One of the most loved physicists of all time, Stephen Hawking breathed his last much to the dismay of the entire scientific community. Among his major works, A Brief History Of Time remains the most read.
“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years,” his children Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement.
His story has been portrayed wonderfully in the biopic The Theory Of Everything, for which Eddie Redmayne won an Academy Award in the Best Actor category. We look at five things we learn about him through the movie.
He was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at 22
He was given just two years to live, but he fought hard to survive and lived till the age of 76.
He had a good sense of humour
Cockcroft Guest 2: Now you are recognized everywhere. How do you deal with all the attention?
Stephen Hawking: [grinning] I was stopped recently by a tourist at Cambridge who asked if I was the real Stephen Hawking. I replied I was not, and said the real one was much better looking.
That’s a quote from the film.
He stands for hope
“We are all different. However bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there’s life, there is hope,” he says. Certainly, if someone can achieve so much despite being restricted to wheelchair and with a speech impediment, we can all understand more about the triumph of human story.
He was married to his wife Jane Hawking for 30 years before they divorced in 1995
He had three kids with her – Lucy, Robert and Timothy. In 1997, Jane married Jonathan Jones.
Even though he was diagnosed with a debilitating disease, his brain’s activity didn’t change
No wonder he wrote so many books and made so many discoveries despite all the setbacks. “It’s (motor neurone disease) a progressive neurological disorder that destroys the cells in the brain that control essential muscle activity, such as speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing,” Hawkins’ doctor says in the movie.
