Stephen Hawking, Net worth money and more
Net Worth: $20 million
Profession: Scientific Researcher, Writer
Early Life:
Stephen William Hawking is a famous scientist, star gazer, professor and an author who is well known for unveiling theories of gravity, cosmos and black holes. He was born on January 8, 1942 in United Kingdom, the 300th anniversary of death of Galileo which was long a source of pride for the noted physicist. His Scottish mother, Isabel Hawking and father, Frank Hawking were both graduates from Oxford University.
At an early age, Stephen grew passionate about science and sky. His interest helped him dwell into the details and intricacies of the universe. Unfortunately, at the age of 21 he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). But his ailment could not hinder his growth and he did ground breaking work in the fields of science and physics. Talking about his personal life, he was married two times and has three kids.
An All Rounder:
In his early academic life, Stephen was recognised as a bright student but not as an exceptional student. One time during his high school years he came third from bottom of his class. But Hawking was interested in activities outside school too. He loved board games and he with his friends used to create some games of their own. At 16, Stephen Hawking, along with his friends, constructed a computer out of recycled parts for solving primitive mathematical equations. He also liked dancing and rowing, and became one of the Oxford rowing team’s coxswain. And, later he contributed exceptionally to the understanding of origins and structure of the universe, from the Big Bang to black holes. Stephen is truly full of talent.
The Health Challenge:
At the age of 21, Stephen was found suffering from motor neuron disease (Lou Gehrig’s disease). The doctors said that he was not expected to live more than two years. The completion of his doctorate appeared to be unlikely, but Stephen defied the odds. He not only completed his Ph.D but also explored the understandings of the universe and its mysteries.
With the progression of his disease, Stephen became less mobile and was confined to a wheelchair. In 1985, an emergency tracheotomy caused a total loss of his speech. Stephen now uses a speech generating device constructed at Cambridge, which is embedded with a software program that serves as his electronic voice. He selects the words by moving muscles in his cheeks.
Awards and Achievements:
In 2009, Stephen hawking received the award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honour given to civilians of United States. Besides, he is a member of the Royal society of Arts and a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. From 1979 to 2009, Stephen was a professor of mathematics at the Cambridge University. Thereafter, he became a director at the Centre of Theoretical Cosmology based in the university.
His theorems about black holes is known as the Hawking radiation or Bekenstein-Hawking radiation in which he has predicted that black holes are supposed to emit and spread radiation. He has received the Albert Einstein Medal in 1979, the Order of the British Empire (Commander) in 1982 and the Wolf Prize in Physics in 1988.
Mind is Money:
Stephen Hawking believes that mind is money and his intellect is his major source of income. He is a professor and delivers lectures in his computerized voice. He has also written several books and earned a lot from those books. He also won a prize money worth millions for winning the most lucrative science prize ever established. He was won the Special Fundamental Physics Prize for a lifetime of achievements and received a cash prize of $3 million for the same.
Hawking’s Books:
Stephen hawking is a very popular writer. The first book published by him, ‘A brief History of Time’ in the year 1988 became an international best seller. This book stayed in the list of bestsellers in the British Sunday Times for 237 weeks in a row. In this book, Hawking attempted to explain the concepts of birth and death of the universe in a manner that could be well understood by people from non-scientific background. He has also written other books for non scientists titled ‘The Universe in a Nutshell’, ‘The Grand Design’ and ‘On the Shoulders of Giants’. He also wrote a fictional book series for middle school kids, called ‘George and the Big Bang’on the creation of universe.
Hawking has also appeared in several television shows. He played a hologram of himself in on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ and a cameo on the television show ‘Big Bang theory’. PBS presented an educational miniseries titled ‘Stephen Hawking’s Universe’ which probes the theories of the cosmologist.
The Big Quotes:
Some of Hawking’s quotes, which range from poetic to controversial, are as follows:
- “All of my life, I have been fascinated by the big questions that face us, and have tried to find scientific answers to them. If, like me, you have looked at the stars, and tried to make sense of what you see, you too have started to wonder what makes the universe exist.”
- “Science predicts that many different kinds of universe will be spontaneously created out of nothing. It is a matter of chance which we are in.”
- “There ought to be something very special about the boundary conditions of the universe and what can be more special than that there is no boundary?”
- “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.”
- “It is a waste of time to be angry about my disability. One has to get on with life and I haven’t done badly. People won’t have time for you if you are always angry or complaining.”
