Robert Hawking is a British software engineer and the eldest son of Stephen Hawking and Jane Hawking. Born in May 1967, he followed a career in computing while his father became one of the world’s most recognised physicists.
Robert has also joined his siblings in projects that remember their father and make his work available to future generations. His public record includes family tributes, an ALS awareness campaign and a former foundation directorship. Those activities offer a clearer picture of his life than the unsupported personal details repeated in many online biographies.
Who Is Robert Hawking?
Robert George Hawking is the oldest of Stephen and Jane Hawking’s three children. The National Portrait Gallery identifies him as a software engineer, independently confirming the profession most often associated with his name.
Although much of the public interest in Robert comes from his father, his own professional field is computing. He should not be described as a theoretical physicist or credited with Stephen’s discoveries. His contributions to family legacy projects are a separate part of his public life.
Bio and Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Robert George Hawking |
| Birth month and year | May 1967 |
| Age | 59 as of September 2026 |
| Nationality | British |
| Profession | Software engineer |
| Father | Stephen Hawking |
| Mother | Jane Hawking |
| Siblings | Lucy Hawking and Timothy Hawking |
| Reported employer | Microsoft, documented in a 2018 newspaper profile |
| Family life | Reported as married with two children |
| Former public role | Director of the Stephen Hawking Foundation company |
| Personal net worth | No verified figure identified |
The table separates established biographical facts from information reported at a particular time. Older employment and family reporting should not automatically be treated as a current personal profile.
Early Life
Robert was born in May 1967, two years after his parents married. Stephen was building his academic career in Cambridge, and the family would later welcome Lucy in 1970 and Timothy in 1979.
His childhood belonged to an earlier chapter of the Hawking story, before the worldwide publishing success of A Brief History of Time. The household combined family life with Stephen’s scientific work and increasing need for physical assistance. Jane’s memoir provides a personal account of the responsibilities involved in raising their children during those years.
Education
Robert’s education is less securely documented than his profession. A 2018 El País profile reported that he studied at Oxford. However, a university record confirming his exact qualification, subject and graduation date was not located during this research.
That leaves an important distinction: Oxford attendance has been reported, but the frequently repeated claim that he earned a specific “software engineering degree” there remains insufficiently verified. His father’s and sister’s educational records should not be used to fill gaps in his own.
Nationality
Robert Hawking is British. His nationality is recorded in Companies House documents connected with his former foundation role.
Those filings also recorded the United States as his country of residence. Nationality and residence describe different things, so living or working in America does not by itself establish American citizenship.
Ethnicity
A reliable public statement identifying Robert’s ethnicity was not found. His British nationality is documented, but nationality does not establish a person’s ethnic identity. A specific label should therefore not be assigned from his surname, appearance or family background alone.
Robert Hawking Age and Birthday
Robert Hawking is 59 years old as of September 2026. Companies House records his birth as May 1967, and Christie’s also identifies that month and year in its description of a letter connected with Stephen.
The precise day is less certain. Different online biographies give exact dates without clear supporting evidence, so May 1967 is the most defensible wording for his birthday information.
Height and Appearance
No reliable measurement of Robert’s height or weight was identified. Public photographs document his appearance at different stages of life, but photographs cannot confirm exact body measurements.
One useful historical image is held by the National Portrait Gallery. Its collection includes a portrait of Stephen with his sons, photographed by Lord Snowdon on 1 March 1984.
| Detail | What is documented |
|---|---|
| Height | Not reliably confirmed |
| Weight | Not reliably confirmed |
| Historical portrait | Stephen Hawking with his sons |
| Photographer | Lord Snowdon |
| Photograph date | 1 March 1984 |
Parents and Family
Robert is the eldest child of physicist Stephen Hawking and writer Jane Hawking. His siblings, Lucy and Timothy, share the same parents. Together, the three children have taken part in public occasions connected with their father’s life and work.
Their family background includes both science and writing. Stephen communicated cosmology to a worldwide audience, while Jane’s books described family experiences from her own perspective.
| Family member | Relationship to Robert |
|---|---|
| Stephen Hawking | Father |
| Jane Hawking | Mother |
| Lucy Hawking | Younger sister |
| Timothy Hawking | Younger brother |
| Elaine Mason | Former stepmother |
| Wife and two children | Reported in family coverage; further details remain limited |
Relationship with Stephen Hawking
Stephen’s own words provide a direct source for understanding the importance he placed on his children. In a 2017 speech preserved by his estate, he described Robert, Lucy and Tim as central achievements in his life and spoke warmly about becoming their father.
Robert later joined his siblings in public statements honouring Stephen. These statements show his participation in remembering his father, without requiring assumptions about private conversations or feelings that he has not shared publicly.
His Mother Jane Hawking
Jane Hawking is a writer, teacher and public speaker. Her memoir Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen became the basis for the film The Theory of Everything. It offers her account of marriage, family responsibilities and change.
Jane has also spoken directly about maintaining contact with her eldest son after he moved abroad. In an interview published by Alma Books, she described travelling to America to visit him and his family. That provides a family source for Robert’s life overseas.
Siblings Lucy and Timothy Hawking
Robert’s younger sister, Lucy Hawking, is an author and science educator. Her work includes the George children’s books developed with Stephen and other scientific contributors. Her writing and public appearances have made her professional life more widely documented than Robert’s.
His younger brother, Timothy Hawking, is the youngest of the three siblings. Robert, Lucy and Timothy have appeared together in family statements, including their response to the preservation of Stephen’s archive and the Google Doodle marking his 80th birthday.
Connection to Elaine Mason
Elaine Mason became Robert’s stepmother when she married Stephen in 1995. She had previously been one of Stephen’s nurses. Stephen’s official biography records that the marriage ended in divorce in 2006.
Robert was already an adult when that marriage began. Jane is his mother, and Elaine’s place in his family history comes through Stephen’s second marriage. This distinction helps prevent confusion between the two women in accounts of the Hawking family.
Why Robert Hawking Is Famous
Robert is best known publicly as Stephen Hawking’s eldest son. His name appears in family photographs, biographical accounts and statements issued with Lucy and Timothy.
There is also a documented professional identity behind that connection: software engineering. The available evidence supports a biography centred on his family, computing career and public legacy activities, rather than a claim that he pursued the same scientific work as Stephen.
Software Engineering Career
Robert’s profession is confirmed by the National Portrait Gallery’s collection record. Software engineering concerns the development and maintenance of computer software, placing his work in a different field from his father’s research into the universe.
A complete, independently verified employment history was not found. Specific product credits, promotions and project leadership claims need their own evidence. The reliable starting point is his established profession, followed by carefully dated reporting about his employer.
Robert Hawking and Microsoft
El País reported in March 2018 that Robert worked at Microsoft. This supports the widely reported connection between him and the company.
It does not establish his employment status in September 2026. An authenticated current company biography was not located, so titles such as “current principal software engineer” should not be presented as confirmed. The same applies to precise joining dates and claims about particular Microsoft products.
Marriage and Wife
Robert was described as married in the 2018 El País family profile. Jane’s publisher interview also refers to her eldest son’s family in America.
His wedding date and his wife’s identity were not reliably established by the sources checked. Names circulating on biography websites should not be treated as confirmed simply because several pages repeat them.
Children
The same 2018 profile reported that Robert had two children. Further dependable information about them is limited.
Their names, ages, schools and occupations are unnecessary to explain Robert’s public life. The supported point is that he established a family of his own, while remaining connected with relatives in Britain.
Robert Hawking Health and Disease
No reliable public confirmation that Robert Hawking has ALS was found during this research. The well-documented diagnosis in the family belongs to his father, Stephen Hawking.
Robert’s participation in an ALS awareness campaign does not establish a diagnosis. Likewise, the absence of a public medical announcement does not justify declaring that someone has no health conditions. His personal medical history should remain unspecified unless he or a dependable authorised source makes it public.
Robert Hawking’s Religion
Robert Hawking’s religious beliefs are not reliably documented in the sources reviewed. No clear public statement from him was found that would justify identifying him as Christian, atheist, agnostic or a follower of another belief.
A parent’s views do not establish a child’s religion. Discussions of Stephen’s beliefs or Jane’s faith should therefore not be presented as evidence of Robert’s own position.
Life in the United States
Jane’s Alma Books interview confirms that her eldest son and his family were living in America when she described visiting them. Historical company filings also record the United States as Robert’s country of residence.
These sources support an established connection with America. They do not provide a current address or confirm where he lives today. His life abroad can be covered without presenting an old location as a verified 2026 residence.
ALS Awareness Work
In August 2014, Robert, Lucy and Timothy took the Ice Bucket Challenge on Stephen’s behalf. TIME’s contemporary coverage explains that the siblings volunteered while their father encouraged donations for motor neurone disease work.
The event is a documented example of Robert participating in public awareness alongside his family. It should not be expanded into an unsupported claim that he leads an ALS charity or has a medical research role.
Stephen Hawking Foundation Role
Companies House records Robert George Hawking’s appointment as a director of the Stephen Hawking Foundation company on 5 December 2019. The foundation’s accounts for the year ending March 2021 also list him among its trustees.
The company, number 09515035, was dissolved on 3 January 2023, according to its official record. Robert’s involvement should therefore be described historically. An old officers page or biography is not sufficient evidence of a current foundation position.
Preserving His Father Legacy
Robert has joined his siblings in supporting the preservation and public understanding of Stephen’s work. In May 2021, Cambridge published their joint statement welcoming arrangements for the Science Museum and Cambridge University Library to preserve his office contents and archive.
The following year, Google included a message from Lucy, Robert and Timothy with the Doodle celebrating Stephen’s 80th birthday. The family welcomed the animation and the opportunity to share his example with a worldwide audience.
These projects show several ways a family can contribute to a scientific legacy: preserving records, supporting public access and helping present a person’s life accurately. They do not establish that Robert personally manages every part of the Hawking Estate.
| Year | Documented event |
|---|---|
| 2014 | Joined his siblings in the Ice Bucket Challenge |
| 2019 | Appointed a foundation company director |
| 2021 | Joined the family statement supporting archive preservation |
| 2022 | Contributed to the family message for Stephen’s Google Doodle |
| 2023 | The foundation company was dissolved |
Robert Hawking Net Worth
Robert Hawking’s personal net worth is not publicly verified. Figures repeated online are not a substitute for evidence about his assets, debts and financial interests.
His career and family background do not establish a precise fortune. Stephen’s reported wealth, estate arrangements and charitable funds should not be counted automatically as Robert’s personal money.
| Financial topic | Evidence status |
|---|---|
| Personal net worth | No verified figure identified |
| Salary | Not publicly established |
| Individual inheritance value | Not reliably confirmed here |
| Career background | Software engineering is documented |
Robert Hawking Today
As of September 2026, current details about Robert’s employer, household and daily activities remain limited. The strongest public information concerns his established profession and the dated family projects described above.
His biography can still explain what is known without turning older reporting into fresh news. His public record connects a computing career with participation in the preservation of his father’s work.
Robert Hawking Wikipedia
No standalone English-language Wikipedia biography devoted to Stephen Hawking’s son was identified during this research. Robert appears in material about Stephen and the wider family.
Pages with “wiki” or “Wikipedia” in their titles are not necessarily Wikipedia entries. For his profession and basic biographical details, the National Portrait Gallery, official filings and the Hawking Estate provide more direct starting points.
Lesser-Known Facts
Christie’s records that physicist Charles W. Misner was asked to be Robert’s godfather. The detail appears in the auction house’s description of a 1968 letter from Stephen, connecting Robert’s early family life with his father’s scientific friendships.
Another documented detail is the 1984 Snowdon portrait held by the National Portrait Gallery. Together with later family statements, it provides a public record of Robert across different stages of the Hawking story.
FAQs
How old is Robert Hawking?
Robert is 59 as of September 2026. His birth month and year are recorded as May 1967; an exact day was not reliably established.
What does Robert Hawking do?
He is a software engineer. That profession is independently recorded by the National Portrait Gallery.
Does Robert Hawking work at Microsoft?
A 2018 newspaper profile reported his Microsoft employment. His current employment status was not independently confirmed for this article.
Is Robert Hawking married?
Published family reporting describes him as married with two children. Reliable confirmation of his wife’s name and their wedding date was not found.
Does Robert Hawking have a disease?
No reliable public confirmation of a specific diagnosis was identified. Stephen Hawking’s ALS should not be attributed to Robert.
What is Robert Hawking’s religion?
His personal religious beliefs are not reliably documented publicly. They should not be inferred from his parents’ views.
Is Robert Hawking a physicist?
His documented profession is software engineering. The theoretical physics research associated with the Hawking name was his father’s work.
What is Robert Hawking’s net worth?
No verified personal net-worth figure was identified. Precise online estimates should be treated as unconfirmed.
Final Thoughts
Robert Hawking’s public story connects software engineering, family life and the preservation of Stephen Hawking’s legacy. His participation in awareness campaigns, archive announcements and family tributes provides concrete material for understanding that role.
The details available about him are more limited than those about his father or sister. A useful biography respects that boundary while giving readers clear answers about his background, career and documented public activities.
