Professor Hubert J. Farnsworth

(Born April 9, 2841)

“Good news, everyone!”
–Hubert J. Farnsworth


Better known as Professor Farnsworth or the Professor, is the chief executive officer and a shareholder of Planet Express and the tetragonist of Futurama.


He is pushing the limits of even the 31st Century at an agе of well over 160. Professor Farnsworth is one of six living relatives of Philip J. Fry, together with his own clone, Cubert J. Farnsworth, as well as his only son by means of his sexual relations with "Mom" while he worked for her, Igner. He has a brother named Floyd, also his parents Velma and Ned Farnsworth are still alive. He is Philip nephew thirty times over.


Though never stated, it is likely he is the descendant of Yancy Fry, Jr, through Yancy's only known child Philip J. Fry II named after his (Philip II's) uncle. However, since it is revealed that Philip I is his own grandfather and therеfore Yancy's grandfather, as well as Philip II's great-grandfather, due to his time-traveling exploits, Professor Farnsworth is logically in fact Philip I's direct descendant via his brother/grandson/great-uncle Yancy Jr. and nephew/great-grandson Philip II . So the six include: himself, Cubert, Igner, Floyd, Velma and Ned.



Biography

Professor Farnsworth is a senile, deranged, as well as unpredictable old man who is both a maniac and a genius who was born in prison as mentioned in "Overclockwise". He has a gift and passion for the creation of Doomsday Devices and Atomic Supermen and is a danger to himself, his employees, as well as the Universe in general. He has put at least one parallel universe in peril with his inventions.

When he was a teenager, he showed great promise in science at an early age, and was accepted to MIT at 14. However, his parents determined that he wasn't mature enough for college and brought him to live on a remote farm, "a hundred miles from the nearest microscope."

Young Hubert was mentally unstable and went mad, despite his parents' attempts to keep him calm. He had a total breakdown, and was given a "full wackademic scholarship" at a mental institution, but was released only 25 years later. "It was like a minute compared to grad school!"

Professor Farnsworth has worked for Mom's Friendly Robot Company (several times) and taught at Mars University. He spends the majority of his time partially completing various inventions, many of which defy the known laws of physics.

His primary function seems to be sending delivery crews to their doom. This act is invariably foreshadowed by the Professor shouting the words "Good news, people!"


Abilities

Hubert's greatest ability is his exceptional intelligence: however, it is hampered by his senility. He does have more unusual "abilities" though: Since Philip existence is cyclical and being part of Philip's bloodline, Hubert himself is an anomaly in the universe. Also, ever since "The Late Philip J. Fry", Hubert has become an out-of-universe observer. It is unknown how this may manifest itself in the future, but logically nothing that happens as a result of time travel in the current universe can affect him, since he is not a part of this universe.

For some unexplained reason, his eyes are never seen. There are only two episodes in which he has ever taken his glasses off. In the episode "Mother's Day", he is shown from the side when he does it and "Mom" comments "Your eyes were always such a beautiful shade of... milky white." (still not giving away the specific color of his eyes).

In the episode "Amazon Women in the Mood", he removes his glasses after Fry mistakenly states that Zoidberg is dead (though the "corpse" is only Zoidberg's empty shell) but promptly covers his eyes with his hand in order to sob.


Age

Professor Farnsworth's amazingly advanced age manifests itself in senility and general physical decrepitude. While generally friendly, he is sometimes prone to sudden fits of bitter contempt for random things, as well as a severely compromised memory.

The Professor is also known for his inclination toward exhibitionism and does not hesitate to appear naked in public, stating that, like pine trees and poodles, the "primitive notions of modesty" of the 20th century are long gone. He also mentions that, being 160-years-old, he is old enough to rent and purchase "ultra-porn". Beyond that, the professor's occasional brief verbal digressions about his own life imply a somewhat colorful sexual past, which often trail off with a nostalgic "Oh yes..." He also mentions in Bender's Game that people sometimes call him "The Catman" for his ability to land perfectly on his feet after falling from a high balcony.

Professor Farnsworth is the oldest human being living on earth (excluding those who have been cryogenically frozen or are kept alive as heads in jars), a title he acquired upon turning 160. At this age, all humans are collected by the Sunset Squad Robots and sent to live out the rest of their days in isolation aboard the gigantic Near Death Star.

After his crew rescues him, Hubert returns to Planet Express to resume the life he originally had before being removed by the Sunset Robot Squad.

After swimming in the Fountain of Aging, he reports that he is "Even older! Huzzahhh!". This even more advanced age is not disclosed.

Although being in his 160s, in Leela's dreamverse in the episode "The Sting", the Professor became quite shocked when Fry, who was technically 1025-years-old after being frozen for a millennium, accidentally died, remarking, "This makes me the oldest living member of my family!" and burst into tears at this realization.

This is contradicted when we later learn that both of his parents are still alive in the 7th season episode "Near-Death Wish". However this may be because the Professor loathed his parents("Near-Death Wish") and tries to ignore their existence.