Chris Edwards - All About Stephen Hawking

All About
Stephen Hawking

Chris Edwards

All About Stephen Hawking
Copyright 2017 by Chris Edwards

Published by Blue River Press
Indianapolis, Indiana
www.brpressbooks.com

Distributed by Cardinal Publishers Group
A Tom Doherty Company, Inc.
www.cardinalpub.com

All rights reserved under International and
Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a database or other retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, including mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-1-68157-094-5

Author: Chris Edwards

Editor: Dani McCormick

Interior Illustrator: Amber Calderon

Book Design: Dave Reed

Cover Artist: Jennifer Mujezinovic

Cover Design: David Miles

Printed in the United States of America

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All About
Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking is one of the great geniuses of scientific history. He has striven to make the world recognize him for what he can do rather than for what he cannot do.

Stephen Hawking has spent much of his life trying to figure out what happens at the edge of black holes. He asks questions about what happens when light falls into a black hole. He even wonders what would happen if a person fell into a black hole!

Dr. Hawking believes that science should be understood by everyone, so he makes his work understandable to everyone, not just scientists. He has written best-selling books, appeared on many television shows, and has been the subject of several biographies and movies. He is a celebrity and a scientist. He can only move a few muscles in his face, but is still known for his sense of humor and his personality. His body might be stuck in a wheelchair, but Dr. Hawkings mind has explored the universe.

Hawking is a scientist first and a celebrity second, but he uses his fame to help people. He frequently talks about the need for wheelchair access to buildings. Stephen has been a guest on The Simpsons television how and on Star Trek: The Next Generation. Two movies have been made recently about his life, and one of the actors that played Stephen won an Oscar.

Stephen has won major awards for his work in science and for advocating for disabled people. He is a genius and an inspiration. He is also a father of three, a grandfather to three, and a friend to many.

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland, starting World War II. After the German army, led by Adolf Hitler, took over Poland, it conquered several other countries, including France, in a short period of time.

The British resolved not to give up and fought back against Hitler and his armies. The German Air Force flew high in the skies over London and other British cities to drop bombs on the buildings below.

The war was still raging when Stephen Hawking was born on January 8, 1942 in Oxford, England. For some reason, Germany decided not to bomb Oxford. There are multiple theories as to why this was. Many argue that Hitler wanted to use Oxford as his capital if he invaded Britain, others claim that he respected the university at the center of the town enough to leave it alone.

This famous school was named after the town and called Oxford University. Stephens parents, who had been students at Oxford University, fled there during the war because of the universitys relative safety.

Isobel Hawking always encouraged her children to read and learn about anything they were interested in

Stephens mother was Isobel Walker. She had six brothers and sisters, but her parents believed so strongly in education that they found a way to send Isobel to college at Oxford University. Women had only been able to officially graduate from Oxford University since 1920, but had been attending for much longer. Isobel was a student in the 1930s, but was still looked down upon for being a woman. She took classes in a variety of subjects and got degrees in economics, politics, and philosophy.

Frank Hawking studied diseases and how they affected populations

Frank Hawking, Stephens father, was older than Isobel and had graduated from Oxford University before she got there. He was interested in medicine and was in Eastern Africa studying diseases when Germany invaded Poland. He left Africa to join the British army, but because he was so well-educated, the army put him in medical research instead.

Even though Isobel had graduated from Oxford University, she was rejected from jobs she was qualified for due to her gender. She became frustrated and ended up as a medical secretary. She met Frank Hawking, a young researcher, while working at the National Institute for Medical Research. They quickly got married. Frank went on to earn a degree in medicine and became an epidemiologist, a person who studies diseases.

Frank and Isobel did not live in Oxford, but moved there because of Germanys frequent bombings. They thought that staying there would be safer than London, where their house was located. They stayed in a hotel until shortly after Isobel gave birth to Stephen.

World War II ended in 1945 around the time that Stephen became a big brother. His little sister Mary was born in 1943, and Phillipa was born in 1947. The Hawkings lived in a suburb north of London called High Gate. Much of London and the areas around it had been damaged or destroyed by the bombs the German airplanes had dropped. Anyone who lived in a house that was still standing could expect a lot of visits from people in their family.

Stephen was born in Oxford during World War II on the 300th anniversary of Galileos death

The Hawking family let a lot of friends and family stay at their house, which was one of the few still standing. The Hawking family also had a beehive in the basement, so Stephen grew up with bees instead of cats or dogs.

Hawking had two sisters, Mary and Phillippa, who he enjoyed playing with

All of the people visiting and the beehive in the basement made for a pretty abnormal childhood, but young Stephen was just like the other neighborhood boys. He played with friends in the large craters that the German bombs left near where he lived. He liked toy trains and board games, but didnt spend much time kicking soccer balls or learning to box like some boys in his neighborhood.

In 1950, when Stephen was eight, his father took a new job, and the Hawkings moved to a town farther north and outside of London called St. Albans. The new Hawking house was full of books, and the children read all of the time, which suited Stephen. Sometimes, dinners would be spent in complete silence, with everyone reading a book. In addition to reading, Frank, Isobel, and Stephen liked to listen to opera on the radio.