The remarkable life of Stephen Hawking

Editor's note

Acclaimed British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author Stephen Hawking has died aged 76. We’ve prepared a timeline of his remarkable life.

Hawking was an intellectual giant. His ideas and theories led to new scientific views of the universe, black holes and the very nature of matter.

But it wasn’t just scientists who benefitted from Hawking’s brilliant mind. His non-fiction writing, known best through the book A Brief History of Time, was enjoyed by millions of ordinary people.

After a diagnosis at the age of 21, Hawking had lived and worked another 55 years with motor neurone disease. Today Australian academics pay tribute to his work and life.

Sarah Keenihan

Section Editor: Science + Technology

Top story

Stephen Hawking at Gonville & Caius College, Cambridge in 2015. lwpkommunikacio/flickr

A timeline of Stephen Hawking's remarkable life

Michael Courts, The Conversation; Sarah Keenihan, The Conversation

Hawking's most famous book, A Brief History of Time, sold 10 million copies and was translated into 40 languages, skyrocketing to the top of the bestseller lists in the US and UK.

Science + Technology

Tributes pour in for Stephen Hawking, the famous theoretical physicist who died at age 76

Alan Duffy, Swinburne University of Technology; Alice Gorman, Flinders University; Jonti Horner, University of Southern Queensland; Lisa Harvey-Smith, CSIRO; Matthew Bailes, Swinburne University of Technology; Steven Tingay, Curtin University

Stephen Hawking inspired people with his work on black holes and other mysteries of the universe. Many were quick to pay tribute to the theoretical physicist who died today in the UK, aged 76.
The slippery grammar of spoken vs written English

Andreea S. Calude, University of Waikato

Spoken language evolves differently and faster than written language, and there are good reasons why this is the case.

Politics + Society

Barracking, sheilas and shouts: how the Irish influenced Australian English

Howard Manns, Monash University; Kate Burridge, Monash University

Irish influence on Australian English is much like the influence of the Irish on Australians themselves — less than you’d expect on the surface, but everywhere once you start looking.
How do we feel about a 'big Australia'? That depends on the poll

Andrew Markus, Monash University

Most surveys are consistent in finding there is a substantial minority of the view that immigration is too high, but not a large majority.
We need to become global citizens to rebuild trust in our globalised world

Laura D'Olimpio, University of Notre Dame Australia

In order to to combat the decline of trust in civil society, we need to cultivate global citizens who are able to thrive in an increasingly diverse and globalised world.

Cities

New cities? It's an idea worth thinking about for Australia

Robert Freestone, UNSW; Elizabeth Taylor, RMIT University; Julian Bolleter, University of Western Australia

Business-as-usual projections assume our four biggest cities must absorb three-quarters of Australia's population growth over the next 30 years. Might new cities be a better way to deal with it?
Affordable housing policy failure still being fuelled by flawed analysis

Nicole Gurran, University of Sydney; Bill Randolph, UNSW; Peter Phibbs, University of Sydney; Rachel Ong, Curtin University; Steven Rowley, Curtin University

The clichés about housing supply and regulatory restraints are distractions from the need to focus on expanding the affordable housing sector to directly meet the needs of low-income households.
IPCC cities conference tackles gaps between science and climate action on the ground

Jago Dodson, RMIT University

The first IPCC conference on cities has highlighted the challenges of reconciling science, urban practices and politics. But it was an important recognition of cities' leading role in climate action.

Arts + Culture

How picture boards were used as propaganda in the Vandemonian War

Kristyn Harman, University of Tasmania

In the early days of colonial Tasmania, the British used threatening picture boards to communicate with Aboriginal people, giving them a choice between conciliation and death.
The Great War and Kings of War journey from the kill zone to the map room

Julian Meyrick, Flinders University

The Great War uses scale models to give a worm's eye view of titanic violence. In Kings of War, by contrast, lethal events are viewed from the unsteady perspective of leaders.

Education
Australia doesn't have too many universities. Here's why Gavin Moodie, RMIT University Despite serious financial and enrolment pressure for some, our universities are unlikely to close their doors – but some may have to resort to being 'merged' or taken over by a stronger partner.

Environment + Energy
Why duck shooting season still isn't on the endangered list Siobhan O'Sullivan, UNSW Despite it's unpopularity with the public and ongoing reports of endangered and non-game birds being killed - duck shooting season commences this month in Victoria, Tasmania and SA.

Business + Economy

To achieve more equity in the tech industry, we must reframe diversity

Patricia Baum Salgado, Fielding Graduate University

Research has found Silicon Valley engineers feared speaking up when they recognise poor behaviour among their male colleagues.
What the Royal Commission can do if the banks don't play ball on evidence

Anna Olijnyk, University of Adelaide

The Financial Services Royal Commission can ask the banks for the material it wants, in the form it wants.

Health + Medicine
What to do when the baby is born before you get to hospital Hannah Dahlen, Western Sydney University; Charlene Thornton, Western Sydney University Women often express a fear of giving birth en route to the hospital, and these fears have some basis.