How many children did Stephen Hawking have?

Stephen Hawking had three children: Robert, Lucy, and Timothy. Robert was born in May 1967, Lucy in November 1970, and Timothy in April 1979.

The children were born during Hawking’s first marriage to Jane Wilde. Their family life unfolded alongside Hawking’s rapidly progressing motor neurone disease, which increasingly limited his movement and speech. Jane carried much of the responsibility for caring for the household and children while Hawking continued his research and teaching.

Robert became an engineer, while Lucy became a writer and science communicator. Lucy and Stephen Hawking co-wrote children’s science books, including George’s Secret Key to the Universe, introducing ideas about space and physics to young readers. Timothy, the youngest, has also spoken publicly about his father and family life.

A common mistake is to count only the children mentioned in popular accounts of Hawking’s early marriage or to confuse his children with characters from Lucy’s fictional science books. Hawking later had grandchildren as well, but those are not included in the number of his children.