Stephen William Hawking was born on 8 January 1942, in Oxford, England, and was a physicist and mathematician as well as an author, but perhaps most notable for funding “The Centre of Theoretical Cosmology”, a department in the University of Cambridge, the main focus of which is challenging various issues in scientific studies, and, to summarise many quotes “… he improved our understanding of the universe…’. Hawking is specifically known for providing a theoretical argument for the existence of black body radiation, which is thought to be released by black holes. He passed away in 2018.
A famous scientist and physicist, just how rich was Stephen Hawking? According to sources, Hawking’s net worth is estimated to be over $20 million, earned largely from his research and publishings over almost half a century, but also lecturing and mentoring of students at Cambridge University.
Stephen Hawking Net Worth $20 Million
Hawking was firstly educated at Byron House School in Highgate, London, but actually didn’t learn to read. As an the eight-year-old, he was able to briefly attend St Albans High School for Girls which young boys could do, then he independent schools Radlett, and St Albans School, where he passed the eleven-plus exam a year early, subsequently remaining at St Albans, which in hindsight afforded him a very liberal and forward-looking education, even constructing a rudimentary computer assisted by his mathematics teacher, Dikran Tahta, who then persuaded him to study mathematics at University College, Oxford, – his parents’ alma mater too – but Hawking decided to study physics and chemistry on a scholarship after taking the examinations in March 1959
Upon entering the University of Oxford, Hawking felt distanced and lonely, since he was one of the youngest students at 17 years of age. However, Hawking managed to overcome his sense of loneliness and soon became one of the most popular students in the university. During his graduate studies, Hawking excelled by writing an essay on Penrose’s spacetime singularity theorem called “Singularity and the Geometry of Space-Time”, where he applied Penrose’s findings to an entire universe. Hawking’s essay not only gained him a PhD degree, but also won him the Adam’s Prize.
Unfortunately, shortly after his graduation, Hawking’s health began declining, eventually turning out to be a slowly-progressing form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and he had to resort to using crutches in order to physically support himself. It was later established that Hawking was suffering from motor neuron disease, which affects the cells that are responsible for voluntary muscle activity, as well as speaking and walking. Over the years, the disease spread through his body which eventually meant that Hawking became completely paralyzed including unable to speak.
Regardless, Hawking’s subsequent works became avidly sought and eventually legendary, The black body radiation was later named “Hawking radiation” in his honor. Among his other significant achievements in the scientific field are the “Penrose-Hawking singularity theorems” – in conjunction with Roger Penrose – which try to answer the question of when and in what instances gravity produces singularities – Hawking elaborated on these theorems in his book called “A Brief History of Time”, which was published in 1988, which over the years achieved remarkable success, selling more than 10 million copies worldwide, and being translated into 35 languages. It also inspired the release of a documentary film about Stephen Hawking under the same title, which came out in 1991, directed by Errol Morris. In addition to that, a play based on Hawking’s book was produced in 2016.
Hawking’s further contributions to physics include being the first to elucidate a theory of cosmology, explained by a combination of the general theory of relativity and quantum mechanics. He was also a strong proponent of the many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics, among many other productive theories, eventually accepted as world-leading in their foresight.
For virtually 50 years, Hawking had a working position at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University, through which he continued his research, lecturing and mentoring.
Stephen Hawking’s contributions to scientific studies were acknowledged with such honorary awards as Adams Prize, Albert Medal, Albert Einstein Award, Heineman Prize, and RAS Gold Medal to name a few.
In his personal life, Stephen Hawking was firstly married to Jane Wilde from 1965 to ’95, with whom he had two sons and a daughter, but the relationship was difficult for both of them, for obvious reasons, and they eventually divorced. The same year he married one of his carers, Elaine Mason, but that proved somewhat unhappy too, and after their divorce in 2006, his relationship with Jane was renewed.
Hawking continued working right up to his death, on 13 March 2018 at his home in Cambridge. His life was all the more remarkable considering his physical disability from a comparatively early age, which made him admired around the world, not only for his work.
