Physicists & Scientists · Head-to-head
Stephen Hawking vs Jocelyn Bell Burnell
Yes — based on their recorded years, Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) and Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–) were alive at the same time for at least part of their lives.
Stephen Hawking
An English theoretical astrophysicist and cosmologist who held the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics chair at Cambridge.
Key achievements
- Held the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics chair at Cambridge from 1979 to 2009
- Made significant contributions to theoretical cosmology and astrophysics
- Directed research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at Cambridge
- Authored widely read popular science books explaining cosmology to general audiences
Fast fact
Hawking served as director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge.
Full profile of Stephen Hawking →Jocelyn Bell Burnell
An astrophysicist who discovered the first radio pulsars as a graduate student, a finding for which her supervisor won the Nobel Prize without her.
Key achievements
- Discovered the first radio pulsars in 1967 while a graduate student at Cambridge University
- Her discovery led to a 1974 Nobel Prize in Physics awarded to her supervisor, Antony Hewish, without her
- Later received numerous honors including the Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics in 2018
- Served as president of the Royal Astronomical Society and the Institute of Physics
Fast fact
Bell Burnell's 1967 discovery of pulsars was initially nicknamed 'LGM-1' for 'Little Green Men' before being identified as a natural astrophysical phenomenon.
Full profile of Jocelyn Bell Burnell →Who lived first, Stephen Hawking or Jocelyn Bell Burnell?
Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) lived first, before Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–), based on their recorded years.
Were Stephen Hawking and Jocelyn Bell Burnell contemporaries?
Yes — based on their recorded years, Stephen Hawking (1942–2018) and Jocelyn Bell Burnell (1943–) were alive at the same time for at least part of their lives.
What do Stephen Hawking and Jocelyn Bell Burnell have in common?
Both Stephen Hawking and Jocelyn Bell Burnell are grouped among our Physicists & Scientists figures and lived during the Modern Era.