“Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.” – Stephen Hawking.

Hawkings is undoubtedly among the greatest minds in physics since Albert Einstein. He’s renowned for his contributions to the fields of cosmology, general relativity and quantum gravity (black holes).

Despite being restricted to the wheelchair and relying on keyboards for speech, he postulated a number of groundbreaking theorems to advance the study of science. In his words, “My goal is simple. It is the complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all”. He covered so much ground scientifically that scientists regard his prediction that the earth will become a giant ball of fire in some years time with the same severity that Christians attach to the second coming of Jesus.

After getting diagnosed with ALS at 21, Stephen Hawkings defied great odds and lived a long productive life until the 14th of March 2018—the anniversary of Einsteins birth and Pi day no less!). His relevance to science is so significant that he inevitably features in pop culture with references being drawn to his distinct attributes. From “The Simpsons” to Pink Flyod, here’s a look at times the brilliant cosmologist was also a pop culture jauggernaut.

His appearance on The Simpsons earned critical acclaim and the top spot on several best Simpsons guest appearance lists.

He spent a significant amount of his life studying the big bang theory, so it’s only right that he’ll feature in the “The Big Bang Theory” sitcom as well.

Hawking also appeared on an episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation”, playing himself at a poker game with the greatest minds in physics, including Einstein, Isaac Newton and Data.

Hawkings’ declaration, “Mankind’s greatest achievements have come about by talking and its greatest failures by not talking. It doesn’t have to be like this.” in an advert led to his feature in pop music when his words were sampled for Pink Floyd’s “Keep Talking” track off their ‘The Division Bell album.

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