Fred Hoyle

1970

Date of Birth

June 24, 1915

Date of Death

August 20, 2001

Fred Hoyle was born in Yorkshire in northern England and educated in mathematics and theoretical physics at the University of Cambridge, where he worked under Rudolph Peierls and Paul A.M. Dirac. In the late 1930s he worked with Ray Littleton on stellar evolution and the accretion of interstellar matter onto stars. During World War II Hoyle made significant contributions to the development of radar. Afterward, he returned to Cambridge, where he remained from 1945 to 1973, with many long-term visits to the California Institute of Technology and other American institutions. He founded Cambridge’s Institute of Theoretical Astronomy (later merged into the Institute of Astronomy) and served as its first director. As Plumian Professor of Astronomy at Cambridge he was a leader in British science and especially in the founding of the Anglo-Australian Telescope. With Martin Schwarzschild he developed the theory of the evolution of red giant stars. His early work on stellar evolution and nuclear physics led to his famous collaboration with Margaret Burbidge, Geoffrey Burbidge and William Fowler on the synthesis of the elements beyond helium in stars. Hoyle successfully predicted the existence of a resonance in carbon-12 that was essential to helium-burning in stars. In 1948 Hoyle, Hermann Bondi, and Thomas Gold developed the steady state cosmological models. Hoyle provided a mathematical theory of the model which was an extension of the general theory of relativity and featured continuous creation of matter. The leading spokesman for the new theory, he coined the term “big bang” for the competing model during a radio lecture. He worked on numerous other problems in theoretical astrophysics and cosmology—from the origin of the solar system to the nature of quasars. In 2000, long after nearly all cosmologists had accepted the evidence for an evolving universe, Hoyle, Geoffrey Burbidge, and N.V. Narlikar supported a (quasi) steady state universe in a book. Hoyle was also the proponent of the equally unpopular idea that life came to earth from elsewhere. This theory resulted from his extensive collaboration with Chandra Wickramasinghe on the nature, structure, and origin of interstellar dust grains. The author or coauthor of much science fiction, a play, opera librettos, and more than twenty nonfiction books, Hoyle was a leading popularizer of science.

Presentation of Bruce medal

Abell, George O., PASP 82, 567-72 (1970).

Other awards

American Astronomical Society, Henry Norris Russell Lectureship, 1971.
Association pour le Développement International del’Observatoire de Nice, ADION medal, 1986
Astronomische Gesellschaft, Karl Schwarzschild Medal, 1992.
International Balzan Prize Foundation, Balzan Prize, 1994.
National Radio Astronomy Observatory, Jansky Prize, 1969.
Royal Astronomical Society, Gold medal, 1968, presented by D.H. Sadler, QJRAS 9, 271-73 (1968).
Royal Society, Royal medal, 1974.
Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Crafoord prize, 1997.
UNESCO, Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science, 1967.

Some offices held

Royal Astronomical Society, President, 1971-73.

Biographical materials

Hoyle Productions, Ltd., FredHoyle.com
Burbidge, Geoffrey, Biographical Memoirs of the Royal Society 49, 215 (2003).
Clayton, Donald D., Biographical Encyclopedia of Astronomers (Springer, NY, 2007), pp. 532-33.
Gough, Douglas, ed., The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2005).
Gregory, Jane, Fred Hoyle’s Universe (Oxford Univ. Press, Oxford,2005).
Horgan, John, “Profile: Fred Hoyle: The Return of the Maverick,” Sci. Am. 272, 3, 46-47 (1995).
Hoyle, Fred, “The Universe: Past and Present Reflections,” Ann. Revs. Astron. Astrophys. 20, 1-35 (1982).
Hoyle, Fred, The Small World of Fred Hoyle: An Autobiography (M. Joseph, London, 1986).
Hoyle, Fred, Home is Where the Wind Blows: Chapters from a Cosmologist’s Life. (University Science Books, Mill Valley, CA, 1994).
Hoyle, Fred, interview with Alan Lightman, in Lightman, Alan & Roberta Brawer, Origins: The Lives and Worlds of Modern Cosmologists (Harvard Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 1990), pp. 51-66.
Mitton, Simon, Conflict in the Cosmos: Fred Hoyle’s Life in Science (Joseph Henry Press, Washington, 2005).
O’Connor, J.J. & E.F. Robertson, The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive
St. John’s College, Fred Hoyle: An Online Exhibition
Wickramasinghe, N.C., Geoffrey R. Burbidge, & Jayant Vishnu Narlikar, eds., Fred Hoyle’s Universe: Proceedings of a Conference Celebrating Fred Hoyle’s Extraordinary Contributions to Science 25-26 June 2002, Cardiff University, United Kingdom (Springer, 2003).
Wickramasinghe, Chandra, A Journey with Fred Hoyle: The Search for Cosmic Life (World Scientific, Singapore, 2005).

Bibliography

Papers, etc.

Hoyle’s papers are part of the Sir Fred Hoyle Project at St John‘s College, Cambridge. There is a 1996 interview with Hoyle on Brig Klyce’s Cosmic Ancestry website.

Other References: Historical

Arp, Halton, “Research with Fred,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 451-57 (2003).

Bondi, H., T. Gold, & F. Hoyle, “Origins of Steady-State Theory,” Nature 373, 10 (1995)

Bondi, Hermann, “Working with Fred (1942–49),” Astrophysics and Space Science, 285, 289-92 (2003).

Burbidge, Geoffrey, “Introductory Remarks” to Conference Celebrating Fred Hoyle’s Extraordinary Contributions to Science, 25-26 June 2002, Cardiff University, United Kingdom, Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 283-86 (2003).

Burbidge, Margaret, “Fred Hoyle and the Anglo-Australian Telescope,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 303-07 (2003).

Clayton, Donald D., “Fred Hoyle, Primary Nucleosynthesis and Radioactivity,” New Astronomy Reviews 52, 360-63 (2008).

Davies, Rodney D., “Fred Hoyle and Manchester,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 309-19 (2003).

Domb, Cyril, “Fred Hoyle and Naval Radar 1941–5,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 293-302 (2003).

Efstathiou, G., “Fred Hoyle: Contributions to the Theory of Galaxy Formation,“ ” eprint arXiv:astro-ph/0303623.

Faulkner, John, “Fred Hoyle, Red Giants and Beyond,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 339 (2003).

Faulkner, John, “Remembering Fred Hoyle,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 593-608 (2003).

Fowler, William A., Nuclear Astrophysics (American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia, 1967).

Gough, Douglas, ed., The Scientific Legacy of Fred Hoyle (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 2004, 2011).

Hoyle, Fred, Facts and Dogmas in Cosmology and Elsewhere (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 1982). [Sixteen-page reprint of 1982 Rede Lecture]

Hoyle, F., “Personal Comments on the History of Nuclear Astrophysics,” QJRAS 27, 445-53 (1986).

Hoyle, F., “Fifty Years in Cosmology,” Bull. Astr. Soc. India 16, 1-9 (1988).

Hoyle, Fred, “The Synthesis of the Light Elements (Karl Schwarzschild Lecture 1992),” Reviews in Modern Astronomy 6, 1 (1993).

Hoyle, Fred, “Two Decades of Collaboration with Willy Fowler,” in Barnes, Charles A., D.D. Clayton, D.N. Schramm, eds., Essays in Nuclear Astrophysics: Presented to William A. Fowler, on the Occasion of his Seventieth Birthday (Cambridge Univ. Press, 1982), p. 1.

Hoyle, Fred, “Fifty Years of Cosmology,” in B.G. Sidharth, ed., A Century of Ideas: Perspectives from Leading Scientists of the 20th Century. (Springer Netherlands, 2008), pp. 1-12.

Kragh, Helge, Cosmology and Controversy: The Historical Development of Two Theories of the Universe (Princeton Univ. Press, Princeton, NJ, 1996).

Kragh, Helge, “A Cosmologist’s Excursion into Geophysics,” Astronomy & Geophysics 56, 6.15-6.17 (2015).

Lepeltier, Thomas, “Fred Hoyle, entre science et fiction: I. Cosmologie,” Revue des questions scientifiques 177, 45–60 (2006) [in French].

Lepeltier, Thomas, “Fred Hoyle, entre science et fiction: II. Les origines cosmiques de la vie,” Revue des questions scientifiques 177, 61-78 (2006) [in French].

Lovell, Bernard, “The Early History of the Anglo-Australian 150-inch Telescope (AAT),” QJRAS 26, 393-455 (1985).

Mestel, Leon, “Fred’s Contributions to Stellar Evolution” Astrophysics and Space Science, 285, 327-37 (2003).

Mestel, Leon, “Sir Fred Hoyle” Observatory, 126, 213-14 (2006).

Mitton, Simon, “Fred Hoyle’s Birth Centennial,” Astronomy & Geophysics 56, 6.10-6.14 (2015). A summary of the Royal Astronomical Society discussion meeting analyzing Hoyle's career and its impact.

Meyers, Randall, “Meeting with a Remarkable Man: Sir Fred Hoyle Memorial Conference,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 321-23 (2003).

Narlikar, Jayant V., “Working with Fred on Action at a Distance,” Astrophysics and Space Science, 285,389-405 (2003).

North, J.D., The Measure of the Universe (Oxford Univ. Press, London, 1965, 1967; reprinted by Dover, 1990).

Wallerstein, George, et al, “Synthesis of the Elements in Stars: Forty Years of Progress,” Rev. Mod. Phys. 69, 995-1084 (1997).

Wickramasinghe, Chandra, “Panspermia According to Hoyle,” Astrophysics and Space Science, 285, 535-38 (2003).

Wickramasinghe, Chandra, ed., A Journey with Fred Hoyle — The Search for Cosmic Life (World Scientific, UK, 2005).

Search ADS for works about Hoyle.

Other References: Scientific

Hoyle, F., “The Generalized Fermi Interaction,” Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 33, 277 (1937).

Hoyle, F., “Capture of Orbital Electrons,” Nature 140, 235-36 (1937).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “The Effect of Interstellar Matter on Climatic Variation,” Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 34, 405-15 (1939).

Hoyle, F., “Quantum Electrodynamics,” Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 35, 419 -37 (1939) and 35, 438-62 (1939).

Hoyle, F., “The origin of the Solar System,” Observatory 62, 217-19 (1939).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “On the Physical Aspects of Accretion by Stars,” Proc. Cambridge Phil. Soc. 36, 424-37 (1940).

Lyttleton, R.A. & F. Hoyle, “The Evolution of the Stars,” Observatory 63, 39-43 (1940).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “On the Accretion Theory of Stellar Evolution,” MNRAS 101, 227-36 (1941).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “On the Internal Constitution of the Stars,” MNRAS 102, 177-93 (1942).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “On the Nature of Red Giant Stars,” MNRAS 102, 218-25 (1942).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “The Theory of Cepheid Variables and Novæ,” MNRAS 103, 21-37 (1943).

Bondi, H. & F. Hoyle, “On the Mechanism of Accretion by Stars,” MNRAS 104, 273-82 (1944).

Hoyle, F., “On the Structure of Disk-shaped Extragalactic Nebulae,” MNRAS 105, 287-301 (1945); 105, 302-19 (1945); 105, 345-62 (1945); and 105, 363-80 (1945).

Hoyle, F., “The Chemical Composition of the Stars,” MNRAS 106, 255-59 (1946).

Hoyle, F., “The Synthesis of the Elements from Hydrogen,” MNRAS 106, 343-83 (1946).

Hoyle, F. & R.A. Lyttleton, “Note on Stellar Structure,” MNRAS 106, 525-30 (1946).

Bondi, H., F. Hoyle, & R.A. Lyttleton, “On the Structure of the Solar Corona and Chromosphere,” MNRAS 107, 184-210 (1947).

Hoyle, F., “A New Model for the Expanding Universe,” MNRAS 108, 372-82 (1948).

Hoyle, F., “On the Cosmological Problem,” MNRAS 109, 365-71 (1949).

Hoyle, Fred, Some Recent Researches in Solar Physics (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, UK, 1949).

Hoyle, F., “Stellar Evolution and the Expanding Universe,” Nature 163, 196-98 (1949) [reply to a letter].

Hoyle, F., “Development of the Universe,” Nature 165, 68-69 (1950).

Hoyle, F., “Cosmic Origin of Radiation at Radio Frequencies,” Nature 172, 296-97 (1953).

Hoyle, F., “Generation of Radio Noise by Cosmic Sources,” Nature 173, 483-84 (1954).

Hoyle, F., “The Horizon of the Steady-State Universe,” Nature 175, 808 (1955).

Hoyle, F., “On Nuclear Reactions Occurring in Very Hot Stars. I. The Synthesis of Elements from Carbon to Nickel,” Ap.J. Supps. 1, 121-46 (1954) [reprinted in the centennial edition Ap.J. 525, 571 (1999) with a modern commentary by David Arnett].

Hoyle, F., “The Steady-State Theory of the Homogeneous Expanding Universe,” Observatory 74, 253 (1954).

Hoyle, F. & M. Schwarzschild, “On the Evolution of Type II Stars.,” Ap. J. 121,776 (1955) and Ap.J. Supps. 2, 1 (1955) [reprinted in the centennial edition Ap.J. 525, 599 (1999) with a modern commentary by E. Margaret Burbidge].

Baade, W., G.R. Burbidge, F. Hoyle, E.M. Burbidge, R.F. Christy, & W.A. Fowler, “Supernovae and Californium 254,” PASP 68, 296-300 (1956).

Burbidge, E. Margaret, Geoffrey R. Burbidge, William A. Fowler, and Fred Hoyle, “Synthesis of the Elements in Stars,” Revs. Mod. Physics 29, 547-650 (1957) [The famous B²FH paper].

Hoyle, F. & William A. Fowler, “Nucleosynthesis in Supernovae,” Ap.J. 132, 565 (1960) [reprinted in the centennial edition Ap.J. 525, 898 (1999) with a modern commentary by S.E. Woosley].

Fowler, William A. & F. Hoyle, “nuclear cosmochronology,” Annals of Physics 10, 280-302 (1960).

Hoyle, Fred & J.V. Narlikar, “On the Counting of Radio Sources in the Steady-State Cosmology,“ MNRAS 123, 133 (1961) and 125, 13-20 (1962).

Hoyle, Fred & Chandra Wickramasinghe, “On Graphite Particles as Interstellar Grains,” MNRAS 124, 417-33 (1962).

Hoyle, F. & William A. Fowler, “On the Nature of Strong Radio Sources,” MNRAS 197, 533-35 (1963).

Hoyle, F. & William A. Fowler, “On the Nature of Strong Radio Sources. II.,” Nature 197, 533-35 (1963).

Hoyle, F., William A. Fowler, G.R. Burbidge, & E. Margaret Burbidge, “On Relativistic Astrophysics,” Ap.J. 139, 909-28 (1964).

Hoyle, F., J.V. Narlikar, & J. A. Wheeler, “Electromagnetic Waves from Very Dense Stars,” Nature 203, 914-16 (1964).

Hoyle, F. & R.J. Tayler, “The Mystery of the Cosmic Helium Abundance,” Nature 203, 1108-10 (1964).

Hoyle, F. & J.V. Narlikar, “Time Symmetric Electrodynamics and the Arrow of Time in Cosmology,” Proc. R. Soc. London A 277, 1-23 (1964).

Hoyle, F. & J.V. Narlikar, “A New Theory of Gravitation,” Proc. R. Soc. London A 282, 191-207 (1964).

Fowler, William A. & F. Hoyle, “Neutrino Processes and Pair Formation in Massive Stars and Supernovae,” Ap.J. Supp. 9, 201-319 (1964).

William A. Fowler & F. Hoyle, Nucleosynthesis in Massive Stars and Supernovae (Univ. of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1965).

Hoyle, F., “Recent Developments in Cosmology,” Nature 208, 111-14 (1965)

Hoyle, F., G.R. Burbidge, & W.L.W. Sargent, “ On the Nature of the Quasi-stellar Sources,” Nature 209, 751-53 (1966).

Burbidge, G.R., Margaret Burbidge, F. Hoyle, C.R. Lynds, “ On the Interpretation of the Line Spectra of Quasi-Stellar Objects,” Nature 210, 774-78 (1966).

Hoyle, F. & G.R. Burbidge, “On the Nature of the Quasi-Stellar Objects,” Ap.J. 144, 534-52 (1966).

Hoyle, F. & G.R. Burbidge, “Some Restrictions on Models of Quasi-stellar Objects,” Nature 212, 1223-24 (1966).

Hoyle, F. & G.R. Burbidge, “Relation between the Red-shifts of Quasi-stellar Objects and their Radio Magnitudes ,” Nature 212, 1334 (1966).

Wagoner, Robert V., William A. Fowler., & F. Hoyle, “On the Synthesis of Elements at Very High Temperatures,” Ap.J. 148, 3-49 (1967).

Hoyle, F. & N.C. Wickramasinghe, “Interstellar Grains, ” Nature 223, 459-62 (1969).

Reeves, H., W.A. Fowler, & F. Hoyle, “Galactic Cosmic Ray Origin of Li, Be and B in Stars,” Nature 226, 727-29 (1970).

Hoyle, F. & G.R. Burbidge, “The Log S–log z Diagram for Radio Galaxies and its Relation to Cosmology,” Nature 227, 359-61 (1970).

Hoyle, F., “Radio Source Counts in Cosmology,” Nature 242, 108-09 (1973).

Hoyle, Fred & J.V. Narlikar, Action at a Distance in Physics and Cosmology (W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1974).

Hoyle, F. & N.C. Wickramasinghe, “Origin and Nature of Carbonaceous Material in the Galaxy,” Nature 270, 701-03 (1977).

Hoyle, Fred & Chandra Wickramasinghe, “Comets, Ice Ages, and Ecological Catastrophes,” Astrophysics and Space Science 53, 523-26 (1978).

Butler, Elizabeth J. & Fred Hoyle, “Carbon in the Earth’s Upper Mantle,” Astrophysics and Space Science 70, 247-49 (1980).

Hoyle, Fred, “What is a Spiral Galaxy?” Astrophysics and Space Science 93, 55-68 (1983).

Hoyle, F. & N.C. Wickramasinghe, “ The Case for Life as a Cosmic Phenomenon,” Nature 322, 509-11 (1986).

Hoyle, Fred, “On the Causes of Ice-Ages,” Earth, Moon, and Planets, 31, 229-248 (1988).

Hoyle, Fred, “The Anthropic and Perfect Cosmological Principle: Similarities and Differences,” in F. Bertola & U. Curi, eds., The Anthropic Principle — The Conditions for the Existence of Mankind in the Universe: Proceedings of the Venice Conference on Cosmology and Philosophy, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 1993), pp. 85-89.

Arp, H.C., G. Burbidge, F. Hoyle, J.V. Narlikar, & N.C. Wickramasinghe, “The Extragalactic Universe: an Alternative View,” Nature 346, 807-12 (1990).

Hoyle, Fred, “Light Element Synthesis in Planck Fireballs,” Astrophysics and Space Science 198, 177-93 (1992).

Wickramasinghe, N.C., A.N. Wickramasinghe, & F. Hoyle, “The Case Against Graphite Particles in Interstellar Space,” Astrophysics and Space Science 196, 167-69 (1992).

Hoyle, Fred, G. Burbidge, & J.V. Narlikar, “A Quasi-Steady State Cosmological Model with Creation of Matter,” Ap.J. 410, 437-57 (1993).

Hoyle, F., G. Burbidge, & J.V. Narlikar, “Astrophysical Deductions from the Quasi-Steady-State Cosmology,” MNRAS 267, 1007-19 (1994).

Hoyle, Fred, G. Burbidge, & J.V. Narlikar, “Further Astrophysical Quantities Expected in a Quasi-Steady State Universe,” Astron. & Astrophys. 289, 729-39 (1994).

Hoyle, F. & J.V. Narlikar, “Cosmology and Action-at-a-Distance in Electrodynamics,” Rev. Mod Phys. 67, 113-55 (1995).

G. Burbidge & F. Hoyle, “The Origin of Helium and the Other Light Elements,” Ap.J. 509, L1-L3 (1998).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Astronomical Origins of Life: Steps towards Panspermia (Kluwer Academic Publishers, Boston, 1999).

Burbidge, G., F. Hoyle, & J.V. Narlikar, “A Different Approach to Cosmology,” Physics Today 52, 4, 38-44 (1999). This was published with a reply by Andreas Albrecht.

Hoyle, F. & N.C. Wickramasinghe, “The Universe and Life: Deductions from The Weak Anthropic Principle,” Astrophys. & Space Sci. 268, 89-102 (1999) [abstract].

G. Burbidge, F. Hoyle., & J.V. Narlikar, A Different Approach to Cosmology: From a Static Universe through the Big Bang towards Reality (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 2000).

Hoyle, Fred & Chandra Wickramasinghe, “Cometary Impacts and Ice-Ages,” Astrophysics and Space Science 275, 367-76 (2001).

Hoyle, Fred & Chandra Wickramasinghe, “Astronomy or Biology?,” Astrophysics and Space Science 285, 539-54 (2003) [reprinted from Space Travellers: The Bringers of LIfe (University College, Cardiff Press, 1981)].

Search ADS for works by Hoyle.

Other Works: Popularizations, Fiction, etc.

There is a complete list of Hoyle’s books at The Fred Hoyle website at http://www.hoyle.org.uk/

Hoyle, Fred, The Black Cloud (Heinemann, London, 1957, 1998).

Hoyle, Fred, Ossian’s Ride (Heinemann, London, 1959; Harper, NY, 1959).

Hoyle, Fred & John Elliot, A is for Andromeda (Souvenir Press, London, 1962).

Hoyle, Fred, From Stonehenge to Modern Cosmology (W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1972).

Hoyle, Fred, Nicolaus Copernicus: An Essay on his Life and Work (Harper & Row, NY, 1973).

Hoyle, Fred, On Stonehenge (Heinemann, London; W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, 1977).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Lifecloud : The Origin of Life in the Universe (Dent, London, 1978).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Diseases from Space (Dent, London, 1979).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Evolution from Space (Dent, London, 1981).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Cosmic life-force (Paragon House, NY, 1990).

Hoyle, Fred & N. Chandra Wickramasinghe, Our Place in the Cosmos: The Unfinished Revolution (J.M. Dent, London, 1993).

Hoyle, Fred, The Origin of the Universe and the Origin of Religion (Moyer Bell, Wakefield, RI, 1993).