Born Jan. 8, 1942, Stephen Hawking became a household name associated with his brilliance, and an icon with his wheelchair and computerized voice as the progression of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, paralyzed nearly all of his body. Diagnosed at age 21 while he was a graduate student, Hawking was given only a few years to live. He bucked that estimate by more than five decades, and went on to hold the position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge — also famously held by Sir Isaac Newton — for 30 years.
In addition to his field-leading scientific research on cosmology and the evolution of the universe, he also published popular books, gave public lectures, guest-starred on television shows, and even appeared in documentaries of his own. He spoke about everything from black holes and cosmology to alien life and the most likely way in which humankind will meet its end. Hawking’s impressive list of popular publications is topped by A Brief History of Time, which sold more than 10 million copies. You can even read his 1966 doctoral thesis, “Properties of Expanding Universes,” on the University of Cambridge’s website. When the thesis went live, the sheer volume of visitors crashed the site.
Stephen Hawking passed away in 2018, at the age of 76.
