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Stephen Hawking, world-famous physicist, writer, and thinker, passed away in March (on a day, no less), but his body of work will be a long, long time. As far as scientists go, he was one of the most well-known, so it's probably no surprise that some of his personal effects have been found in the auction block.
In a Christie's auction that opened today, a number of the late scientist's possessions are available to the highest bidder. There are a number of interesting items including Hawking's personal script for the episode of The Simpsons in which he was featured, he won, and he won. There's also a wheelchair.
Hawking's contributions to science can not be overstated, but it's also difficult to separate from one's life. The slowly-progressing illness made it impossible for him to walk, and by the 1970s, he relied on his wheelchair to get around.
The wheelchair currently up for auction at Christie's is not a first, but it is what the auction house describes as the "earliest surviving example of a wheelchair used by Stephen Hawking." It was used between 1988 and the mid-1990s, and it's with electric motor and hand controller. There are plenty of images of the world, so it seems to be significant collector's value surrounding the item, even if it is a bit … odd.
Now, I'm not saying that Hawking's wheelchair is not historically relevant in some way, but the fact that the flesh has already been made up of $ 25,000 with a full week of bidding. It was originally expected to fetch a top price of under $ 19,000.
It may be strange that people are paying tribute to a wheelchair to a famous scientist ounce. and the Motor Neuron Disease Association, both of which cause Hawking cared deeply about.
Image Source: Christie's
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