Stephen Hawking was the modern embodiment of Albert Einstein. Thanks to his exceptional intellectual strength, he unveiled several mysteries of the universe. There’s no denying that his work has advanced society in countless ways.
And, despite his debilitating disease, Hawking was also a prolific writer, speaker, and pop-culture personality. He made it his goal to make science more accessible to everyone. Sadly, he passed away on March 14th, 2018 at the age of 76.
Ready to expand your mind about one of the greatest geniuses of our time? Here are 25 Inspiring Facts About Stephen Hawking You Probably Didn’t Know.
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He loved math at a young age, but his father wanted him to study medicine. He eventually studied Physics at Oxford because mathematics wasn't a major.
Source: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/physicists/10-cool-things-stephen-hawking2.htm 24
He didn't learn to read well until he was 8, and by his own words, was a lazy student all the way through Oxford.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1322807/Stephen-Hawking-I-didnt-learn-read-8-lazy-student.html 23
He was born on Galileo's 300th death anniversary and died on Albert Einstein's birthday.
Source: https://www.scoopwhoop.com/stephen-hawkin-facts/#.awguryq6b 22
In 1963, he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and should have only survived 3 years, but he lived on for another fifty years instead.
Source: https://www.cnn.com/2013/04/29/world/europe/stephen-hawking-fast-facts/index.html 21
He dreamed of writing a physics book that the general public could understand and wrote it with his speech synthesizer and assistance from his students. The result was "A Brief History of Time," published in 1988.
Source: https://www.biography.com/news/stephen-hawking-biography-facts 20
After undergoing a tracheotomy, he lost his voice and required 24-hour care. Thankfully in 1985, a Californian computer programmer caught wind of his condition and made a computer to help him speak with his head and eye movement.
Source: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/stephen-hawking-5456.php 19
Hawking married twice. The first was the mother of his three children, but that ended in divorce in 1990. He left his wife for his nurse, Elaine Mason. However, she filed for divorce with him in 2006.
Source: http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/people/stephen-hawking-his-wives-and-sycophantic-admirers/news-story/9dd8369b36370a0db78b09ef684ca07d 18
To prove backward time travel probably wasn't possible, Stephen Hawking hosted a party for time travelers, and no one came, which was the point. He even sent invitations after the party ended.
Source: https://mashable.com/2018/03/14/stephen-hawking-time-travel-party/#BSlz1EzCbiqc 17
His PhD doctoral thesis was called "Properties of the Expanding Universe." It basically tried to show how the universe could be created in mathematical terms, starting with the big bang. When it was made available online, the website hosting the thesis crashed.
Source: https://theconversation.com/stephen-hawkings-phd-thesis-crashed-its-host-website-heres-what-it-says-in-simple-terms-86351 16
Hawking claimed to be an atheist and didn't believe in a personal God, heaven, or the afterlife. Despite this, he still claimed the universe and life had meaning.
Source: http://time.com/5199149/stephen-hawking-death-god-atheist/ 15
Not only was he a famous scientist, but he also appeared on several television shows, including Star Trek, The Simpsons, and The Big Bang Theory.
Source: http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/stephen-hawking/credits/175324/ 14
Hawking was very vocal about how the world would end. Of his theories, he claimed artificial intelligence, nuclear war, pandemics, climate change, or over-population will end humanity. As such, he was a big proponent of finding a new planet to live on.
Source: https://www.mirror.co.uk/science/stephen-hawking-predicted-end-world-11766792 13
At the age of 65, he flew up in a space shuttle to experience zero gravity. He was weightless for a total of four minutes.
Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11730-stephen-hawking-gets-taste-of-zero-gravity/ 12
He has an equation named after him called "Hawking's Equation." The formula is a centerpiece for our understanding of black holes. He said he wants it engraved on his tombstone.
Source: http://www.iflscience.com/physics/stephen-hawking-asked-to-have-his-most-famous-equation-on-his-tombstone/ 11
Along with Jim Hartle, he came up with the Boundless Universe Theory in 1983. It claims the universe has no boundaries but is also a contained entity.
Source: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/physicists/10-cool-things-stephen-hawking5.htm 10
He made a bet with fellow physicist John Preskill in 1997 that information was lost in black holes. Preskill disagreed and said information can escape them. In 2004, Hawkings admitted he was wrong.
Source: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/physicists/10-cool-things-stephen-hawking6.htm 9
In 1985, he suffered a bout of pneumonia and almost died. His doctors offered to take him off life support, but his wife refused. Thankfully, he survived and recovered enough to finish "A Brief History of Time."
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2013/jul/28/stephen-hawking-doctors-life-support 8
He received several awards and distinctions, including the Albert Einstein Award, the Hughes Medal from the Royal Society, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Barack Obama.
Source: https://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/famous-scientists/physicists/10-cool-things-stephen-hawking7.htm 7
He's also a children's book author. He and his daughter Lucy co-wrote a series of children's books; the first one is called, "George's Secret Key to the Universe." Four more books were published in the series.
Source: http://metro.co.uk/2018/03/14/stephen-hawkings-daughter-lucy-hawking-age-childrens-books-husband-son-7386323/ 6
While he didn't believe in God, he did think other evolved extraterrestrials exist. He did warn, however, that if they ever visited us, it might not turn out so well for humanity.
Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-03-14/stephen-hawking-on-aliens-black-holes-and-trump/9547728 5
He once claimed if humanity ever figured out how to harness the power of a black hole, we could easily power all of earth's power grid.
Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/stephen-hawking-humanity-could-make-black-holes-into-power-stations-a6855866.html 4
He, among other physicists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, supported the "multiverse" theory, which suggests we are just one of several parallel universes out among the cosmos.
Source: http://bigthink.com/paul-ratner/scientists-find-what-could-be-the-first-proof-of-parallel-universes 3
He earned $3 million dollars after winning the Special Fundamental Physics Prize for his large body of work.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/dec/10/stephen-hawking-physics-prize 2
It's estimated by the London Evening Standard that his net worth was $6.9 million, most of which came from the sales of his books.
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/what-was-stephen-hawkings-new-worth-843892 1
Undoubtedly a genius of the modern age, Hawkings IQ is unknown. He once said in an interview with The New York Times after they asked him about his IQ, “I have no idea. People who boast about their IQ are losers.”
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/what-stephen-hawkings-iq-score-late-physicist-called-people-who-care-losers-843895 Lists Going Viral Right Now
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