Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death. He has come to be thought of as the greatest mind in physics since Albert Einstein. With similar interests -- discovering the deepest workings of the universe -- he has been able to communicate arcane matters not just to other physicists but to the general public. Hawking grew up outside London in an intellectual family. His father was a physician and specialist in tropical diseases; his mother was active in the Liberal Party.