"My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all." Who said this?

Stephen Hawking, the renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist, dedicated his life to understanding the fundamental nature of the universe. This quote encapsulates his lifelong quest for a 'Theory of Everything' - a complete mathematical framework that would explain all physical phenomena. Lewis Boss was an astronomer, Nicolaus Copernicus developed the heliocentric model, and Isaac Newton formulated classical mechanics, but this quote specifically reflects Hawking's modern cosmological pursuits.