Which science celebrity are you most closely connected to?

Question

We've been blinded with science this week, and are looking at the voices that have popularized the field in the Connection Finder, starting with Carl Sagan. Featured alongside him are other science celebrities:

• Izaak Asimov
• Sir David Attenborough
• Bill Bryson
• Richard Dawkins
• Bengt Feldreich
• Ruth Gates
• Stephen Hawking
• Julius Sumner Miller
• Bill Nye
• Magnus Pyke

Which one is most closely connected to you? If you're one of the 26 million of us who are connected to each other on our big tree you can check with the Connection Finder.

You can check for shared ancestors with the Relationship Finder. Are you a cousin to any of them? Your Relationship Finder Quick Links page (see your profile pull-down menu under "Relationships") has quick links for several notable groups.

Special feature: Check out how you're connected to other notables by using the green MyConnections button in the upper right hand corner of the category page. Browse related categories like Scientists, Science Populizers, and Astrophysicists.

Let us know how you're related below! If you want to share your connection on social media with cousins and friends, click the "get shareable image" below the results, e.g. Carl Sagan and Stephen Hawking. Then just upload it along with the URL of your direct connection. (Please refrain from sharing your connection on the featured profiles themselves, though. It clutters conversations on research and collaboration. Thanks!)

Help us with next week's Royalty Feature by helping to choose and improve profiles for it.

Answer 1

Not really the answer to the question, but…

Richard Hawking and I apparently have 160 common ancestors.

Edit

oops … Stephen Hawking!

Answer 2

20 degrees from Bill Nye and 21 degrees from Isaac Asimov, Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking.

Answer 3

18 degrees from Isaac Asimov
19 degrees from Bill Nye (9th cousins, 4x removed)
20 degrees from Julius Miller
22 degrees from Stephen Hawking (21st cousins, 1x removed)
22 degrees from Carl Sagan
23 degrees from Bill Bryson
23 degrees from Richard Dawkins (11th cousins, 2x removed)
24 degrees from David Attenborough
27 degrees from Magnus Pyke
29 degrees from Ruth Gates
30 degrees from Bengt Feldreich

Answer 4

Isaac Asimov - 21 degrees

David Attenborough - 27 degrees

Bill Bryson - 24 degrees

Richard Dawkins - 26 degrees (18c1r)

Bengt Feldreich - 34 degrees

Ruth Gates - 37 degrees

Stephen Hawking - 27 degrees (22c1r)

Julius Miller - 34 degrees

Bill Nye - 22 degrees (20c2r)

Magnus Pyke - 30 degrees

Carl Sagan - 24 degrees

Answer 5

Science Celebrity Connections:

Bill Nye 'The Science Guy': 18 degrees & 8th cousins/2r

Richard Dawkins: 24 degrees & 21st cousins/1x

Stephen Hawking: 24 degrees & 21st cousins/1x

Others, but not related:

19 degrees: Isaac Asimov; 23 degrees: Carl Sagan; 24 degrees: Bill Bryson; 27 degrees: David Attenborough; 29 degrees: Magnus Pyke; 32 degrees: Julius Miller; 33 degrees: Bengt Feldreich; 35 degrees: Ruth Gates

Answer 6

I am most closely connected to Isaac Asimov at 22 degrees of separation.

• 22 degrees from Isaac Asimov
  • 6 branches (1-4-5-4-4-5)
• 23 degrees from David Attenborough
  • 6 branches (3-1-1-6-5-8)
• 23 degrees from Bill Nye
  • 4 branches (9-7-4-4)
• 24 degrees from Bill Bryson
  • 4 branches (8-5-7-5)
• 25 degrees from Richard Dawkins
  • 4 branches (1-14-4-7)
• 25 degrees from Julius Miller
  • 4 branches (1-16-4-5)
• 26 degrees from Carl Sagan
  • 5 branches (1-7-11-4-4)
• 28 degrees from Stephen Hawking
  • 6 branches (8-6-5-3-2-5)
• 31 degrees from Magnus Pyke
  • 8 branches (4-7-3-1-3-5-3-6)
• 34 degrees from Bengt Feldreich
  • 11 branches (9-2-2-2-1-3-3-3-3-2-5)
• 34 degrees from Ruth Gates
  • 8 branches (6-2-3-2-6-7-2-7)

Answer 7

I am most closely connected to Isaac Asimov at 23 degrees.

Answer 8

• Carl Sagan - 25 degrees
• Izaak Asimov - 19 degrees
• Sir David Attenborough - 26 degrees
• Bill Bryson - 24 degrees
• Richard Dawkins - 17th cousin three times removed, 24 degrees, maternal
• Bengt Feldreich - 28 degrees
• Ruth Gates - 34 degrees
• Stephen Hawking - 22nd cousin twice removed, 26 degrees, maternal
• Julius Sumner Miller - 33 degrees
• Bill Nye - 10th cousin four times removed, 20 degrees, paternal
• Magnus Pyke - 25 degrees

Answer 9

I'm  18 degrees from Isaac Asimov, 25 degrees from David Attenborough, 21 degrees from Bill Bryson, 22 degrees from Richard Dawkins(13th C 3xr), 30 degrees from Bengt Feldreich, 33 degrees from Ruth Gates, 23rd degrees from Stephen Hawking (22nd C 3xr), 31 degrees from Julius Miller, 16 degrees from Bill Nye 7th C 1xr), 30 degrees from Magnus Pyke, 23 degrees from Carl Sagan and 20 degrees from David Randall(10th C 2xr). 

Answer 10

18 to Bill Nye and 19 to Isaac Asimov.  Nye is a 10th cousin once removed, and a couple of others are even more distant.

One odd pattern this week - more connections than usual are on my father's side, but the cousins are all on my mother's side.

Answer 11

19 degrees from Isaac Asimov.

20 degrees from Bill Nye. 16th cousin 3 times removed. MRCA Bartholomew Appleyard (abt 1375 - abt 1417).

21 degrees from Bill Bryson.

22 degrees from Richard Dawkins. 14th cousin 2 times removed. MRCA Margaret (Fenne) Neville (1444- 1485).

24 degrees from David Attenborough.

26 degrees from Stephen Hawkings. 12th cousin 3 times removed. MRCA Lilias (Ruthven) Drummond (1526 - 1579).

27 degrees from Carl Sagan.

28 degrees from Magnus Pyke.

31 degrees from Bengt Feldreich.

31 degrees from Julius Miller.

33 degrees from Ruth Gates.

Answer 12

• 19 degrees from Isaac Asimov 
• 20 degrees from Bill Nye (8th cousin 3x removed)
• 23 degrees from Stephen Hawking (19th cousin 2x removed)
• 24 degrees from Bill Bryson
• 24 degrees from Richard Dawkins (14th cousin 3x removed)
• 26 degrees from Carl Sagan 
• 27 degrees from David Attenborough
• 28 degrees from Magnus Pyke
• 33 degrees from Ruth Gates
• 34 degrees from Bengt Feldreich
• 34 degrees from Julius Sumner Miller

Answer 13

• 19 degrees to Bill Bryson
• 20 degrees to Isaak Yudovich (Ozimov) Asimov (abt. 1920 - 1992)
• 20 degrees to Bill Nye - 8th Cousin 3xR
• 23 degrees to Richard Dawkins FRS - 15th Cousin 2xR
• 24 degrees to Carl Edward Sagan (1934 - 1996)
• 24 degrees to Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS (1942 - 2018) - 20th Cousin 1xR
• 25 degrees to David Attenborough CBE FRS OM
• 27 degrees to Julius Sumner Miller (1909 - 1987)
• 29 degrees to Magnus Alfred Pyke OBE FRSE (1908 - 1992)
• 31 degrees to Bengt Walter Feldreich (1925 - 2019)
• 32 degrees to Ruth Deborah Gates (1962 - 2018)

Answer 14

I'm closest related to Bill Nye, 9th Cousin, 3x Removed, assuming all is accurate(no NPEs, etc.).

Answer 15

20 degrees from Isaac Asimov
27 degrees from David Attenborough
22 degrees from Bill Bryson
24 degrees from Richard Dawkins
33 degrees from Bengt Feldreich
35 degrees from Ruth Gates
22 degrees from Stephen Hawking
34 degrees from Julius Miller
19 degrees from Bill Nye
27 degrees from Magnus Pyke
25 degrees from Carl Sagan
20 degrees from David Randall

Answer 16

I am 23 degrees from Richard Dawkinn. - 26 d.from Stephen Hawking. - 28 d. from Izaak Asimov. - 29 d. from Bill Nye. - 29 d. from Magnus Pyke. - 30 d. from David Randall. - 31 d. from David Attenborough. - 31 d. from Bill Bryson. - 31 d. from Bengt Feldreich. - 35 d. from Carl Sagan. - 38 d. from Julius Miller. - 42 d. from Ruth Gates.

Answer 17

Bill Nye and I are 9th cousins twice removed (in more than one way)

Richard Dawkins - 14th cousins once removed

Stephen Hawking  - 21st cousins three times removed

Answer 18

I'm 9th cousins once removed from Bengt Feldreich.

Thanks to Eva who probably did most of the connecting. 

Answer 19

None in your list are anywhere close to me BUT I do have a living scientist relative that I think is a celebrity, at least in my tree. That is Paul Bruce Corkum (Google him, plenty of hits). He's a 2nd cousin once removed. His name was submitted for a Nobel physics price in 2015 (story here.)

Google describes him ... "Paul Bruce Corkum OC OOnt FRSC FRS is a Canadian physicist specializing in attosecond physics and laser science. He holds a joint University of Ottawa–NRC chair in Attosecond Photonics. He is one of the students of strong field atomic physics, i.e. atoms and plasmas in super-intense laser fields."

Answer 20

19 from David Randall, Isaac Asimov

21 from Bill Nye

23 from Bill Bryson

24 from Carl Sagan, David Attenborough, Richard Dawkins

28 from Stephen Hawking

29 from Magnus Pyke

32 from Julius Miller

33 from Bengt Feldreich

37 from Ruth Gates