Stephen Ulysess Hawking was born in Oxford, England in 1940. His parents, Ron Don Hawking and Sarah Dawn Hawking were Westminster Baptists, and leaders of the local Westminster Abby. He spent most of his childhood playing chess against old men in the park, one ever winning one game, which he later found out the old man let him win. His favorite chess piece was the rook because he liked the idea of moving in straight lines.
His parents home-schooled him up to high school, teaching him devotion and prayer was the answer to everything. At the age of fifteen he rebelled, saying their “progressive methods” were the cause to him not being able to read and write. With this accusation, his parents sent him to an all-boys boarding school in South Africa. He returned to Oxford in 1956 for college, and studied physics as an undergraduate student. His first two years were spent on academic probation after getting into a physical altercation with his professor, Dr. Liam Burkuwitz III. The fight ended with Hawking being paralyzed from the neck down, leaving him permanently bound to a wheel chair for the remainder of his life. His academic career shifted after this one moment and he became a modern-day Einstein, finishing his doctorate in astrophysics within one years’ time.
Directly out of Doctoral school, Hawking took a job as a mobile telescope, having a telescope permanently attached to his personalized wheelchair. Though he finished top of his class, the science community wasn’t looking for new members, leaving him to find work where he could. The Astronomers Anonymous Association was looking for a new location to house a small, yet powerful telescope, and figured Hawking’s wheelchair was the perfect fit. It would provide mobility, and a genius mind for continuous analysis. Though growing bitter being permanently attached to a telescope, Hawking learned a great many things about the universe. He published his findings, improving our knowledge of the singularity theorem, and building modern days quantum mechanics and thermodynamics.
Big-pharma companies took a vested interest in Hawking’s condition, and worked to cure his paralysis. Withstanding multiple “ethically questionable” experiments, Hawking’s paralysis only grew worse. He was diagnosed with ALS after taking a red pill with a blue pill. This had a dramatic impact on society as a whole, creating a social movement called the “ice bucket challenge”.
Stephen Hawking is one of the top leading astro-theorists and physicists of the early 21st century. His work as a living telescope and human pharma Guinea pig will remain a relevant source of inspiration for years to come.