THE life of a Bingley-born astronomer will be celebrated tomorrow on the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Sir Fred Hoyle, who had part of the Bingley bypass named in his honour, is best known for coining the phrase The Big Bang.

He actually rejected the Big Bang theory of the universe in favour of the Steady State Theory, which suggested the universe had always existed.

The former Bingley Grammar School pupil also took issue with Darwin’s theory of evolution through natural selection.

Renaissance man Sir Fred said evolution through natural selection alone was not a credible explanation for human life.

He was born in what was then the small village of Eldwick and educated at local infants’ and primary schools before moving on to Bingley Grammar School.

Sir Fred, who died in August 2001 aged 86, then went to Cambridge where he founded the Institute of Astronomy and was its first director.

Now to celebrate the event, the Fred Hoyle Commemoration Committee will be conducting a tour around the parts of Gilstead tomorrow which Sir Fred talked about in his biography as inspiring him in his science.

The group will meet at the Glen Pub, Gilstead Lane, Bingley, at 6.30pm.

John Baruch, director of astronomical telescopes at the University of Bradford, said: "Fred was one of the most famous scientists of the 20th century.

"He also worked out how the Sun is powered through hydrogen fusion, again an increasingly important issue today as we try to wean ourselves off oil and gas looking for alternative energy sources."