Stephen Hawking’s Achievements and Life Milestones

Hailed as the greatest physics professor since Albert Einstein, Nobel laureate Hawking has done groundbreaking work in quantum physics and space science.

His death was announced by Hawking’s children Lucy, Robert and Tim with these words:

“We are saddened to have lost our beloved father today. He was a great scientist, an extraordinary person whose work and legacy will live on for years to come.”

Born on January 9, 1942, Hawking was not a student considered the shining star of the class early in his academic life. The first year at St. Albans School, he was third from the bottom of his class. He was more focused on activities outside school.

Hawking first began to notice problems with his physical health while at Oxford, but chose to hide these symptoms.

During his years as a student at Cambridge University, Hawking was diagnosed with ALS. He was only 21 years old and doctors estimated that he had 2.5 years to live.

“I try to live as normal a life as I can and not think about my condition, or try not to feel regret for things I can’t do,” he would often answer the question “How do you feel about ALS?”.

As his body gradually lost strength, Hawking’s sharp mind continued to theorize about the nature of the universe, how it came to be and how it might end.

In 1974, Hawking’s research on black holes catapulted him to fame in the scientific world.

Hawking proposed his Theory of Radiation at the age of 32 and won the prestigious Albert Einstein Prize.

He was always interested in what happened before the Big Bang. He applied the Euclidean approximation to quantum gravity, where imaginary time replaces real time. He said that the history of the universe is like a boundless, four-dimensional curved surface.

At the age of 65, Hawking also took an important step towards space travel.

70 in 2012. his statement while celebrating his birthday was much talked about: “Mankind cannot live another 1000 years without going into space.”

Stephen Hawking was and forever will be a scientist who will never be forgotten for the countless works and groundbreaking research he packed into his 76 years of life.