Stephen Hawking Wheelchair, Thesis for Sale

by JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press

LONDON (AP) –

Stephen Hawking was a cosmic visionary, a figure of inspiration and a global celebrity.

Its unique status is reflected in an imminent auction of some of the physicist's property: it includes complex scientific articles, one of the world's most iconic armchairs and a script of "The Simpsons".

The online auction announced Monday by auctioneer Christie's includes 22 Hawking articles, including his doctoral dissertation on the origins of the universe, some of his many awards and scientific articles such as "Spectrum of Wormholes" and "Fundamental Ventilation from Physics to Gravitation."

Thomas Venning, head of Christies' Department of Books and Manuscripts, said newspapers "trace the evolution of his thinking – this bright, electrifying intelligence."

"You can see each breakthrough as it has been produced and presented to the scientific community," Venning said.

Of course, Hawking's reputation is only partly based on his scientific status as a cosmologist who has black holes on the map.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease at age 22 and having only a few years to live, he survived for decades before dying in March at age 76.

The auction includes one of five copies of the Cambridge University Ph.D. program, published in 1965 by Hawking. thesis entitled "Properties of Expanding Universes", which is estimated to cost between 100,000 and 150,000 books ($ 130,000 to $ 195,000).

Venning said that the thesis, signed by Hawking in a handwriting made fragile by his illness, was both a key document of the physicist's scientific evolution and a glimpse into his personal history.

"He was diagnosed with ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) just when he arrived in Cambridge to begin his doctoral studies," Venning said. "He dropped out of school for a while because he was so downcast.

The thesis "was the fruit of his reapplication to his scientific work," said Venning, and Hawking "kept him at his side until the end of his days."

The illness eventually left Hawking almost completely paralyzed. He communicated through a voice-activated computer and installed a series of high-tech wheelchairs. One is included in the sale, with an estimated price of $ 13,000 to $ 19,500 (10,000 to 15,000 pounds). Proceeds from this sale will go to two charitable organizations, the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Venning said that the wheelchair has become a symbol not only of disability, but also of "sense of humor". He once ran on the feet of Prince Charles – and would have joked that he would have liked to do the same with Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher – and appeared in a skit on "Monty Python" describing his fellow physicist, Brian Cox.

Venning said that Hawking "considered himself very much a scientist before being a popular communicator", but he accepted and even appreciated his celebrity status. He has appeared many times in the animated comedy show "The Simpsons" and has kept a figurine of himself in the show of his office.

The sale includes a script drawn from one of Hawking's "Simpson's" appearances, a copy of his bestseller "A Brief History of Time" signed from an inch imprint and a custom bomber jacket qu & # He carried in a documentary.

Lucy, Hawking 's daughter, said that the sale had given "admirers of her work the chance to acquire a memory of our father' s extraordinary life in the form of a small selection of". evocative and fascinating objects ".

Hawking's children hope to preserve their scientific archives for the nation. Christie's is currently conducting negotiations to hand him over to the UK authorities instead of inheritance rights.

The articles – part of a scientific sale including articles by Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein – will be on display in London for several days starting October 30th. The auction is open to applications between October 31 and November 8.

___

Follow Jill Lawless on Twitter at http://Twitter.com/JillLawless