In 2018, Stephen Hawking, one of the brightest minds, died. You have to know that about the physicist, who was born on January 8, 1942.
Stephen Hawking was a man whose brilliant mind was always in full swing. He did not allow himself to be deterred by his disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The brilliant thinker, who died in March 2018, would have turned 80 on January 8th. Here are some extraordinary facts about his life:
In common with Galileo Galilei
Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8, 1942, exactly 300 years to the day after the death of the famous physicist and astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564-1642). During his school days, Hawking was nicknamed Einstein by his classmates. At that time no one had any idea how apt this name would later prove to be.
Just average
Hawking wasn’t a good student. Even though young Stephen built a computer from recycled parts as a teenager, he wasn’t a high-flyer back then. He himself once said that he didn’t really learn to read until he was eight and that he had only mediocre school grades. His sister Philippa, on the other hand, had been reading since she was four, and Hawking always thought she was much smarter than he was.
Part of an extraordinary family
A close family friend once described the Hawking family as an “eccentric bunch”. They often ate dinner in silence while each of them read a book. Stephen’s father was a tropical medicine, his mother an economist. Her car, an old London taxi, and her house were supposedly under constant construction. The family was rumored to be keeping bees in the basement and setting off fireworks in the greenhouse.
He never gave up hope
Hawking was devastated when he was diagnosed with ALS at age 21, but some things seem to keep him from the worst of despair. He is said to have shared a hospital room with a boy diagnosed with leukemia. This made him realize that his situation was “bearable,” it is said, compared to what his roommate was going through. For Hawking himself, the disease is said to have been the decisive engine for his scientific career.
Fan of Richard Wagner
Stephen Hawking also found solace in music. The work of Richard Wagner was particularly important in his life. Until his death he took refuge in the composer’s music whenever he felt uncomfortable.
He never wanted to change the robot voice
Hawking had an iron will to survive: in 1985 he lost his ability to speak after suffering severe pneumonia and a tracheotomy. Nevertheless, he liked the voice of his future voice computer, which he controlled by muscle movement. Initially, it was the only voice available for the computer. But when developers were able to offer the scientist to give his speech computer a new voice – one that was closer to his own voice – Hawking turned it down. He made his “robot voice” his trademark.
No luck in love
From 1965 to 1990 he was married to the linguist Jane Wilde, with whom he fell in love as a young man. In 1967 the first son Robert was born. Daughter Lucy followed in 1969 and son Timothy in 1979. The marriage was not a happy one. Jane published a book about her years with the brilliant scientist. She wrote that her role had changed from that of a wife to that of a nurse. After separating from Jane, Hawking was married to his carer Elaine Mason from 1995 to 2006.
He valued the Vatican
Stephen Hawking was a member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He received this award in 1986, even though he was an avowed atheist.
His dream of space
According to Hawking, humanity can only survive for the next 1,000 years if it finds a new planet to colonize. In his opinion, the earth is too fragile for us to be able to use it as living space forever. It was therefore his greatest wish to fly into space in person. When Sir Richard Branson (71) found out, he immediately invited him to a flight with the “Virgin Galactic” spaceship – even if Hawking could no longer make this dream come true. But another one came true: at the age of 65 he was able to experience weightlessness and thus – for the first time in decades – get out of the wheelchair.
He loved “Star Trek” and other films
Stephen Hawking loved entertainment. He had guest appearances on the “Simpsons” as well as in the TV series “Cosmo and Wanda”, “Dilbert”, “The Big Bang Theory” and on the show “Monty Python Live”. Eddie Redmayne (40) and Benedict Cumberbatch (45) played him in biopics. But one cameo was particularly important to him: the role as himself in “Star Trek”. In an episode of “Star Trek – The Next Generation,” Hawking was one of the three great minds of science that Data used to create holographic replicas for entertainment and poker games.
The astrophysicist also wrote for children
Stephen Hawking’s life was determined by complex theories and he always tried to let others participate in his thoughts. Even children are still allowed to get an insight into the very personal cosmos of the genius: Hawking has not only written books for adults, but also three children’s books, together with his daughter Lucy. It’s about George, who is looking for a secret key to the universe.
His greatest pride was not his knowledge
He did not see his greatest achievement as his scientific findings, but something completely different: In his opinion, his greatest achievement was that he had inspired people to think about the cosmos and their place in it, according to Hawking. His popular science work “A Brief History of Time” has sold more than ten million times within 20 years.
A voice in space
Stephen Hawking’s ashes were interred in Westminster Abbey between the graves of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton. For the commemoration, the European Space Agency (ESA) came up with something symbolic: ESA sent a statement by the famous physicist into space, accompanied by music. According to Hawking’s daughter, it was a message of peace and hope. Hawking called for people to live together and in harmony on earth.
He was an excellent star
Hawking has received almost every award an astrophysicist can get in the course of his life. These include the Albert Einstein Award from the Lewis and Rosa Strauss Memorial Fund, the honorary title Commander of the British Empire, the Wolf Prize for Physics and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He was also awarded the Special Fundamental Physics Prize, which grossed him $ 3 million.