Remembering Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking shared a  birthday with Galileo and died on Einstein’s birthday (which is also “pi day” among the mathematically inclined). There’s little doubt that he belongs in that august company; he is one of those once-in-a-lifetime scientists who changed the way we understood the universe and our place in it.  “A Brief History of Time,” was one of the few serious scientific books to enter the mainstream, (even if  more copies were bought than read). That he did this while suffering from ALS (aka Lou Gehrig’s Disease), a neuromuscular disease where the messages from the brain cannot reach the muscles, leading to muscle weakness and eventually, the inability to swallow or breathe. When he was diagnosed at 23, he was given at best three years to live. He died today, at 76; even his life forced one to recalculate time.

Eminently quotable (“Not only does God play dice,” he said, tweaking Einstein, “he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen”)  and renowned for his humor,  he became a pop culture figure,  showing up on episodes of “The Simpsons” and “The Big Bang Theory.”

Scientists and celebrities from all walks of life remembered Dr. Hawking on-line. Former President (sigh) Barack Obama tweeted a celestial farewell along with a photo of Dr. Hawking’s visit to the White House  (although nothing has been heard from its current occupant).

Neil deGrasse Tyson paid tribute to Dr. Hawking’s genius.

NASA tweeted out its respects.

Eddie Redmayne, who won an Oscar for playing the young Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,”  released a statement that “we have lost a truly beautiful mind, an astonishing scientist and the funniest man I have ever had the pleasure to meet.” The rest of the cast and crew of the movie also weighed in, with screenwriter Anthony McCarten  eulogizing him with “Stephen Hawking’s life was devoted to wondering and to wonder.”

CNET paid tribute with a story headlined “Stephen Hawking is only dead in this universe”; the Atlantic insisted that Hawking, for all his accolades, remains underrated.

You can read obituaries from the BBC, Washington Post, and the Guardian. The New York Times, in addition to running a full obituary (which we imagine will get front page, above-the-fold treatment), science writer Dennis Overbye wrote “A brief history of Stephen Hawking,” summarizing his life and ideas.

And finally…

Steven Mirkin

Steven Mirkin’s diverse career has taken him from politics to pop culture to high art, offering him a front row seat to some of the most fascinating events and personalities of our time: writing speeches, fundraising appeals and campaign materials for Ed Koch, John Heinz and independent presidential candidate John B. Anderson; chronicling the punk/new wave scenes in New York and London; interviewing musicians such as Elton John, John Lydon and Buck Owens; profiling modern masters Julian Schnabel, Paul Schrader and Jonathan Safran Foer; and writing for TV shows including 21, The Chamber, Let's Make A Deal, and Rock Star: INXS.