in universal health care. And I am not afraid to say so.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
146. “We won’t know for a few years.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
147. “The real challenge is to work out what aliens might actually be like.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
148. “But a machine that was powerful enough to accelerate particles to the grand unification energy would have to be as big as the Solar System – and would be unlikely to be funded in the present economic climate.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
149. “The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
150. “Any physical theory is always provisional, in the sense that it is only a hypothesis: you can never prove it.” ~ (Stephen Hawking).
Short Biography of Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was a renowned English theoretical physicist and cosmologist, who served as the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge from 1979 to 2009.
Born in Oxford in 1942, he excelled academically, obtaining a BA in physics and a PhD in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, focusing on general relativity and cosmology.
| Full Name | Stephen William Hawking |
| Born | 8 January 1942 Oxford, England |
| Died | 14 March 2018 (aged 76) Cambridge, England |
| Resting Place | Westminster Abbey |
| Education | University College, Oxford (BA); Trinity Hall, Cambridge (PhD) |
| Spouses | Jane Wilde (m. 1965; div. 1995); Elaine Mason (m. 1995; div. 2007) |
| Children | 3, including Lucy |
| Grandchild | William Smith |
| Fields | General Relativity, Quantum Gravity |
| Institutions | University of Cambridge, California Institute of Technology, Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics |
| Thesis | Properties of Expanding Universes (1966) |
| Doctoral Advisor | Dennis W. Sciama |
| Other Academic Advisors | Robert Berman |
| Website | hawking.org.uk |
Diagnosed with a motor neurone disease at 21, he later used a speech-generating device to communicate.
Hawking made pivotal contributions to physics, including theories on black holes and quantum mechanics, significantly advancing our understanding of the universe.
Quick Facts about Stephen Hawking
- Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England.
- He was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at age 21.
- Despite a challenging prognosis, Hawking lived a long, impactful life, passing away on March 14, 2018.
- He held the prestigious Lucasian Chair of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge from 1979 to 2009.
- Hawking’s book, “A Brief History of Time,” sold over 25 million copies worldwide.
- His research on black holes led to the theory of Hawking radiation.
- He made significant contributions to the fields of cosmology, black holes, and quantum physics.
- Hawking appeared in TV shows and movies like “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “The Simpsons,” and “The Big Bang Theory.”
- He was an advocate for space exploration and experienced zero-gravity flight.
- Hawking was a strong advocate for disability rights, using his platform to raise awareness.
- His distinctive computerized voice became iconic, aiding his communication after he lost his ability to speak.
- He received numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Copley Medal.
- Hawking had a notable sense of humor, often using wit in his lectures and public appearances.
- He wrote several popular science books, making complex scientific ideas accessible to the public.
- Hawking was also a loving father to three children.
- Outside of physics, he enjoyed music and even played the saxophone.
- He expressed caution about the potential risks of contacting extraterrestrial life.
- His birth coincided with the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo Galilei, which Hawking saw as a meaningful coincidence.
- Hawking’s work expanded our understanding of time and the origins of the universe.
- He remained actively involved in research and public engagement throughout his life.
- Hawking’s ability to overcome physical limitations exemplified human resilience.
- He became a household name, inspiring both scientists and the general public.
- His lectures and writings often blended scientific accuracy with engaging storytelling.
- Hawking believed in the potential of human curiosity to unlock the mysteries of the universe.
- His life and work have been celebrated in documentaries and biographical films.
- Hawking’s scientific papers and books continue to influence the field of theoretical physics.
- He was known for his collaborations with other leading scientists and thinkers.
- Hawking’s insights into the nature of the universe have spurred ongoing research and discussion.
- He has been honored with tributes from across the globe, highlighting his global impact.
- Stephen Hawking’s legacy is one of brilliance, resilience, and an enduring curiosity about the cosmos.
Top Questions about Stephen Hawking
A: Stephen Hawking was celebrated as a groundbreaking theoretical physicist. His contributions to understanding the origins and structure of the universe, including theories on the Big Bang and black holes, transformed physics. He also authored best-selling books that made complex scientific concepts accessible to the general public.
A: Born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, Stephen Hawking was a physicist and cosmologist who became one of the most influential scientists despite being diagnosed with ALS at 21. He overcame significant physical challenges to make major contributions to science.
A: Stephen Hawking was a renowned physicist who passed away in 2018 at age 76. Known for his significant scientific contributions and overcoming ALS, a motor neuron disease, he lived more than five decades after his initial diagnosis.
A: Hawking’s major contributions include his theory that black holes emit radiation, known as Hawking radiation. This theory changed the scientific community’s understanding of black holes and had a profound impact on the field of theoretical physics.
A: No, Stephen Hawking did not win a Nobel Prize despite his monumental contributions to physics and science. This was largely because his theoretical predictions, such as Hawking radiation, hadn’t been empirically verified during his lifetime.
A: Stephen Hawking navigated his physical limitations from ALS using a wheelchair and a computerized speech synthesizer. These tools allowed him to continue his research, teaching, and public engagement.
A: Stephen Hawking’s mobility was severely impacted within a few years of his ALS diagnosis in the early 1960s. By the late 1960s, he relied on a wheelchair, and his ability to speak deteriorated significantly in the 1970s.
A: Stephen Hawking was a prominent cultural figure because he could distill complex scientific ideas into language that was easy to understand. He was featured in various media, including TV shows and films, and his book, “A Brief History of Time,” was a global bestseller.
A: Stephen Hawking discovered that black holes emit radiation, which can be detected with special instruments. This discovery has been crucial for the detailed study of black holes.
A: Stephen Hawking’s legacy is vast, stretching beyond his scientific achievements to include his resilience and dedication to science communication. He inspired countless individuals to pursue science and education, emphasizing the power and resilience of the human spirit.
