Profile of the Day: Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking

We are sad to hear of the passing of renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, who has died in his home at the age of 76. Considered one of the most brilliant minds in science, Hawking overcame great odds to make some of the most groundbreaking discoveries about our universe.

Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England to Frank Hawking and Isobel Walker. Born into a well educated family, Hawking showed an aptitude for math and science at an early age. He studied at Cambridge, where he would earn his PhD and meet his first wife, Jane Wilde. At the age of 21, Hawking was diagnosed with ALS, also known as motor neuron disease. Doctors had not expected Hawking to live more than two to three years after his diagnosis. However, the disease progressed slowly, gradually paralyzing him over the decades. Despite his debilitating illness, Hawking became one of the leading minds in the study of gravity and black holes. His best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, helped explain complex scientific theories about the universe to the masses and made him a fixture in popular culture.

Born exactly 300 years after the death of astronomer Galileo Galilei, Hawking died on March 14 on the anniversary of Albert Einstein’s birth.

Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking.
 

View Stephen Hawking’s Geni Profile

 
Image: Wikimedia Commons