Stephen Hawking (1942-2018) was not only one of the most brilliantly original scientists the world has seen, he was, arguably, the voice of cosmology over the past four decades. One of his most fascinating interviews was to talk-show host John Oliver (video above), not only covering parallel universes – a pet Hawking idea – and artificial intelligence but also being impishly funny.
Despite having lost his complete motor skills, including the power of speech – because of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – Hawking continued to awe the world with original scientific work as well as books, including A Brief History of Time, and lectures explaining modern theoretical physics to lay persons.
After being diagnosed with ALS at 22, Hawking was given only a few more years to live. On turning 75, he told the BBC in an interview, “I never expected to reach 75, so I feel very fortunate to be able to reflect on my legacy.” Hawking died peacefully at his home in Cambridge, England, on March 14, 2018 – 139 years after the day Albert Einstein was born.
The videos below capture some of Hawking’s most interesting ideas in theoretical physics and cosmology.
Hawking also made a few television appearances, in shows like The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons and Star Trek (videos below, in that order).
Once, Hawking got into an epic chess match with Paul Rudd. However, it was no ordinary game – what they played was “quantum chess”. Watch the match below:
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