Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England. His father, Frank, was a specialist in tropical medicine, his profession often kept him away from home and family. Hawking’s mother, Isabelle, was a very politically active person, which kept her away from home too. Even though his parents were gone a lot, they had a big influence on his life. Hawking always wanted to study mathematics and physics, but his Dad said that mathematics did not have many job opportunities. He ended up majoring in physics and chemistry. Another reason he did not take mathematics was because it was not available at Oxford University, his local college. When he was growing up, he was a “self-learner”.