Stephen Hawking

Stephen William Hawking was a british theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, cosmologist and scientific popularizer. One of the main characteristics of his personality was his contribution to the scientific debate, sometimes publicly betting with other scientists, the best known case is his participation in the discusión on the conservation of information in black holes.

In college, Stephen began showing symptoms of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, a fatal neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of motor neurones in the brain and spinal cord. The first symptoms appeared during his stay in Oxford, just before his first marriage. The disease progressed, after a few years he was completely inmobile and after a throat surgery he lost the ability to speak. However, this did not prevent him from marrying twice, raising three children, maintaining his high scientific and public activity and being one of today´s most renowned scientists. He is now one of the most influential theoretical physicist. According to him, he managed to succeed largely due to his illness: “Before, life seemed boring to me. Now I am definitely happier. The prospect of dying young made me understand that life is worth it. There are so many things that can be done!.