A life well lived
Stephen Hawking, simply extraordinary
Stephen Hawking’s life was marked by perseverance, courage and curiosity. His intellectual drive and fortitude in the face of adversity made him not only one of the world’s most famous scientists, but one of its most inspiring people. Mr. Hawking died Wednesday at his home in Cambridge, England. Hewas 76.
Through works such as his 1988 best-seller “A Brief History of Time,” Mr. Hawking developed influential theories regarding cosmology, in general, and black holes, in particular. He achieved fame by taking the complex and often inaccessible world of theoretical physics and distilling it down to a form in which a nonspecialist could makesense of it.
But while his work had a profound impact on the scientific world, it was his five-decade-long battle with a crippling, confounding disease that made him a powerful champion for the rightsof the disabled.
In1963, Mr. Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. Doctors gave him two years to live. He wasjust 21 years old.
Defying the odds, Mr. Hawking lived for 55 years with debilitating disease.This is the longest amount of time someone has survived after receiving an ALS diagnosis. Mr. Hawking’s affliction forced him into a wheelchair and, in his later years, he could speak only with the assistance of a custom computersystem.
But through it all, Mr. Hawking retained a delightful sense of humor and an acerbic wit. His intellect and charm made him a pop culture staple. He had an Academy Award-winning film made about his life, and he appeared as a guest star on light-hearted romps such as “The Simpsons.” In the process, Mr. Hawking proved to millions something about people with disabilities: “I want to show that people need notbe limited by physical handicaps as longas they are not disabled in spirit.”
Mr. Hawking’s passing leaves a massive void in the intellectual community, as well as in the world of disability advocacy. But his life, one centered around educating and inspiring others, will surely inspire much more thought, exploration, and advocacy for yearsto come.