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Martin Rees

British cosmologist and astrophysicist (1942-) · United Kingdom · Scientists

Martin Rees is read about 171 times a day, in 36 languages.

Counted to 15 September 2026, not since.

The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 360 days, one point a day.

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He spent decades modeling how galaxies form and what happens when matter falls into black holes - work that earned him the Wolf Prize and a perch as Britain's Astronomer Royal for thirty years.

PoliticiansScientistPhysicsAstronomyPoliticsUnited KingdomEurope20th Century

A life in dates

2024Wolf Prize in PhysicsAward2020Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics and CosmologyAward2016Honorary Doctor of Harvard UniversityAward2015Marcel Grossmann AwardAward2012Honorary Doctor of ETH ZürichAward2008Honorary Doctorate of the Open UniversityAward2007Clarivate Citation LaureatesAward2004Michael Faraday PrizeAward2003Petrie Prize LectureAward2001Gruber Prize in CosmologyAward1997“When I discover I'm wrong, I change my mind. What do you do?”In their wordsoverheard in a colloquium at Princeton University, ca. 1997

1993Bruce MedalAward1989Guthrie Medal and PrizeAward1984Dannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsAward1981Karl G. Jansky LectureshipAward1971“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”In their wordsAs quoted in Project Cyclops: A Design Study of a System for Detecting Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life (1971) by Bernard M. Oliver, and

1942Born23 June 1942

Photos 8

Official portrait of Lord Rees of Ludlow crop 2Official portrait of Lord Rees of Ludlow crop 2Astronomer Royal, Martin John Rees, at the IAU XXIX General Assembly (iauga15-d2-29) (3x4 cropped)Astronomer Royal, Martin John Rees, at the IAU XXIX General Assembly (iauga15-d2-29) (3x4 cropped)Astronomer Royal, Martin John Rees, at the IAU XXIX General Assembly (iauga15-d2-29)Astronomer Royal, Martin John Rees, at the IAU XXIX General Assembly (iauga15-d2-29)Dinner with Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, and The Long Now FoundationDinner with Lord Martin Rees, Astronomer Royal, and The Long Now FoundationLarry Page, Martin Rees, and Simon Quellen Field-9Aug2008Larry Page, Martin Rees, and Simon Quellen Field-9Aug2008Martin Rees and Freeman Dyson-4Aug2007Martin Rees and Freeman Dyson-4Aug2007Martin Rees at Jodrell Bank in 2007Martin Rees at Jodrell Bank in 2007Martin Rees-6Nov2005Martin Rees-6Nov2005

In their own words 5

,
Martin Rees
,
5 statements, newest first

  1. When I discover I'm wrong, I change my mind. What do you do?

    1997, overheard in a colloquium at Princeton University, ca. 1997, Own words

  2. Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

    1971, As quoted in Project Cyclops: A Design Study of a System for Detecting Extraterrestrial Intelligent Life (1971) by Bernard M. Oliver, and, Own words

  3. We’re all depressingly ‘lay’ outside our specialisms - my own knowledge, of recent biological advances, such as it is, comes largely from ‘popular’ books and journalism.

    as quoted by Jessica Bland in, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Wolf Prize in Physics2024
Copley Medal2023
Fritz Zwicky Prize for Astrophysics and Cosmology2020
Lilienfeld Prize2017
Honorary Doctor of Harvard University2016
Honorary Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales2016
Marcel Grossmann Award2015
Nierenberg Prize2015
ICTP Dirac Medal2013
Isaac Newton Medal2012
Dalton Medal2012
Honorary Doctor of ETH Zürich2012
Honorary Doctor of Yale University2008
Honorary Doctorate of the Open University2008
Clarivate Citation Laureates2007
UNESCO Niels Bohr Medal2005
Crafoord Prize in Astronomy2005
Henry Norris Russell Lectureship2004
Michael Faraday Prize2004
Petrie Prize Lecture2003
Oskar Klein Medal2002
Gruber Prize in Cosmology2001
Bruno Rossi Prize2000
Bower Award and Prize for Achievement in Science1998
Bruce Medal1993
Balzan Prize1989
Karl Schwarzschild Medal1989
Guthrie Medal and Prize1989
Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society1987
Dannie Heineman Prize for Astrophysics1984
Royal Society Bakerian Medal1982
Karl G. Jansky Lectureship1981
Fellow of the Royal Society
Albert Einstein World Award of Science
Templeton Prize
Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences
Order of Merit
Knight Bachelor
Science Writing Award

In their orbit

Spouse: Caroline Humphrey

About this person

Born 23 June 1942, Martin John Rees built a career tracing the violent physics of the early universe: high-energy astrophysics, the assembly of galaxies, the large-scale structure that shapes everything. The work was rigorous enough to land him the title of Astronomer Royal in 1995, a post he held until 2025. He led Trinity College, Cambridge, from 2004 to 2012 and served as President of the Royal Society from 2005 to 2010. In 2024 he received the Wolf Prize in Physics for his fundamental contributions across cosmology and structure formation. He became Baron Rees of Ludlow along the way, a recognition that mixed science with the old machinery of British honor.

Country
United Kingdom
Category
Scientists
Type
Scientist
Status
living
Dates
Born 1942 · age 84

In common with Martin

Gerard 't HooftBoth received Marcel Grossmann AwardTakaaki KajitaBoth received Bruno Rossi PrizeJim PeeblesBoth received Petrie Prize LectureKip S. ThorneBoth received Karl Schwarzschild MedalJohn C. MatherBoth received Dannie Heineman Prize for AstrophysicsEdward WittenBoth received Isaac Newton Medal

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