John David Barrow FRS[2] (29 November 1952 – 26 September 2020) was an English cosmologist, theoretical physicist, and mathematician.

In addition to having published more than 500 journal articles, Barrow co-wrote (with Frank J. Tipler) The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, a work on the history of the ideas, specifically intelligent design and teleology, as well as a treatise on astrophysics.

His books summarise the state of the affairs of physical questions, often in the form of compendia of a large number of facts assembled from the works of great physicists, such as Paul Dirac and Arthur Eddington.

Barrow's approach to philosophical issues posed by physical cosmology made his books accessible to general readers.

[8] Barrow was awarded the 2006 Templeton Prize for "Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities" for his "writings about the relationship between life and the universe, and the nature of human understanding [which] have created new perspectives on questions of ultimate concern to science and religion".

[11] The Barrow scale proposed by him is a measurement of the technological level and mastery of civilizations based upon the smallest structures that they can manipulate.