The Man Who Defeated Life

The Man Who Defeated Life

Can you imagine a man, called as the ‘mastermind of the universe’, who couldn’t even utter a single word or was unable to even lift his own finger, went on to change the perception of the entire universe? Have you ever thought of questioning the dealings of the entire universe? The late Oxford Physicist did the same, he questioned the working of the universe and that left us all flabbergasted and perhaps made us more evolved. Skinny in appearance with glasses that covered his face, young professor Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, "ALS", a motor neurone disease that paralysed him at the age of 21. Professor Hawking challenged his own life and lived an extraordinary life that brought an evolution in the field of cosmology and physics. The esteemed cosmologist took his last breath on 14th March 2018, but his findings and ideas will remain eternal. It will hardly make any sense to say ‘rest in peace’ to a man who did not believe in an afterlife, but we can definitely celebrate his vast life by acknowledging his consequential contribution and his exceptional achievements.

GLANCE AT HIS EXTRAORDINARY LIFE

8 January 1942- Stephen William Hawking was born in Oxford, England to Frank and Isobel Hawking on the 300th death anniversary of Galileo.

He began his schooling at the Byron House School in Highgate, London.

The young Hawking shifted from one school to another, starting from St.Albans High School for Girls to Radlett School in Hertfordshire and finally to St. Albans School.

At the young age of 16, Hawking started showing signs of a genius when, with the help of Dikran Tahta, his mathematics teacher, he built a computer using clock parts, an old telephone switchboard and some other recycled components.

1959- At the age of 17, Hawking began his university education at University College, Oxford.