He was the at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009. His scientific works included a collaboration with on in the framework of and the theoretical prediction that emit radiation, often called. Hawking was the first to set out a theory of cosmology explained by a union of the and. He was a vigorous supporter of the of quantum mechanics. Hawking achieved commercial success with several works of in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general. His book stephen hawking death on the British best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks. Even after the loss of his speech, he was still able to communicate through ainitially through use of a hand-held switch, and eventually by using a single cheek muscle. He died on 14 March 2018 at the age of 76, after battling the disease for more than 50 years. Hawking's mother was born into a family of doctors in. His wealthy paternal great-grandfather, from Yorkshire, over-extended himself buying farm land and then went bankrupt in the during the early 20th century. His paternal great-grandmother saved the family from financial ruin by opening a school in their home. Despite their families' financial constraints, both parents attended thewhere Frank read medicine and Isobel read. Isobel worked as a secretary for a medical research institute, and Frank was a medical researcher. Hawking had two younger sisters, Philippa and Mary, and an adopted brother, Edward Frank David 1955—2003. In 1950, when Hawking's father became head of the division of at thethe family moved to. In St Albans, the family was considered highly intelligent and somewhat eccentric; meals were often spent with each person silently reading a book. They lived a frugal existence in a large, cluttered, and poorly maintained house and travelled in a converted London taxicab. During one of Hawking's father's frequent absences working in Africa, the rest of the family spent four months in visiting his mother's friend Beryl and her husband, the poet. Primary and secondary school years Hawking began his schooling at the Byron House School inLondon. In St Albans, the eight-year-old Hawking attended for a few months. At that time, younger boys could attend one of the houses. Hawking attended twofirst Radlett School and from September 1952,after passing the a year early. The family placed a high value on education. Hawking's father wanted his son to attend the well-regardedbut the 13-year-old Hawking was ill on the day of the scholarship examination. His family could not afford the school fees without the financial aid of a scholarship, so Hawking remained at St Albans. A positive consequence was that Hawking remained close to a group of friends with whom he enjoyed board games, the manufacture of fireworks, model aeroplanes and boats, and long discussions about Christianity and. From 1958 on, with the help of the mathematics teacherthey built a computer from clock parts, an old telephone switchboard and other recycled components. With time, he began to show considerable aptitude for scientific subjects and, inspired by Tahta, decided to read mathematics at university. Hawking's father advised him to study medicine, concerned that there were few jobs for mathematics graduates. He also wanted his son to attendhis own. As it was not possible to read mathematics there at the time, Hawking decided to study physics and chemistry. Despite his headmaster's advice to wait until the next year, Hawking was awarded a scholarship after taking the examinations in March 1959. Undergraduate years Hawking began his university education atin October 1959 at the age of 17. He developed into a popular, lively and witty college member, interested in classical music and science fiction. Part of the transformation resulted from his decision to join the college boat club, thewhere he a rowing crew. The rowing coach at the time noted that Hawking cultivated a daredevil image, steering his crew on risky courses that stephen hawking death to damaged boats. Hawking estimated that he studied about 1,000 hours during his three years at Oxford. These unimpressive study habits made sitting his a challenge, and he decided to answer stephen hawking death questions rather than those requiring factual knowledge. A was a condition of acceptance for his planned graduate study in at the. Anxious, he slept poorly the night before the examinations, and the final result was on the borderline between first- and second-class honours, making a oral examination necessary. Hawking was concerned that he was viewed as a lazy and difficult student. If I receive a Second, I shall stay in Oxford, so I expect you will give me a First. After receiving a in physics and completing a trip to with a friend, he began his graduate work atin October 1962. Graduate years Hawking's first year as a doctoral student was difficult. He was initially disappointed to find that he had been assignedone of the founders of modern cosmology, as a supervisor rather than noted Yorkshire astronomerand he found his training in mathematics inadequate stephen hawking death work in and cosmology. After being diagnosed with motor neurone disease, Hawking fell into a depression — though his doctors advised that he continue with his studies, he felt there was little point. His disease progressed more slowly than doctors had predicted. Although Hawking had difficulty walking unsupported, and his speech was almost unintelligible, an initial diagnosis that he had only two years to live proved unfounded. With Sciama's encouragement, he returned to his work. Hawking started developing a reputation for brilliance and brashness when he publicly challenged the work of Fred Hoyle and his student at a lecture in June 1964. When Hawking began his graduate studies, there was much debate in the physics community about the prevailing theories of the creation of the universe: the and theories. Inspired by 's theorem of a singularity in the centre of black holes, Hawking applied the same thinking to the entire universe; and, during 1965, he wrote his thesis on this topic. Hawking's thesis was approved in 1966. This included not only the existence of singularities but also the theory that the universe might have started as a singularity. Their joint essay was the stephen hawking death in the 1968 competition. In 1970 they published a proof that if the universe obeys and fits any of the of developed bythen it must have begun as a singularity. In 1969, Hawking accepted a specially created Fellowship for Distinction in Science to remain at Caius. In 1970, Hawking postulated what became known asthat the event horizon of a black hole can never get smaller. With andhe proposed the fourdrawing an analogy with. To Hawking's irritation,a graduate student ofwent further—and ultimately correctly—to apply thermodynamic concepts literally. In the early 1970s, Hawking's work with Carter, Stephen hawking death Israel and David C. Robinson strongly supported Wheeler'sone that states that no matter what the original material from which a black hole is created, stephen hawking death can be completely described by the properties ofand rotation. Hawking's first book,written withwas published in 1973. Beginning in 1973, Hawking moved into the study of and. His work in this area was spurred by a visit to Moscow and discussions with andwhose work showed that according to therotating black holes emit particles. To Hawking's annoyance, his much-checked calculations produced findings that contradicted his second law, which claimed black holes could never get smaller, and supported Bekenstein's reasoning about their. His results, which Hawking presented from 1974, showed that black holes emit radiation, known today aswhich may continue until they exhaust their energy and. Initially, Hawking radiation was controversial. By the late 1970s and following the publication of further research, the discovery was widely accepted as a significant breakthrough in theoretical physics. Hawking was elected aa few weeks after the announcement of Hawking radiation. At the time, he was one of the youngest scientists to become a Fellow. Hawking was appointed to the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished visiting professorship at the Caltech in 1970. He worked with a friend on the faculty,and engaged him in stephen hawking death about whether the was a black hole. Hawking acknowledged that he had lost the bet in 1990, a bet that was the first of several he was stephen hawking death make with Thorne and others. Hawking had maintained ties stephen hawking death Caltech, spending a month there almost every year since this first visit. The mid to late 1970s were a period of growing public interest in black holes and the physicists who were studying them. Hawking was regularly interviewed for print and television. He also received increasing academic recognition of his work. In 1975, he was awarded both the and theand in 1976 thethe and the. He was appointed a professor with a chair in in 1977. The following year he received the and an honorary doctorate from the University of Oxford. In 1979, Hawking was elected at the University of Cambridge. His promotion coincided with a health crisis which led to his accepting, albeit reluctantly, some nursing services at home. At the same time, he was also making a transition in his approach to physics, becoming more intuitive and speculative rather than insisting on mathematical proofs. In 1981, he proposed that information in a black hole is irretrievably lost when a black hole evaporates. Hawking also began a new line of quantum theory research into the origin of the universe. In 1981 at a Vatican conference, he presented work suggesting that there might be no boundary — or beginning or ending — to the universe. He subsequently developed the research in collaboration withand in 1983 they publi
