A tribute to Professor Stephen Hawking

MND Scotland is deeply saddened to hear of the death of Professor Stephen Hawking.

Despite living with the challenges of MND for over 50 years, Hawking went on to become one of the brightest minds of our generation.

Professor Hawking was diagnosed with a rare form of MND in 1963 at the age of 22, and was given just a few years to live.

But despite the challenges of living with MND, the English theoretical physicist went on to publish a series of renowned science books, including ‘A Brief History of Time’.

He would become renowned for his work on black holes and relativity, and would also become an icon in popular culture.

The story of his life was shared in the 2014 critically acclaimed feature film, ‘The Theory of Everything’, which received 5 Oscar nominations. He also made appearances, over several decades, in popular television programmes such as ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ and ‘The Big Bang Theory’.

MND Scotland’s Chief Executive, Craig Stockton, said:

“We are very saddened to hear of the death of Professor Stephen Hawking.

“Professor Hawking raised an incredible amount of awareness of Motor Neurone Disease across the world. The movie the Theory of Everything again brought the illness to light, showing the impact MND has. His contribution to science and our understanding of the world was immense and quite extraordinary in the face of such adversity.

“Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time.”

Professor Hawking previously spoke to BBC News about Motor Neurone Disease: