Stephen Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author of the bestseller A Brief History of Time. He was the former research director at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology, the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, and a notable public figure in popular culture.

Hawking was educated at University College, Oxford, and received his Ph.D. in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Trinity Hall, Cambridge. He made significant contributions to the field of quantum gravity and quantum mechanics, particularly to the understanding of black holes.

Hawking passed away in March of 2018. This book was published posthumously.