The wheelchair and Stephen Hawking's thesis put up for sale at an auction

published

October 23, 2018 12:31:26

Some property of the late physicist Stephen Hawking will be auctioned off, including his wheelchair, his doctoral dissertation and even a screenplay by The Simpsons.

The online auction announced Monday by auctioneer Christie's includes 22 articles by Professor Hawking, 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 Breakdown of Physics in Gravitational Collapse.

Thomas Venning, head of books and manuscripts at Christie's, said the papers "trace the evolution of his thinking – this bright and electrifying intelligence."

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

The auction includes one of five existing copies of Hawking's PhD dissertation entitled "Properties of Expanding Universes", published in 1965 at the University of Cambridge, priced at between $ 183,000 and $ 275,000. .

But, while his theoretical masterpieces will arouse a lot of interest, Professor Hawking's fame does not rest solely on his cosmological status that has black holes on the map.

Diagnosed with motor neuron disease (MND) at only 22 years of age and having only a few years to live, he survived for decades and died in March at the age of 76.

Mr. Venning stated that the thesis, signed by Professor Hawking in a writing 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 "is the fruit of his reapplication to his scientific work," said Mr. Venning, and Professor Hawking "has kept him at his side all his life."

The illness eventually left Professor 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, at an estimated price of $ 18,300 to $ 27,500.

Proceeds from this sale will go to two charitable organizations, the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

Mr. Venning said that the wheelchair had become a symbol not only of disability, but also of Professor Hawking's "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 Monty Python skit that was battling fellow physicist Brian Cox .

Mr. Venning said that Professor Hawking "considered himself very much a scientist before being a popular communicator", but 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 Professor's appearances in the Simpsons, a copy of his bestseller A brief history of time signed with an inch imprint and a custom bomber jacket that he wore in a documentary.

Her daughter, Lucy, said 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 objects." and fascinating ".

His children hope to preserve his 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 30, before the auction opens between October 31 and 8 November.

AP

Topics:

human interest,

United Kingdom