Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking was a celebrated cosmologist and physicist who published
groundbreaking research.
He was born in 1942 and died in 2018 aged 76. For most of his adult life, he had early-onset
MND (Motor-Neurone Disease). This caused lots of mobility issues and made it hard for him to
speak.
His 1988 book A Brief History of Time was a bestseller. It discussed the origins of the universe
and has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
5. He was born exactly 300 years after Galileo died, and he passed away on Einstein's
birthday.
7. He made appearances in TV shows and films, including Star Trek and The Simpsons.
9. In 1982 the Queen awarded him the title of CBE: Commander of the British Empire.
10. His dad wanted him to become a doctor, because there weren't many jobs in maths.
1) Stephen grew up in a house where education was very important. His parents were both
academics who had studied at Oxford University. Dinner times were often spent in silence
while the family read books!
2) When he was a teenager, Stephen and his friends built a computer out of old clock parts,
telephone switchboards and other recycled items. His friends nicknamed him, ‘Einstein‘!
4) Sadly, when he was 21, Stephen was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) and
told that he only had two years to live. MND gradually affects the brain cells that communicate
with the body’s muscles. Over time, sufferers struggle to walk, talk and even swallow without
help.
5) Stephen used walking sticks and crutches after his diagnosis, but as his illness got worse he
had to use an electric wheelchair to get around. He became notorious for driving it a
little too fast around the streets of Cambridge and running over other students’ toes!
7) Stephen was always keen for his work to be accessible to everyone, not just scientists. He
wrote books that explained his theories in simple terms for everyone to understand, including a
children’s book. His most famous book, A Brief History of Time, sold more than 10 million
copies!
9) Stephen has received many awards for his work including the 1979 Albert Einstein Medal,
the Order of the British Empire (Commander) in 1982 and the 1988 Wolf Prize in Physics.
10) Stephen is remembered as an inspiration to many people. He had an amazing mind,
incredible determination and didn’t let his illness stand in his way. He defied doctors’
predictions, living for a further 55 years after his diagnosis.
Cosmologist Stephen Hawking changed our view of the universe with his remarkable
theories and outreach. He also inspired generations around the world, making some of the
most complicated physics of our time accessible to the masses.
3. When Stephen Hawking was studying at university, he used a wheelchair. He would often run the
wheelchair over others’ toes.
4. Stephen Hawking was an atheist and believed in science more than God.
5. He was born exactly 300 years after the famous Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei died, passing away on
Einstein’s birthday.
9. In 1982, the Queen bestowed Hawking with the title of CBE: Commander of the British Empire.
10. Stephen Hawking’s father aspired to become a doctor, as there weren’t plenty of jobs in maths.
11. He wrote five books for children with his daughter, Lucy.
12. When we talk about Stephen Hawking’s occupation, he was a theoretical physicist, an author, cosmologist.
He was the director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge when he
took his last breath. He was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979
and 2009.
13. On March 14, 2018, Stephen Hawking died at his home in Cambridge in England. He was aged 76.
14. Stephen Hawking received many honors and awards, including many honorary degrees, for his
extraordinary accomplishments in the scientific field. Let’s mention a few of the many awards and honors below.
15. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1974 as one of its youngest fellows. When he was a youth of 32, he
came to be a Fellow of the Royal Society.
17. He was honored with CBE (Commander of the British Empire) by Buckingham palace in 1982.
18. He was awarded the Copley medal in 2006, which is the highest honor of the Royal Society.
19. In 2009, he got the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.