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Overview: Stephen Hawking is regarded as “one of the greatest scientific minds in the twentieth century.” As a theoretical physicist he has helped forever change human understanding of the universe. He has done all this while living nearly his entire adult life in a wheelchair. Diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease in 1963 he has lost the ability to speak, walk and perform many of life’s daily routines. He can only move his left hand yet, he has overcome this tremendous obstacle with an active mind and perseverance. Country: United Kingdom Type of hero: Trailblazer Attributes: Thinker, Genius Biography:
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Stephen William Hawking was born on January 8, 1942. Twenty-one years later he was diagnosed with ALS, more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, leaving only his left hand partially operative. He is incapable of performing any of life’s daily physical rituals; he cannot speak, walk, feed himself, nor even write. His left hand allows himself to operate his mechanical wheelchair and communicate on his computer with a voice synthesizer. However his mind remains completely active and untouched. In fact he is referred to as “one of the greatest scientific minds in the twentieth century.”
In 1959 Hawking entered Oxford University as an undergraduate. Wanting to study mathematics he eventually studied physics since mathematics was not offered. Three years later he entered Cambridge University where he studied cosmology. After being diagnosed with ALS in 1963 he married Jane Wilde two years later and they have their first child, Robert, in 1967. Complementing his thesis written on singularities connected to the origin of the universe, Hawking announced a new theory of hot, exploding black holes. At this time his wife bears another child, Lucy and Timothy is born later in 1979.
