Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein, whose untiring work unlocked a universe of possibilities for humankind, dies at 76
Stephen Hawking
Stephen William Hawking, who has died aged 76, was Britain's most famous modern day scientist, a genius who dedicated his life to unlocking the secrets of the Universe. Born on January 8, 1942, he believed science was his destiny. But, crippled by amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a form of motor neurone disease that attacks the nerves controlling voluntary movement, he spent most of his life in a wheelchair.
ADVERTISEMENT
Remarkably, Hawking defied predictions that he would only live for two years, overcoming its debilitating effects on his mobility and speech that left him paralysed and able to communicate only via a computer speech synthesiser. But, inside the shell of his increasingly useless body was a razor-sharp mind, fascinated by the nature of the Universe, how it was formed and how it might end. "My goal is simple," he once said. "It is complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all."
In 1974, he became one of the youngest fellows of Britain's most prestigious scientific body, the Royal Society, at the age of 32. In 1979 he was appointed Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, where he had moved from Oxford University to study theoretical astronomy and cosmology. A previous holder of the prestigious post was the 17th-century British scientist Isaac Newton. Hawking eventually put Newton's gravitational theories to the test in 2007 when, aged 65, he went on a weightless flight in the United States as a prelude to a hoped-for sub-orbital spaceflight.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
