Stephen Wolfram
Creator of Mathematica and Wolfram|Alpha
- Age
- 67 yrs
- Birthday in 296 days
- Works listed
- 2
- Software, Book
- Honours
- 1
- Most recent 1981
- Profile views
- 2
- 0 followers
Stephen Wolfram is a British-American scientist and businessman who created Mathematica, software used by scientists and engineers, and the Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine. A physics prodigy, he wrote A New Kind of Science, arguing that simple programs underlie nature.
Biography
Prodigy
Wolfram published particle-physics papers at 15 and earned his PhD at Caltech at 20. He was one of the youngest MacArthur Fellows.
Mathematica
After building the SMP algebra system, he founded Wolfram Research in 1987 and released Mathematica in 1988, which became standard in science and education.
A New Kind of Science
His 2002 book, the result of a decade of work on cellular automata, argued that simple rules can generate the complexity of nature.
Wolfram|Alpha
In 2009 he launched Wolfram|Alpha, which answers questions by computing from curated data; it powered early answers in Siri. His Wolfram Physics Project explores a computational model of the universe.
Timeline
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1959
Born in London, England
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1979
PhD from Caltech
-
1981
MacArthur Fellowship
-
1987
Founds Wolfram Research
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1988
Mathematica
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2002
A New Kind of Science
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2009
Wolfram|Alpha
-
2020
Wolfram Physics Project
Notable works
-
1988
Mathematica Software
-
2002
A New Kind of Science Book
Awards and honours
-
MacArthur Fellowship
1981
Did you know?
-
1
He keeps detailed records of his own emails and keystrokes going back decades.
-
2
He wrote the alien-language science consultation for the film Arrival with his son.
-
3
Rule 30, a cellular automaton he studied, is used as a random-number generator.
Connections
Frequently asked
Who is Stephen Wolfram?
Stephen Wolfram is a British-American scientist and businessman who created Mathematica, software used by scientists and engineers, and the Wolfram|Alpha computational knowledge engine. A physics prodigy, he wrote A New Kind of Science, arguing that simple programs underlie nature.
How old is Stephen Wolfram?
Stephen Wolfram is 67 years old, born on 29 August 1959 in London, England.
Where is Stephen Wolfram from?
Stephen Wolfram was born in London, England.
What is Stephen Wolfram known for?
Stephen Wolfram is best known for Mathematica (1988); A New Kind of Science (2002); Wolfram|Alpha (2009); Wolfram Language.
What awards has Stephen Wolfram received?
Notable honours include MacArthur Fellowship (1981).
References
- Stephen Wolfram — Wikipedia. Wikipedia. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stephen Wolfram — Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stephen Wolfram — IMDb. IMDb. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stephen Wolfram — Goodreads author page. Goodreads. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stephen Wolfram — Hindi Wikipedia. Wikipedia (Hindi). Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Official website. www.stephenwolfram.com. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
- Stephen Wolfram (Q310798) — structured data. Wikidata. Retrieved 4 November 2026.
Includes material from the Wikipedia article “Stephen Wolfram”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. That text is available under the same licence. Learn more
External links
About this profile
- Researched by the TrackFame editorial team; reviewed by Sanjay Sokal under our editorial policy
- First published 4 November 2026
- Last updated
Cite this page
“Stephen Wolfram.” TrackFame, last updated 5 November 2026. https://trackfame.com/person/stephen-wolfram
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