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Biographical Sketch of Stephen Hawking (1942-2018)

The world has recently, lost an iconic astrophysicist Stephen Hawking who dedicated his life to solving the mysteries of this universe. The world knows him as a scientist, sitting in a wheelchair and motivational speaker, talking to the world through a computer program.

But, who in reality the Hawking was? And, why his death saddened the world? Let’s have a look at the life of the man, who gave light to the Black Holes.

Who Was Stephen Hawking?

Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, on the eve of Galileo’s 300th death anniversary. He died on March 14, 2018, on the birthday of Einstein and on the occasion of the national pi day (A celebration that roams around the mathematical symbol π which is equal to 3.14.

Significant Events in the Life of Hawking

1952- He started studying physics at University College in London. After three years, he achieved his first class honors degree.

1962- He joined Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics at University of Cambridge for Ph.D in the field of cosmology.

1963- Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and doctors told him that he has only two years to live.

1965- He didn’t let his disease to be an obstacle in his way and went on pursuing his Ph.D. He finally completed his degree in 1965 with the thesis titled as Properties of Expanding Universes. In 2017, Stephen Hawking’s PhD thesis went viral on internet when Cambridge University published it on open resource repository.

1966- Hawking’s essay on “Singularities and the Geometries of Space” won him an Adamz Price.

1973- Along with, George Ellis, he published his first book, Large-Scale Structure of Space-Time.

1974- He explained the mystery of how black holes exist and die through mathematical expressions and gave the concept of Hawking Radiations which black holes emit.

1974- He became fellow at Royal Society

1985- After contracting Pneumonia, Stephen Hawking had to undergo Tracheotomy which resulted in the loss of speech.

1986- Hawking started using adaptive communication system on his wheelchair. It was a kind of Equalizer to combat the effect of ALS or the disease of motor neurons that Hawking suffered. Due to this computer program that was installed on his wheelchair, Stephen Hawking started writing and speaking to the world at the speed of 15 words per minute.

1988- A Brief History of Time from Big Bang to Black Holes

2001- His Book Universe In A Nutshell got published

2002- His Book on the Shoulders of Giant came on the scene.

His other notable books include George’s Secret Key to the Universe, The Grand Design, George’s Cosmic Treasure Hunt, and My Brief History and autobiography. Most of his books came in the first decade of the twenty-first century.

Stephen Hawking

Family Life of Stephen Hawking

Hawking married Jane Wild in 1965. The couple separated in 1991 and had three children together including Lucy Hawking, Robert, and Timothy.

He then married Elaine Mason in 1995, but the couple got divorced in 2006.

How the world reacted over Stephen Hawking’s death proves that the man was indeed a light not in the matters of science but also the life as a whole.

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