Number 2 - Abu Rayhan al-Biruni

Al-Biruni was born near Kath in Khwarizm (now a part of Uzbekistan) on Sept. 4, 973. His teacher in astronomy and mathematics was initially the eminent Abu Nasr Mansur, a member of the family then ruling at Kath but, in 995, the attack on the ruler of Khwarizm by the ruler of Jurjaniya briefly drove al-Biruni into exile.

In 997 al-Biruni returned to Kath, where he observed a lunar eclipse that Abu al-Wafa observed in Baghdad; on the basis of the time difference they determined the longitudinal difference between the two cities, one of the few instances in which this method is known to have been used.

During the next few years al-Biruni paid many visits to the Samanid court at Bukhara, as well as the court of the Ispahbad of Gilan and busily collected an enormous mass of information on the chronology of the ancient nations of Europe and Asia that he dedicated to the Ziyarid prince of Gurgan in 1000 and that, in English, is known simply as the Chronology. This remains the most significant source for the various Iranian calendars and for much of the history of central Asia.

By 1004 al-Biruni was in Jurjaniya, where he came to prominence and was employed both as a diplomat and as a spokesman for the throne. He continued, however, making his astronomical observations under the Shah's patronage.

But, in 1017, the Shah’s brother-in-law, Mahmud, conquered Khwarizm and carried off al-Biruni as a prize of war. Al-Biruni was then sent to the region near Kabul, where he commenced making observations in 1018.

Most of his extant works were written in the 1020s and 1030s and reflect his interest in, and growing knowledge of, the Sanskrit astronomical texts current in the Punjab that he discovered on his trips to India during this time.

Until his death soon after 1050 in Afghanistan, al-Biruni continued to write, turning his attention to problems of specific gravity, gemology, pharmacology, and Indian philosophy (the Patanjali), among other subjects. It is not clear when he wrote the Tafhim, his most important work on astrology. In all, the bibliography he himself drew up lists 113 titles.

To call al-Biruni merely a physicist somewhat belittles his extraordinary scientific achievements but, as one of the first people to concoct and adhere to a rigid scientific method, it is only right that his name go down in the list of Most Famous Physicists…

Number 1 - Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking was born on the 8^th January 1942, three hundred years to the day that another great scientist, Galileo, had died. Widely regarded as the greatest mind in physics since Albert Einstein, Hawking has not only managed to succeed in advancing the understanding of the Universe, but has also succeeded in publishing books which popularise a type of science once thought to be impossible for ‘ordinary people’ to understand. That he has achieved all this while being almost entirely paralysed for nearly forty years makes his story all the more remarkable.

Hawking grew up just outside London before, at the age of 17, winning a scholarship to Oxford University. After graduating in 1962, he moved to Cambridge University where he pursued a PhD in cosmology, the study of the Universe. However, while he had rapidly become a rising star of the Physics community, Hawking was about to be given some terrible news; the problems with coordination that he had begun to experience while studying at Oxford had become worse at Cambridge and doctors diagnosed him with Neuro-Muscular Dystrophy, a medical condition where the cells that control muscle movement begin to die and cause paralysis. The doctors were pessimistic; a 21 year old Stephen Hawking was told that he could expect to live no more than three years.

But Hawking refused to give in to the disease and returned immediately to his studies, where he met Jane Wilde who he would later marry. And, even though his symptoms were worsening, he gained a Fellowship at the University of Cambridge and, in 1974, was named as one of the youngest ever fellows of the Royal Society. He received the Albert Einstein Award, the most prestigious in theoretical physics. And in 1979, he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, the same post held by Sir Isaac Newton 300 years earlier.

Almost entirely paralysed, Hawking was only able to communicate through slurred speech with people who knew him well until 1985 when, after having caught pneumonia, he had an operation that meant he would never speak again. However, an American computer expert who heard about his plight wrote a computer program that allowed him to select words from a menu, using head or eye movement, and which synthesised speech.

Using this system, in 1988 Hawking wrote A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, explaining his thinking about the cosmos for a general audience. It became a best-seller and sold millions around the world, establishing his reputation as an accessible genius.

Still hard working to this day, Stephen Hawking has currently outlived the doctor’s estimates on his life expectancy by thirty seven years, has been married twice and has three children and a grandchild. But, he is still motivated to continue his life’s work.

"My goal is simple. It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."