2. FAMILY
Family:
Spouse/Ex-: Elaine Manson (1995–2006)
Father: Frank Hawking
Mother: Isobel Hawking
Siblings: Edward Hawking, Mary Hawking, Philippa Hawking
Children: Lucy Hawking, Robert Hawking, Timothy Hawking
3. EARLY LIFE OF STEPHEN HAWKING.
Hawking was born on 8 January 1942 in Oxford to Frank and Isobel Eileen Hawking (née Walker).
Hawking's mother was born into a family of doctors in Glasgow, Scotland. His wealthy paternal great-
grandfather, from Yorkshire, over-extended himself buying farm land and then went bankrupt in the
great agricultural depression during the early 20th century. His paternal great-grandmother saved the
family from financial ruin by opening a school in their home.
In St Albans, the eight-year-old Hawking attended St Albans High School for Girls for a few months. At
that time, younger boys could attend one of the houses
In 1950, when Hawking's father became head of the division of parasitology at the National Institute
for Medical Research, the family moved to St Albans, Hertfordshire.[32][33] In St Albans, the family
was considered highly intelligent and somewhat eccentricmeals were often spent with each person
silently reading a book.[32] They lived a frugal existence in a large, cluttered, and poorly maintained
house and travelled in a converted London taxicab
4.
5. DISABILITY OF HAWKING
Hawking had a rare early-onset, slow-progressing form of motor neurone disease (MND; also known
as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease), a fatal neurodegenerative disease
that affects the motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord, which gradually paralysed him over
decades.
Hawking had experienced increasing clumsiness during his final year at Oxford, including a fall on
some stairs and difficulties when rowing.The problems worsened, and his speech became slightly
slurred. His family noticed the changes when he returned home for Christmas, and medical
investigations were begun. The MND diagnosis came when Hawking was 21, in 1963. At the time,
doctors gave him a life expectancy of two years.
In the late 1960s, Hawking's physical abilities declined: he began to use crutches and could no
longer give lectures regularly. As he slowly lost the ability to write, he developed compensatory visual
methods, including seeing equations in terms of geometry. The physicist Werner Israel later
compared the achievements to Mozart composing an entire symphony in his head. Hawking was
fiercely independent and unwilling to accept help or make concessions for his disabilities. He
preferred to be regarded as "a scientist first, popular science writer second, and, in all the ways that
6. DEATH OF STEPHEN HAWKING
Hawking died at his home in Cambridge on 14 March 2018, at the age of 76. His family stated that
he "died peacefully". He was eulogised by figures in science, entertainment, politics, and other
areas. The Gonville and Caius College flag flew at half-mast and a book of condolences was
signed by students and visitors.A tribute was made to Hawking in the closing speech by IPC
President Andrew Parsons at the closing ceremony of the 2018 Paralympic Winter Games in
Pyeongchang, South Korea.
His private funeral took place on 31 March 2018, at Great St Mary's Church, Cambridge.Guests at
the funeral included The Theory of Everything actors Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, Queen
guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May, and model Lily Cole. In addition, actor Benedict
Cumberbatch, who played Stephen Hawking in Hawking, astronaut Tim Peake, Astronomer Royal
Martin Rees and physicist Kip Thorne provided readings at the service.
7. STEPHEN HAWKING
GREATEST ACHEIVEMENT
Professor Stephen Hawking had researched his whole life the basic laws governing the universe.
In fact, he was the first to elaborate an equation to try to unify general relativity and quantum
physics, a 'theory of everything'. This equation is called the temperature formula of a black hole.
His main contribution to science lies in the so-called 'theory of everything', words that give name,
by the way, to his biographical film released in 2014. That is, he was the first scientist to attempt
to unify Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity with the laws of Quantum Physics.