“The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance,
it is the illusion of knowledge.”
Stephen Hawking

Content
 I don't want to be a doctor! I love physics and maths!
 Love saving from disease
 Acquiring electronic voice
 Divorce, Marriage, Divorce
 Flying Hawking
 Science and Religion
 Black Holes Theory
 Hawking the Mathematician
 Popularizing Science
 Awards
 Hawking in Popular Culture

I don't want to be a doctor!
I love physics and maths!
Stephen William Hawking was born on
January 8, 1942, in Oxford, England.
Stephen's father, a biologist and a medical
researcher, wanted his son to become a
doctor, but the gifted boy was only
interested in physics and maths. In
1959 Hawking was accepted to
University College in Oxford, where he
studied theoretical physics. After
receiving his B.A. degree in 1962, he
left for graduate work at Trinity Hall,
Cambridge to study cosmology.

Love saving from disease
Hawking started developing symptoms of a serious
illness, a motor neurone disease, shortly after
his 21st birthday. Doctors did not expect him
to survive for long, their verdict being
complete paralysis and death within two years.
But surprisingly enough, his illness stopped
progressing rapidly after he had met Jane
Wilde at a student New Year party. Jane
became his first wife and the couple had a
daughter and two sons.

Acquiring electronic voice
After a throat operation in 1985, Hawking
lost his ability to speak. Friends gave
him a speech generating device, which
was attached to his wheel-chair. At first
Hawking used the index finger of his
right arm to operate the device, but
later some sensitivity was left only in
the cheek muscle. The sensor attached
to his glasses enables Hawking to
operate the computer and communicate
with the world.

Divorce, Marriage, Divorce
Meanwhile, Stephen's relationship
with his wife got worse. In 1991
they separated and later
divorced. Hawking married his
personal care assistant, Elaine
Mason, in 1995; the couple lived
together for 11 years and finally
divorced in 2006.

Flying Hawking
Despite his illness, Hawking leads an active
life. In 2007 he took a zero-gravity
flight on a special plane. He was even
planning a space flight in 2009.

Science and Religion
Professor Hawking doesn't speak directly
about his religious beliefs. In his books
he often uses the word "God", but just to
make some of his ideas clearer to the
reader. His ex-wife, Jane, has described
him as an atheist. When asked to compare
religion and science, Hawking said, "There
is a fundamental difference between
religion, which is based on authority, and
science, which is based on observation and
reason. Science will win because it works."

Black Holes Theory
Stephen Hawking has contributed notably to our
understanding of black holes. He believes that black holes
were formed right after the Big Bang as particles as small
as a proton but weighing more than a billion tons. Because
of their tiny size and enormous weight, black holes create
gravity and absorb matter.

Black Holes Theory
In 1974, he calculated that
black holes should emit
radiation, known today
as Hawking radiation,
until they exhaust their
energy and evaporate.

Hawking the Mathematician
Though many people consider Hawking a
mathematician, the scientist himself
often said that the last time he
studied maths was in secondary
school. And even when he taught
mathematics at university in 1970s,
he admitted that he was only two
weeks ahead of his students.

Popularizing Science
Stephen Hawking has achieved great success with
works of popular science. The best-selling books
he published include "A Brief History of Time",
"Black Holes and Baby Universes", "The Universe
in a Nutshell", and "The Grand Design". He also
wrote a children's book "George's Secret Key to
the Universe" together with his daughter.
In "A Brief History of Time", published in 1988,
there is only one equation. As Hawking himself
explained, every equation could cut the sales of
the book by half.

Awards
Despite all his work, Hawking hasn't
yet been awarded the Nobel
Prize. But his other numerous
awards include the post of
Lucasian Professor of
Mathematics at the University of
Cambridge, Wolf Prize in Physics,
Copley Medal of the Royal
Society, the Presidential Medal
of Freedom, and many others.

Hawking in Popular Culture
As a person of great interest to the
public, Hawking has appeared in many
works of popular culture. Hawking's
early life and the beginning of his
career was the subject of the 2004
BBC TV film "Hawking" starring
Benedict Cumberbatch. The
physicist has appeared as himself on
episodes of The Simpsons, Futurama,
and The Big Bang Theory.

Hawking in Popular Culture
Hawking also hosted the series
"Masters of Science
Fiction". His synthesiser
voice was used in the Pink
Floyd song "Keep Talking"
and in the Discovery Channel
music video «I love the
planet».