Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, known for his work on black holes and relativity despite living most of his life with ALS.
Stephen William Hawking (January 8, 1942 – March 14, 2018) was a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author, widely regarded as one of the greatest scientific minds of the 20th–21st centuries. He made groundbreaking contributions to black hole physics, cosmology, and general relativity. Despite being diagnosed with ALS (motor neuron disease) at 21, he lived an extraordinarily productive life for over 55 more years, communicating via a speech synthesizer and writing bestsellers like A Brief History of Time.
The Early Years (1942–1962)
1942 (January 8): Born in Oxford, England, on the 300th anniversary of Galileo's death.
1950: Moved to St Albans, where he was a bright but not "top-of-the-class" student, nicknamed "Einstein" by his peers.
1959: Entered University College, Oxford, at age 17 on a scholarship to study Physics.
1962: Graduated with a first-class honors degree and began his graduate work at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Diagnosis and Scientific Breakthroughs (1963–1979)
1963: Diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) at age 21. Doctors gave him only two years to live.
1965: Married Jane Wilde, which he credited as the "turning point" that gave him a reason to live and work.
1966: Completed his Ph.D. His thesis, Properties of Expanding Universes, explored the origins of the cosmos.
1970: Postulated that black holes have a surface area that can never decrease, collaborating with Roger Penrose on Singularity Theorems.
1974: Published his most famous discovery: Hawking Radiation, proving that black holes are not perfectly black but emit subatomic particles.
1979: Appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a post once held by Isaac Newton.
Global Fame and Health Struggles (1980–2000)
1985: Contracted pneumonia during a trip to CERN. A life-saving tracheotomy caused him to lose his voice permanently. He soon began using his iconic computerized voice synthesizer.
1988: Published A Brief History of Time. It stayed on the Sunday Times bestseller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.
1995: Divorced Jane Wilde and married his nurse, Elaine Mason.
Later Years and Legacy (2001–2018)
2004: Revised his theory on black holes, stating that they do not destroy everything they consume but may "leak" information back out.
2006: Divorced Elaine Mason and reconciled with Jane and his children.
2009: Retired as Lucasian Professor but continued as a Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.
2014: His life was portrayed in the Oscar-winning film The Theory of Everything.
2018 (March 14): Passed away peacefully at his home in Cambridge at age 76, on Pi Day and the anniversary of Albert Einstein's birth.
Appearance
- Early life: Tall (about 6'0" / 183 cm), slim, dark hair, sharp features, intellectual look.
- Later years: Severely disabled by ALS — completely paralyzed, wheelchair-bound, unable to speak or move except for minimal cheek muscle control; thin, frail body; large head, expressive eyes (communicated via eye-tracking computer); long gray hair in old age.
- Overall: Iconic image of him in motorized wheelchair with head tilted, wearing dark suits or academic robes, with a calm, thoughtful expression despite physical limitations.
Family
- Parents: Frank and Isobel Hawking.
- Wives: Jane Wilde (1965–1995), Elaine Mason (1995–2007).
- Children: Robert, Lucy, Timothy.
Health
- Diagnosed with ALS at 21; progressively paralyzed over decades; lost voice in 1985; lived far longer than doctors predicted (55+ years post-diagnosis).
Wealth
- Modest early on; later earned millions from books, lectures, TV appearances (The Simpsons, Star Trek), and documentaries.
Honors
- Lucasian Professor, FRS (1974), CBE (1982), Companion of Honour (1989), Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009), 12 honorary doctorates, etc. No Nobel Prize, though widely tipped for black hole work.
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