Fred Hoyle British astronomer, author of several science fiction novels. Date of Birth: 24.06.1915 Country: Great Britain

Biography of Fred Hoyle

Fred Hoyle was a renowned British astronomer and author of several science fiction novels. Born on June 24, 1915, in the town of Bingley in Yorkshire, Hoyle developed a passion for astronomy from an early age. He graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in mathematics and theoretical physics, where he worked alongside Rudolf Peierls and Paul Dirac.

During the late 1930s, Hoyle collaborated with Ray Lyttleton on the theory of stellar evolution. He also worked in the British Admiralty during World War II, contributing to the development of anti-radar systems. Hoyle taught astronomy at Cambridge, the California Institute of Technology, and Cornell University. He conducted research at the Palomar Observatory and Mount Wilson Observatory.

Together with Martin Schwarzschild, Hoyle developed the theory of the evolution of red giants. He also theoretically predicted the experimentally confirmed phenomenon of nuclear resonance in carbon-12. In 1948, along with Hermann Bondi and Thomas Gold, Hoyle proposed the steady-state model of the universe, which posits the independence of processes of matter creation and universal expansion. It is believed that Hoyle was the first to use the term "Big Bang" to describe an alternative model to his own.

Hoyle was also a staunch proponent of the theory of panspermia, which suggests the spread of life in the universe through organic "spores" transported through interstellar space. In recognition of his contributions to science, Hoyle was knighted in 1972. He received numerous awards, including the UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science (1968), the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society (1968), the Bruce Medal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (1970), the Royal Medal of the Royal Society (1974), and the Crawford Prize of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (1997) for his pioneering work on stellar evolution and nuclear processes in stars.

In addition to his more than twenty scientific and popular science books, Hoyle wrote several science fiction novels, including "The Black Cloud" (1957), "Ossian's Ride" (1958), "October the First Is Too Late" (1966), and "Comet Halley" (1985). He also co-authored novels such as "Fifth Planet" (1963), "Seven Steps to the Sun" (1970), and "Into Deepest Space" (1974) with his son, Geoffrey Hoyle. In 1962, he collaborated with John Elliot on the novelization of the television series "A for Andromeda," which was published in Russian as "Андромеда" in 1966. Hoyle's collection of short stories, "Element 79," was published in 1967.

Sir Fred Hoyle passed away on August 20, 2001, in Bournemouth, Dorset.