Born in 1942 in Oxford and died in Cambridge in 2018, Stephen Hawking would have celebrated his 80th birthday today. Google pays tribute to him with his famous doodle.
It is with an illustration in the main search bar, which leads to a video, that the internet giant reminds Internet users of the memory of the scientist, who has become for the general public the ambassador of the famous black holes, and a popularizer. renowned. He is the author of one of the best-selling books on the theme of cosmology, A Brief History of Time, which first appeared in 1988.
A man who marked his time
At its 21e birthday, while a student at the University of Cambridge, he learns that he has ALS: a rare form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, called “Charcot’s disease” in France. Despite everything, he continued his studies and became one of the most renowned scientists of his time. A math professor at Cambridge, he has a keen interest in cosmology and quantum gravity. He is best known for his work on black holes, and the theory that they should emit what is now known as Hawking radiation.
If he is an example for his discoveries, he is also for his determination. Over the course of his life, increasingly affected by the disease, he could no longer move and was forced to speak with a machine. However, he never missed an opportunity to praise the freedom that every man possesses, and the importance of keeping an independent and inquisitive mind. Moreover, the video uploaded by Google ends with this message of hope that he liked to convey: “Be courageous, curious, determined. Overcome obstacles. You can do it. ”.
