World renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astronomer and mathematician Stephen Hawking has passed away at age 76
Short Story:
Stephen William Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA was an English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology within the University of Cambridge.
World renowned theoretical physicist, cosmologist, astronomer and mathematician Stephen Hawking has passed away at age 76
Born: January 8, 1942, Oxford, United Kingdom
Died: March 14, 2018, Cambridge, United Kingdom
Movies and TV shows: Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking, MORE
Spouse: Elaine Mason (m. 1995–2006), Jane Hawking (m. 1965–1995)
Family:
Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford to Frank
(1905–1986) and Isobel Hawking (née Walker; 1915–2013). His mother was
Scottish. Hawking had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted
brother, Edward.
During one of Hawking's father's frequent absences working
in Africa, the rest of the family spent four months in Majorca visiting his
mother's friend Beryl and her husband, the poet Robert Graves.
Primary and secondary
school years:
Although known at school as "Einstein", Hawking
was not initially successful academically. With time, he began to show
considerable aptitude for scientific subjects and, inspired by Tahta, decided
to read mathematics at university.
Hawking's father advised him to study medicine, concerned
that there were few jobs for mathematics graduates. He also wanted his son to
attend University College, Oxford, and his own alma mater. As it was not
possible to read mathematics there at the time, Hawking decided to study
physics and chemistry. Despite his headmaster's advice to wait until the next
year, Hawking was awarded a scholarship after taking the examinations in March
1959.
Graduate years:
Hawking started developing a
reputation for brilliance and brashness when he publicly challenged the work of
Fred Hoyle and his student Jayant Narlikar at a lecture in June 1964.
When Hawking began his graduate
studies, there was much debate in the physics community about the prevailing
theories of the creation of the universe: the Big Bang and Steady State
theories. Inspired by Roger Penrose's theorem of a space time singularity in
the center of black holes, Hawking applied the same thinking to the entire
universe; and, during 1965, he wrote his thesis on this topic. Hawking's thesis
was approved in 1966. There were other positive developments: Hawking received
a research fellowship at Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge; he obtained
his PhD degree in applied mathematics and theoretical physics, specialising in
general relativity and cosmology, in March 1966; and his essay
"Singularities and the Geometry of Space-Time" shared top honours
with one by Penrose to win that year's prestigious Adams Prize.
Career (1966-2018)
In October 1962, Stephen arrived
at the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP) at the
University of Cambridge to do research in cosmology, there being no-one working
in that area in Oxford at the time. Stephen
moved to the Institute of Astronomy (1968), later moving back to DAMTP (1973),
employed as a research assistant, and published his first academic book, The
Large Scale Structure of Space-Time, with George Ellis. During the next few
years, Stephen was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society (1974) and Sherman
Fairchild Distinguished Scholar at the California Institute of Technology
(1974). He became a Reader in Gravitational Physics at DAMTP (1975),
progressing to Professor of Gravitational Physics (1977). He then held the
position of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics (1979-2009). The chair was
founded in 1663 with money left in the will of the Reverend Henry Lucas who had
been the Member of Parliament for the University. It was first held by Isaac
Barrow and then in 1669 by Isaac Newton.
Stephen is currently the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-Avery
Director of Research at DAMTP.
His many publications include The
Large Scale Structure of Space-time with G F R Ellis, General Relativity: An
Einstein Centenary Survey, with W Israel, and 300 Years of Gravitation, with W
Israel. Among the popular books Stephen Hawking has published are his best
seller A Brief History of Time, Black Holes and Baby Universes and Other
Essays, The Universe in a Nutshell, The Grand Design and My Brief History.
Professor Stephen Hawking has
thirteen honorary degrees. He was awarded CBE (1982), Companion of Honour
(1989) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009). He is the recipient of
many awards, medals and prizes, most notably the Fundamental Physics prize
(2013), Copley Medal (2006) and the Wolf Foundation prize (1988). He is a
Fellow of the Royal Society and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences
and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
Marriages:
When Hawking was a graduate
student at Cambridge, his relationship with Jane Wilde, a friend of his sister
whom he had met shortly before his late 1963 diagnosis with motor neurone
disease, continued to develop. The couple became engaged in October 1964–
Hawking later said that the engagement gave him "something to live
for"– and the two were married on 14 July 1965.
Disability:
Hawking had a rare early-onset
slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (also known as amyotrophic
lateral sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease), that gradually paralysed him over
the decades.
Death:
Hawking died at his home in
Cambridge, England, early in the morning of 14 March 2018.His family stated
that he "died peacefully".He was eulogised by figures in science,
entertainment, politics, and other areas.The college flag at Cambridge's
Gonville and Caius College flew at half-mast and a book of condolences was
signed by students and visitors.
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