
Professor Stephen Hawking
When Professor Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with Motor Neurone disease aged 21, doctors gave him just three years to live. He defied these odds to become one of the worlds leading physicists. His book Á brief History of Time’ Sold over 10 million copies and he inspired untold millions with his courage and sense of Humour. The world has lost one of its greatest Heros. The theoretical physicist once described his heroes as “Galileo, Einstein, Darwin and Marilyn Monroe.” The last was of particular appeal to the scientist who hung posters of her and collected Monroe-related bric a brac.
“My daughter and secretary gave me posters of her, my son gave me a Marilyn bag and my wife a Marilyn towel,” he once said. “I suppose you could say she was a model of the universe.”