Late Stephen Hawking’s wheelchair, a script for one of his appearances in The Simpsons and some of his most important papers are going up for auction.
The late scientist’s PhD thesis, which is expected to fetch as much as £150,000 is also for auction.
Steve Hawkings who was a great scientist, died on the 14th of March, 2018.
Professor Hawking’s Black Hole Explosions paper from 1974, a selection of his medals and awards, a copy of his best-selling book A Brief History Of Time signed with a thumbprint, and a bomber jacket are also to be auctioned.
Professor Hawking’s daughter, Lucy Hawking, said her father’s archive was “a huge part of his legacy” and also “the history of science in this country”.
In her words:
“We are very pleased to have the assistance of Christie’s to help us with the important matter of managing our beloved father’s archives and his unique and precious collection of personal and professional belongings, chronicling his life and work.”.
“We are also giving admirers of his work the chance to acquire a memento of our father’s extraordinary life in the shape of a small selection of evocative and fascinating items.”.
Thomas Venning, head of the books and manuscripts department at Christie’s London, said: “The sale concludes with Professor Hawking’s wheelchair, in which he both toured the world as a successful scientific communicator, and from which his mind voyaged to the outer reaches of space-time, making it literally and figuratively one of the most-travelled wheelchairs in history.”
Proceeds from the sale of the scientist’s earliest surviving wheelchair will be donated to the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.
Professor Hawking was aged 76 when he died and his funeral was held in Cambridge, the city where he studied and worked.
The renowned scientist was diagnosed with motor neurone disease at the age of 22, when he was given just a few years to live. He however lived longer.
His research shaped modern cosmology and helped ordinary people better understand the universe, and his book, A Brief History Of Time, sold 10 million copies and was translated into 40 different languages.
The auction will take place between 31 October and 8 November.
See the items: