What is stephen hawking famous for

An expert on Lou Gehrig's disease explains what we know about this debilitating condition and how Hawking has beaten the odds. By Katherine Harmon. Chris Williamson Getty Images.

Stephen hawking disease

This story, originally published on his 70th birthday on January 7, , is being resurfaced to explain how he beat the odds and lived so long with the disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS. Stephen Hawking turns 70 on Sunday, beating the odds of a daunting diagnosis by nearly half a century. The famous theoretical physicist has helped to bring his ideas about black holes and quantum gravity to a broad public audience.

For much of his time in the public eye, though, he has been confined to a wheelchair by a form of the motor-neuron disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ALS. And since he has had to speak through his trademark computer system—which he operates with his cheek—and have around-the-clock care. But his disease seems hardly to have slowed him down.

Hawking spent 30 years as a full professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge.

Stephen hawking - wikipedia

And he is currently the director of research at the school's Center for Theoretical Cosmology. If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.

But like his mind, Hawking's illness seems to be singular. Most patients with ALS —also known as Lou Gehrig's disease , for the famous baseball player who succumbed to the disease—are diagnosed after the age of 50 and die within five years of their diagnosis.