Stephen Hawking - Lost in Time and Space
By Edward, Assistant Science and Environment and Max, Politics Writer
The death of Stephen Hawking, on the 14th March 2018, shocked us all. He was a well remarked physicist and ambassador of science. He discovered the black hole theory, the origins of the universe and the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life as well as many other revolutionary breakthroughs.
People are looking back on his life, but what many people don’t focus on what shaped his life, his illness, MND, or motor neurone disease (also Called ALD in the US). 4.3 men in 100,000 suffer from this life changing disease, which affects the nervous connections between the brain and the muscles, causing them to slowly decay.
A result of MND, you progressively lose control of your movement, including your speech. Treatments must be tailored for the sufferer, and Hawking’s synthesised voice therefore is completely unique to him.
He was born on the 8th, June 1942, Oxford. His favourite subject at school was maths at which he excelled. Learning advanced maths at a young age, many of his teacher complained about how he wasn’t challenged by the maths he was given. As he approached university, his father wanted him to study at Oxford University but where no maths courses available, so he majored in physics.
By 1962, at the age of 20, he received the bachelor’s degree. He then went to Cambridge to finish his degree. Shortly after he arrived he was diagnosed with MND. His marriage to Jane Wilde, motivated him to finish his studies. He achieved many great things after his PhD:
– 1965 – Became research Fellow of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
– 1966 – Won Cambridge University’s prestigious Adams Prize for Essay Singularities and the Geometry of Space-time
– 1969 – Became fellow for Distinction in Science, Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge
– 1972 – (January 8) – Turned 30.
– 1972 – Became a research assistant in the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge
– 1974 – Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society
– 1977 – Appointed professor of Gravitational Physics, University of Cambridge
– 1977 – Made honorary Fellow, University College, and Oxford
– 1978 – Awarded honorary Doctorate of Science, University of Oxford
– 1979 – Awarded the Albert Einstein Medal, Berne, Switzerland
– 1979 – Published General Relativity: An Einstein Centenary Survey (edited with W Israel), Cambridge University Press
– 1982 – Made Commander of the British Empire (CBE)
– 1982 – Honorary Doctor of Science at Notre Dame University, Princeton University, New York University and Leicester University
– 1988 – Publishes a Brief History of Time
– 1989 – Made Companion of Honour (CH)
– 2006 – Awarded the Copley Medal, the Royal Society’s oldest and most prestigious award
– 2009 – Presidential Medal of Freedom
– 2012 – Appeared at the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony, London
– 2017 – Honorary Freedom of the City of London scientific discoveries.
His many cameos in popular culture elevated him from a respected physicist to celebrity status, including shows like “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Simpsons”. He only entered The Simpsons due to his daughter, Lucy, who knew a writer for the show. His books include a “Brief History of Time” which was a bestseller, selling over 10 million copies in 20 years.
Stephen Hawking was truly an inspiration for us all, despite his crippling disability. Professor Hawking has become the most influential physicist of our time through his research. For his work he will be missed dearly on a universal scale.