RIP Stephen Hawking: 8 Jan 1942 - 14 Mar 2018
Who was Stephen Hawking?
> He didn’t learn to read until 8 years old
> His family could not afford high school fees so he had to try get a scholarship
> At 13 years old he was too sick to take the scholarship exam, failed to get into the high school he wanted to and struggled at academics.
> He finally gained an interest in physics but as a 21 years old university student was told by doctors he had only a few months to live.
> Diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease, he became wheelchair bound without the ability to speak or barely move for the next 55 years of his life.
> Of his disease, Stephen said “When faced with the possibility of an early death, it makes you realise that life is worth living and there are lots of things you want to do. Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free.”
What did Stephen Hawking do then?
> He wrote his university thesis on the ground break idea the Universe began with a Big Bang
> He became a world renowned physicist, known for his work on quantum gravity, black holes and the radiation they emit (now known as Hawking radiation)
> He was elected Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, where he dedicated his life to studying the wonders of the universe
> Wrote “A Brief History of Time”, which sold over 10 million copies
> He was awarded the American Franklin Medal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and 13 honorary degrees.
> And he died one of the world’s most famous scientists of all time, at his home in Cambridge, 14 March 2018.
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.”
“And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at.
It matters that you don’t just give up.” ~ Stephen Hawking
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