Stephen Hawking
8 January 1942
Disability: Motor Neuron disease or a variant of ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis)
Stephen William Hawking is a British theoretical physicist, whose
world-renowned scientific career spans over 40 years. His books and
public appearances have made him an academic celebrity and he is an
Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the
Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential
Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
Stephen Hawking is severely disabled by motor neuron disease, likely a
variant of the disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (or ALS).
Symptoms of the disorder first appeared while he was enrolled at
Cambridge; he lost his balance and fell down a flight of stairs, hitting
his head. Worried that he would lose his genius, he took the Mensa test
to verify that his intellectual abilities were intact. The diagnosis of
motor neuron disease came when Hawking was 21, shortly before his first
marriage, and doctors said he would not survive more than two or three
years. Hawking gradually lost the use of his arms, legs, and voice, and
as of 2009 was almost completely paralyzed.
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