From disability to ability

The man who played dice with the galaxy, he has demystified the black hole; turned his physical disability into scientific ability, revolutionising physics.  

In spite of his crippling illness that robbed him of his mobility and faculty of speech, he popularised abstruse scientific ideas for the general public, making him an academic celebrity and bestselling author.

He is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom— the highest civilian award in the US.

Childhood

Stephen William Hawking was born on the 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo— January 8, 1942 in Oxford to a family of thinkers. Both of his parents had attended Oxford University and his father was a medical researcher. 

His upbringing gave him a strong curiosity about the Universe. He was drawn to physics and mathematics. He studied natural sciences at Oxford University, and then moved to Cambridge to begin a PhD in cosmology.

Motor neuron disease diagnosis

When Hawking returned home after his first term at Cambridge, his parents noticed that he was experiencing clumsiness and a slight speech impediment. Shortly after his 21st birthday he was diagnosed with ALS – amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – an incurable form of motor neuron disease.

Doctors initially gave Hawking two years to live. His condition steadily deteriorated. He began using a wheelchair, and eventually lost his speech. However Hawking refused to let his diagnosis distract him from his work. He completed his PhD, and went on to enjoy a full career as a leading theoretical physicist.

Contributions

Hawking quickly became a leading figure in the world of cosmology. His work during the 1970s led to the discovery that black holes emit thermal radiation and has been described as one of the most important developments in 20th-century physics. Hawking’s revolutionary insights were achieved by combining three previously separate areas of physics: quantum theory, general relativity and thermodynamics.

Hawking also attempted to tackle some of the most fundamental questions in physics, applying his work on black holes to model the Big Bang and the nature of time.

In 1988, Hawking catapulted to international prominence with the publication of “A Brief History of Time”. As it was not easy for the common man to understand, Hawking in 2001, followed up his book with “The Universe in a Nutshell”, this offered a more illustrated guide to cosmology’s big theories. Four years later, he authored the even more accessible “A Briefer History of Time”.

Awards and recognition

Hawking has been widely recognised for his work. He was awarded the Eddington Medal from the Royal Astronomical Society, and the Royal Society’s Hughes Medal. In 1979, he accepted the post of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge: a post once held by Isaac Newton.