Stephen Hawking

10/5/2017

Editing & Publishing Manager
Rebekah Billingham Curricula & Co Team

Welcome to our series of blog posts, where we have been looking at stories of highly successful people who overcame extreme challenges to get to where they wanted to be. Read More Stroies

“My goal is simple. It is a complete understanding of the universe, why it is as it is and why it exists at all.”
Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is a physicist, cosmologist, prolific scientific author, and a director of research at the University of Cambridge. He is famed for his groundbreaking theories relating to quantum gravity, general relativity, and black holes, as well as his unprecedented influence within his academic fields and beyond.

Throughout his career, Hawking has received many awards and accolades, including

the Plus XI gold medal for science, the Albert Einstein medal, and the Order of the British Empire, which was presented to him personally by Queen Elizabeth II.
Among his most famous achievements in science are his proof that the universe has no boundaries, as well as developing a mathematical proof of black holes.

Throughout his life, Hawking has overcome many obstacles, especially his diagnosis of ALS, a degenerative disease that causes slow, progressive paralysis. He now communicates through a speech generating machine which he operates using a muscle in his cheek.

Surprisingly, he was not always successful in academia. Starting his university education at Oxford, aged 17, Hawking suffered from loneliness and boredom for eighteen months, partly due to the fact that the course material was too easy. However, he persevered, and soon began to thrive socially as well as academically.

“Not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”

. Soon after beginning his doctoral degree, he was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease, which plunged him into a deep depression. But though his health spiralled downwards, his success spiralled upwards due to his passion and determination to succeed. He would not let his health be his undoing.

All too often, as business people, students, parents, workers, etc, we can feel defeated by everyday negativity and adverse circumstances. Whatever you are challenged by in your life right now, let Stephen Hawkings story inspire you to surpass your own expectations.