An eminent British theoretical astrophysicist, Fellow of the Royal Society from 1957, and Cambridge University’s Plumian Professor of Astronomy and Experimental Philosophy from 1958 until his retirement. He has been extraordinarily productive in several areas of science, in particular in his work on nucleosynthesis, the processes by which the heavier elements have been formed in the stars during the genesis of the universe from elementary matter. He is also a playwright and a novelist.