Stephen Hawking's thesis, the first wheelchair sold at auction

After the death of the great Stephen Hawking in March, some of the physicist's property is auctioned at Christie's in London.

Among the articles is an original copy of Ph.D. Hawking's thesis from the University of Cambridge titled "Expanding Universe Properties", which is expected to sell for between $ 126,000 and $ 189,000. The thesis includes a signature and a handwritten note from Hawking confirming that the copy is the original. [The 9 Biggest Unsolved Mysteries in Physics]

The Hawking wheelchair, used from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, was also auctioned before he lost the opportunity to use his hands.

The famous physicist was diagnosed as a 21-year-old with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. At the time, Hawking had learned that he had only a few years left to live. Doctors were down by several decades; the scientist lived until the age of 76 years.

ALS is characterized by progressive weakening of the muscles, including vocal cords. Thus, for much of his life, Hawking used a wheelchair to move around and a speech-generating device to speak. The proceeds from the sale of his wheelchair will be donated to the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association (the term "motor neuron" is used to refer to ALS in the UK).

The auction will also include some of the physicist's medals, a screenplay from an episode of the television show "The Simpsons" on which he appeared (Season 22, Episode 1) and a copy of his famous and influential book "A Brief History of Time". "published by Bantam Books in 1988, bearing his thumb mark.

The online auction, which begins Oct. 31 at 10 am, is titled "On the Giants' Shoulders" and also includes manuscripts, notes and letters from Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin Albert Einstein.

Originally posted on Live Science.