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Stephen HawkingbiographySynopsisStephen Hawking was born January 8, 1942in Oxford, England. From an early age, heshowed a passion for science and the sky. Atage 21, while studying cosmology atCambridge, Hawking was diagnosed withAmyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Despitehis debilitating illness, he has done groundbreaking work in physics and cosmology andhis several books strive to make science accessible to everyone.Early LifeThe eldest of Frank and Isobel Hawking's four children, Stephen William Hawking was born onthe 300th anniversary of the death of Galileo, which has long been a source of pride for thenoted physicist. Stephen was born into a family of thinkers. At a time when few women thoughtof going to college, the Scottish born Isobel earned her way into Oxford University in the 1930s,making her one of the college's first female students. Frank Hawking, another Oxford graduate,was a respected medical researcher with a specialty in tropical diseases.Stephen Hawking's birth came at an inopportune time for his parents, who didn't have muchmoney. The political climate was also tense, as England was dealing with World War II and theonslaught of German bombs. In an effort to seek a safer place to have their first child, Frankmoved his pregnant wife from their London home to Oxford. The Hawkings would go on tohave two other children, Mary (1943) and Philippa (1947). A second son, Edward, was adoptedin 1956.The Hawkings, as one close family friend described them, were an "eccentric" bunch. Dinnerwas often eaten in silence, each of the Hawkings intently reading a book. The family car was anold London taxi and their home in St. Albans was a three-story fixer-upper that never quite gotfixed. The Hawkings also kept bees in thebasement, and made fireworks in the greenhouse.In 1950, Stephen's father took work as the head ofthe Division of Parasitology at the NationalInstitute of Medical Research, and spent thewinter months in Africa doing research. He wantedhis oldest child to go into medicine, but from anearly age Stephen showed a passion for scienceand the sky. That was evident to his mother who,along with her children, often stretched out in the

backyard on summer evenings to stare up at the stars. "Stephenalways had a strong sense of wonder," she remembered. "And Icould see that the stars would draw him."Early in his academic life Stephen, while recognized as bright, wasnot an exceptional student. At one point in high school, hismother recalled, he was third from the bottom of his class.Instead, Stephen turned his mind loose on pursuits outside ofschool. He loved board games, and with a few close friendscreated new games of their own. At the age of 16 Stephen, alongwith several other buddies, constructed a computer out ofrecycled parts for solving rudimentary mathematical equations.He was also on the go a lot. "Always on the move," said a familyfriend. "Hardly ever still." With his sister Mary, Stephen, wholoved to climb, devised different entry routes into the family home. He remained active evenafter he entered Oxford University at the age of 17. He loved to dance, and also took an interestin rowing, becoming one of the Oxford rowing team's coxswain.To his father's chagrin, Hawking finally said no to medicine, instead expressing a desire to studymathematics. But since Oxford didn't offer a mathematics degree, Hawking gravitated towardphysics and, more specifically, cosmology.By his own account, Hawking didn't put much time into his studies. He would later calculatethat he averaged about an hour a day focusing on school. And yet, he didn't really have to domuch more than that. In 1962, he graduated with honors and moved on to CambridgeUniversity for a Ph.D. in cosmology.ALS DiagnosisWhile Stephen first began to notice problems with his physical health at Oxford—on occasionhe would trip and fall, or slur his speech— he didn't look into the problem until 1963, during hisfirst year at Cambridge. For the most part, HawkingQuick Factshad kept these minor symptoms to himself. But whenhis father took notice of the condition, he sent StephenNAME: Stephen Hawkingto see a doctor. For the next two weeks, the 21-yearOCCUPATION: Astronomerold college student made his home at a medical clinic,BIRTH DATE: January 08, 1942where he underwent a series of tests.(Age: 69)EDUCATION: Oxford University,Cambridge University,Caltech, Gonville & CaiusCollegePLACE OF BIRTH: Oxford, UnitedKingdomZODIAC SIGN: Capricorn"They took a muscle sample from my arm, stuckelectrodes into me, and injected some radio opaquefluid into my spine, and watched it going up and downwith x-rays, as they tilted the bed," he said. "After allthat, they didn't tell me what I had, except that it wasnot multiple sclerosis, and that I was an a-typical case."Eventually, however, doctors did inform the Hawkingsabout what was ailing their son: he was in the early

stages of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or LouGehrig's disease). In a very simple sense, the nerves thatcontroled his muscles were shutting down. Doctors gavehim two-and-half years to live.It was devastating news for Stephen and his family. A fewevents, however, prevented him from becomingcompletely despondent. The first of these came whileHawking was still in the hospital. There, he shared a roomwith a boy suffering from leukemia. Relative to what hisroommate was going through, Stephen reflected later, hissituation seemed more tolerable. Not long after he wasreleased from the hospital, Hawking had a dream he wasgoing to be executed. He said this dream made himrealize that there were still things to do with his life.But the most significant change in his life was the factthat he was in love. At a New Year's part in 1963, shortly before he had been diagnosed withALS, Stephen Hawking met a young languages undergraduate named Jane Wilde. They weremarried in 1965.In a sense, Hawking's disease helped him become the noted scientist he is today. Before thediagnosis, Stephen Hawking hadn't always focused on his studies. "I was bored with life beforemy illness," he said. "There had not seemed to be anything worth doing." With the suddenrealization that he might not even live long enough to earn his Ph.D., Hawking pored himselfinto his work and research.Research on Black HolesGroundbreaking findings from another young cosmologist, Roger Primrose, about the fate ofstars and the creation of black holes tapped into Hawking's own fascination with how theuniverse began. This set him on a career course that reshaped the way the world thinks aboutblack holes and the universe.While physical control over his body diminished (he'd be forced to use a wheelchair by 1969),the effects of his disease started to slow down. In 1968, a year after the birth of his son Robert,Stephen Hawking became a member of the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge.The next few years were a fruitful time for Hawking. A daughter, Lucy, was born to Stephen andJane in 1969 (a third child, Timothy, arrived 10 years later), while Hawking continued with hisresearch. He then published his first book, the highlyBest Known Fortechnical Large Scale Structure of Space Time (1975). HeStephen Hawking is known for hisalso teamed up with Penrose to expand upon his friend'swork regarding black holes and hisearlier work.several popular science books. Hesuffers from amyotrophic lateralsclerosis (ALS).In 1974, Stephen Hawking's research turned him into acelebrity within the scientific world when he showed thatblack holes aren't the information vacuum that scientists

had thought they were. In simple terms, Hawkingdemonstrated that matter, in the form of radiation, canescape the gravitational force of a collapsed star. HawkingRadiation was born.The announcement sent shockwaves of excitement throughthe scientific world, and put Hawking on a path that's beenmarked by honors, notoriety, and distinguished titles. He wasnamed a fellow of the Royal Society at the age of 32, and laterearned the prestigious Albert Einstein Award. In 1975 hejourneyed to Rome, where he was honored with the Pius XIGold Medal for Science from Pope Paul VI.Teaching stints followed, too. One at Caltech at Pasadena,California, where Hawking served as visiting professor for a year. Another at Gonville & CaiusCollege in Cambridge, England. In 1979, Hawking found himself back at Cambridge University,where he was named to one of teaching's most renowned posts: the Lucasian Professor ofMathematics. Dating back to 1663, the position has had just 14 other office holders, includingSir Isaac Newton.A Brief History of TimeHawking's ever-expanding career was accompanied, however, by his ever-worsening physicalstate. By the mid-1970s, the Hawking family had taken in one of Stephen's graduate students tohelp manage his care and work. He could still feed himself and get out of bed, but virtuallyeverything else required assistance. In addition, his speech had become increasingly slurred, sothat only those who knew him well could understand him. In 1985 he lost his voice for goodfollowing a tracheotomy operation. The resulting situation required 24-hour nursing care forthe acclaimed physicist.It also put in peril Hawking's ability to do his work. The predicament caught the attention of aCalifornia computer programmer, who had developed a speaking program that could bedirected by head or eye movement. The invention allowed Hawking to select words on acomputer screen that were then passed through a speech synthesizer. At the time of itsintroduction, Hawking, who still had use of his fingers, selected his words with a hand-heldclicker. Today, with virtually all control of his body gone, Hawking directs the program througha cheek muscle attached to a sensor.Through the program, and the help of assistants, Stephen Hawking has continued to write at aprolific rate. His work has included numerous scientific papers, of course, but also informationfor the non-scientific community, too.QuotesGod not only plays dice. Hesometimes throws the dice wherethey cannot be seen.– Stephen HawkingIn 1988 Hawking, a recipient of the Commander of theOrder of the British Empire, catapulted to internationalprominence with the publication of A Brief History ofTime. The short, informative book became an accountof cosmology for the masses. The work was an instantsuccess, spending more than four years atop the