An unassuming man who is known to shun the limelight, he could now be on his way to winning a Nobel prize for his role as creator of the theory behind the God particle.
Born in Newcastle in 1929, the son of a BBC sound engineer, he moved with his family to Bristol. He proved a brilliant pupil at Cotham Grammar School before going on to read theoretical physics at King's College London.
He was awarded first class honours in 1950, and after failing to secure a lectureship at King's College, set off for Scotland, where he had the idea about the Higgs boson in 1964. Two scientific papers followed, the second of which was initially rejected and then finally published in the respected journal Physical Review Letters.
In 2006, he retired from the University of Edinburgh, assuming the title of emeritus professor. Never one to blow his own trumpet, Mr Higgs is described by friends as "very unassuming" and shy.
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