Stephen Hawking died today at the age of 76

He might not be between us but forever with his spirit. Stephen Hawking was the name of a phenomenon which fought against all the odds and showed the world that a person is never disabled, he is just uniquely abled. He served as an author, cosmologist, and theoretical physicist. He was a complete genius who revolutionized Physics through his mind-blowing discoveries. He left the world at the age of 76 on 14^th March 2018 but his achievements are the evidence that he utilized each and every single moment of his life.

He was born on 8^th January 1942 in Oxford, England. He joined St. Albans School when he was 11 years old. He was very fond of Mathematics and wanted to progress in that field but could not as the University College of Oxford had no department for it at that time. His father wanted him to go for Medicine but he chose Physics.

After getting a first class degree from there, he moved to the University of Cambridge and joined the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics (DAMTP). He found that no one was doing their research in Cosmology and decided to do give it a try. It was his first step towards the amazing theoretical prediction of the ‘Hawking Radiation’. This name is given to the radiations emitted by the black holes.

He started his professional career at Gonville and Caius College after attaining his Ph.D. His thesis was named ‘Properties of Expanding Universes’. He went back to DAMTP in 1973 as a research assistant. During his time there, he worked in collaboration with George Ellis and published his first academic book under the title ‘The Large Scale Structure of Space-Time’.

He became a reader in Gravitational Physics within a couple of years after his joining and rose to the status of a Professor in 1977. He remained the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics for 30 years. This post has a great history as Sir Isaac Newton held it in 1669. He also had the honor of being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society and the Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar.

His remarkable accomplishments did not stop with his outstanding performance in the field of academics. He was a true servant of Science who worked relentlessly for sake of quenching his thirst for knowledge. The lifetime membership of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences proves his worth to the scientific world. Similarly, he was among the top ranks when it came to writing. He wrote a book called ‘A Brief History of Time’ which stayed on the British Sunday Times Best-seller list for 237. Last but not the least, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from Barrack Obama. It is the highest civilian award of United States.

He had quite a prolific academic career, to begin with, but a handful of honorary degrees made it even bigger. This process began in 1982 when he was awarded CBE. He won Wolf Foundation Prize six years later. The following year, he received Companion of Honour. Some recent attainments include Fundamental Physics Prize in 2013. He was given a lifetime achievement award in Pride of Britain Awards 2016 for his services to the British culture and Science.

Similarly, his work as an author is unparallel. His scripts about Science are famous worldwide and needs no introduction. Other than that, he played an important part in British society through his books of child fiction. He instigated the youth of Britain to come towards science and technology. Some of his popular books are A Brief History of Time, The Universe in a Nutshell, My Brief History, George and the Big Bang, and the George’s Secret Key to the Universe.

He had a slow-progressing form of motor neuron disease also known as ALS. He was just 21 years old at the time of this diagnosis. It was predicted by a team of doctors that he will survive only 2 years after that but he had the will to survive and help the world and he did exactly that. He was paralyzed gradually over a period of decades. Even after losing his ability to speak, he ensured that his voice was being heard through a speech-generating device. He was an asset to the world that will be missed for many decades to come.