Stephen Hawking has a great mind that was always in full swing. He refused to be deterred by his affliction, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). On January 8th, the bright thinker, who died in March 2018, would have turned 80. Here are some fascinating facts regarding his life:
Similar to Galileo Galilei
Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England, exactly 300 years after the death of the famed physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). Hawking was dubbed Einstein by his peers when he was in school. No one could have predicted how appropriate this name would subsequently prove to be.
Merely average
Hawking was a lousy student. Even though as a teenager, Stephen created a computer out of recycled components, he wasn’t a high-flier. He once admitted that he didn’t actually learn to read until he was eight, and that he only received mediocre grades in school. His sister Philippa, on the other hand, had been reading since she was four years old, and Hawking always thought she was far wiser than him.
Who is Elaine Mason, Stephen Hawking’s ex-wife? Where is she now?
I am a member of an incredible family
.A close family member once called the Hawkings a “eccentric lot.” They frequently ate dinner in silence, each reading a book. Stephen’s father was a tropical medicine specialist, while his mother was an economist. Her automobile, an ancient London taxi, and her residence were allegedly under construction at all times. It was rumoured that the family kept bees in the basement and let off pyrotechnics in the greenhouse.
He never lost hope.
Hawking was distraught when he was diagnosed with ALS at the age of 21, but there are some things that seem to keep him from succumbing to despair. He is alleged to have shared a hospital room with a leukaemia patient. This helped him realise that his condition was “bearable” in comparison to what his roommate was through. The condition is said to have been the driving force behind Hawking’s scientific career.
Richard Wagner admirer
Stephen Hawking finds refuge in music as well. Richard Wagner’s work was especially influential in his life. Until his death, he sought solace in the composer’s music whenever he felt uneasy.
He had no desire to alter the robot’s voice.
Hawking had an unbreakable will to live: in 1985, he lost his ability to speak due to severe pneumonia and a tracheotomy. Despite this, he enjoyed the voice of his future speech computer, which he could manipulate with muscle movement. It was once the sole voice available to the computer. But when developers offered Hawking the chance to give his speech machine a new voice – one that sounded more like his own – he declined. He became famous for his “robot voice.”
There is no luck in love.
He was married to linguist Jane Wilde, whom he fell in love with as a young man, from 1965 to 1990. Robert, the first son, was born in 1967. Lucy was born in 1969, and Timothy was born in 1979. The marriage was not an amicable one. Jane wrote a book on her experiences with the great scientist. Her job had shifted from that of a wife to that of a nurse, she wrote. Hawking was married to his carer Elaine Mason from 1995 until 2006 after his divorce from Jane.
He admired the Vatican.
Stephen Hawking was a Pontifical Academy of Sciences member. He earned this honour in 1986, despite the fact that he was an outspoken atheist.
His desire for space
Humanity can only survive for the next 1,000 years, according to Hawking, if it finds a new planet to colonise. According to him, the earth is too fragile for us to use as a dwelling area indefinitely. As a result, his greatest dream was to fly into space himself. When Sir Richard Branson (71) found out, he immediately offered Hawking to fly on the “Virgin Galactic” spaceship, even though Hawking could no longer make this dream a reality. But another dream came true: at the age of 65, he was able to experience weightlessness and, as a result, get out of his wheelchair for the first time in decades.
He was a big fan of “Star Trek” and other movies.
Stephen Hawking enjoyed a good show. He appeared as a guest on the “Simpsons,” as well as on the TV shows “Cosmo and Wanda,” “Dilbert,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Monty Python Live.” In biopics, he was portrayed by Eddie Redmayne (40) and Benedict Cumberbatch (45). But one cameo in particular meant a lot to him: his appearance as himself in “Star Trek.” Hawking was one of three great minds of science that Data exploited to make holographic copies for entertainment and poker games in an episode of “Star Trek – The Next Generation.”
The astrophysicist also published works for youngsters.
Stephen Hawking’s life was shaped by complex theories, and he always strove to include people in his thoughts. Even youngsters can gain insight into the genius’s very intimate universe: Hawking has not only authored books for adults, but also three children’s novels with his daughter Lucy. It’s about George, who is on the hunt for a mysterious key to the cosmos.
His greatest source of pride was not his expertise.
His greatest achievement, he believed, was not his scientific discoveries, but something very different: According to Hawking, his greatest success was inspiring people to think about the cosmos and their place in it. Within the last 20 years, his popular science classic “A Brief History of Time” has sold more than ten million copies.
A voice from the stars
Stephen Hawking’s ashes were placed in Westminster Abbey next to Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton’s graves. The European Space Agency (ESA) created a symbolic commemoration by sending a statement from the famed physicist into space, accompanied by music. It was a message of peace and hope, according to Hawking’s daughter. Hawking advocated for humanity to live in peace and harmony on Earth.
He was a fantastic actor.
Hawking has gotten nearly every honour an astrophysicist can receive during the course of his career. These include the Lewis and Rosa Strauss Memorial Fund’s Albert Einstein Award, the honorary title Commander of the British Empire, the Wolf Prize for Physics, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He also received the Special Fundamental Physics Prize, which was worth $ 3 million.
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