Google Doodle will be celebrating the life and legacy of cosmologist, author and theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who would have turned 80 on January 8 this year.
One of history’s most influential scientific minds, Hawking - who died in March 2018 - was diagnosed with a slow-progressing motor neurone disease (MND) known as ALS when he was just 21 years old.
Life expectancy with the incurable condition is typically two to five years, but Hawking defied many odds and survived for 55 years with the degenerative illness.
As Google celebrates the brilliant scientist on his birth anniversary, here's a look at his life and contributions to science.
What was Stephen Hawking's IQ?
Professor Stephen Hawking never revealed his IQ, however it's widely believed to have been 160. This high score falls in the genius category, with 0.003% of people scoring that high.
Although he was clearly a genius, Hawking was not one to make a fuss about his IQ, believing that human abilities could not be clearly marked out with a score.
In a famous interview with New York Times in 2004, Hawking was asked what his IQ was. He responded: "I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers."
When asked about the widespread view of him being a genius, Hawking said: "The media need superheroes in science just as in every sphere of life, but there is really a continuous range of abilities with no clear dividing line."
He never confirmed or denied if he was a genius, adding that he hoped he was in the high end of the range.
What was Hawking's biggest scientific discovery?
Hawking made several significant contributions to the field of cosmology, which looks at the origins and evolution of the universe.
One of his greatest achievements was the discovery about black holes, which found that black holes aren't completely black. And that they emit what's now called the Hawking radiation.
This breakthrough discovery was highly debated but also laid the foundation for how physics has progressed over the years.
Besides his research work, Hawking was also an author. His book, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, published in 1988, is considered one of the most authoritative books in the subject of science and is for anyone wanting to learn more about the universe.
It made the Sunday Times Bestseller list for 237 weeks and has sold over 25 million copies.