History Creator / StephenHawking

* HandicappedBadass: Anyone who defies an AnIMustScream condition and becomes a significant figure of pop culture has to count as one.

Born 8 January 1942 in Oxford, '''Stephen William Hawking''', [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA]], is a theoretical astrophysicist. In his time he has done world-recognized work on black holes, theoretical cosmology, and quantum gravity. The ability to do most of this work entirely in his head has led him to be generally recognized as the most brilliant scientist since UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein (Hawking himself disputes that title, however, arguing himself to be, at best, the greatest scientist since UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman, whom he considers the best since Einstein). The reason this is necessary is that he has been left almost paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, [[MachineMonotone "speaking" through a specially-designed computer]] (the voice of which is also very well-known), due to his having motor neuron disease (MND). This is the collective name for a group of five related degenerative neural disorders, of which best-known to the general public is ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), better known to Americans as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's not definitively known which form of MND he has, although it's thought that he has ALS. (He is rather famous for his affliction, as well: if it is ALS, it would be the most protracted case ever recorded -- it hasn't progressed the way ALS normally does, which has stymied a definitive diagnosis, which can only be confirmed by post-mortem dissection of the brain.)

* ImprobablyHighIQ: While Hawking most likely has one of the world's highest [==IQs==], he neither knows nor cares what it is, calling everyone who boast about theirs losers.

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the Creator/DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in parody form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. And while he is not involved in the production of the nerdcore rapper M.C. Hawking (which uses a VERY similar text-to-speech voice program, albeit not identical), he has given his full approval of the parody act.

* {{Badass}}: Anyone who defies an AndIMustScream condition and becomes an immensely successful scientist and an important piece of pop culture has to be a {{Badass}}.

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the Creator/DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in parody form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. When Crocker gives Timmy an F because Timmy says 2+2=5, Hawking shows up and produces evidence Timmy is right. At the end of episode, Crocker claims he reviewed Hawking's calculations and concluded that 2 plus 2 equals ''six''. And while he is not involved in the production of the nerdcore rapper M.C. Hawking (which uses a VERY similar text-to-speech voice program, albeit not identical), he has given his full approval of the parody act.

He's been played in ''Film/{{Hawking}}'' by Creator/BenedictCumberbatch, who also provides voiceover narration in Hawking's documentaries, and Eddie Redmayne in the 2014 biopic ''Film/TheTheoryOfEverything'', who ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Actor.

* CoolOldGuy: 73 years old and still doing that science thing.

[[WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory He's got 12 inch rims on his chair, that's how he rolls, y'all.]] No, he actually ''does''. You thought they were joking?

* OneOfUs: A huge fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'', all of which he's appeared in [[AdamWesting as himself.]] Also of ''DoctorWho'', even appearing in the special where PeterCapaldi was introduced as the new Doctor. And scored a cameo in 2014 Creator/MontyPython reunion show, where he stops Brian Cox from critiquing [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Galaxy Song]] ("You're being too pedantic!") and rolls away reciting the lyrics. He has also given his approval to M.C. Hawking, a parody gangsta rap album created by use of a vocal synthesizer that sounds quite similar to his own.

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the Creator/DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in parody form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. When Crocker gives Timmy an F because Timmy says 2+2=5, Hawking shows up and produces evidence Timmy is right. At the end of episode, Crocker claims he reviewed Hawking's calculations and concluded that 2 plus 2 equals ''six''. And while he is not involved in the production of the nerdcore rapper M.C, Hawking(which uses a VERY similar text-to-speech voice program, albeit not identical), he has given his full approval of the parody act.

Hawking was at one point offered a [[KnightFever knighthood]], but turned it down in protest of the state of science education in Britain. He ended at #25 in ''Series/OneHundredGreatestBritons''.

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the Creator/DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in parody form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. When Crocker gives Timmy an F because Timmy says 2+2=5, Hawking shows up and produces evidence Timmy is right. At the end of episode, Crocker claims he reviewed Hawking's calculations and concluded that 2 plus 2 equals ''six''.

* FakeAmerican: His voice synthesizer has caused him to be mistaken for an American. He has said he would like to replace it with a synthesizer with a British accent, but it's become so synonymous with himself that he knows he can't.

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'', and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the Creator/DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in [[spoiler: ]] form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. When Crocker gives Timmy an F because Timmy says 2+2=5, Hawking shows up and produces evidence Timmy is right. At the end of episode, Crocker claims he reviewed Hawking's calculations and concluded that 2 plus 2 equals ''six''.

** Once when he encountered Creator/BrentSpiner (who played Commander Data on ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and played poker with Hawking in that series) at a convention, he said, "Spiner, you still owe me twenty dollars!" and at another, more recent convention, quipped, "Where's my money, Spiner?"

* OneOfUs: A huge fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'', all of which he's appeared in [[AdamWesting as himself.]] Also of ''DoctorWho'', even appearing in the special where PeterCapaldi was introduced as the new Doctor. And scored a cameo in 2014 Creator/MontyPython reunion show, where he stops Brian Cox from critiquing [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Galaxy Song]] ("You're being too pedantic!") and rolls away reciting the lyrics.

* OneOfUs: A huge fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'', all of which he's appeared in [[AdamWesting as himself.]] Also of ''DoctorWho'', even appearing in the special where PeterCapaldi was introduced as the new Doctor. And scored a cameo in 2014 Creator/MontyPython reunion show, where he stops Creator/BrianCox from critiquing [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Galaxy Song]] ("You're being too pedantic!") and rolls away reciting the lyrics.

->I'm working on that.
-->-- '''Stephen Hawking''', on seeing the warp core when touring the ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' set.

Born 8 January 1942 in Oxford, '''Stephen William Hawking''', [[TryToFitThatOnABusinessCard CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA]], is a theoretical astrophysicist. In his time he has done world-recognized work on black holes, theoretical cosmology, and quantum gravity. The ability to do most of this work entirely in his head has led him to be generally recognized as the most brilliant scientist since UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein (Hawking himself disputes that title, however, arguing himself to be, at best, the greatest scientist since UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman, whom he considers the best since Einstein). The reason this is necessary is that he has been left almost paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair, [[MachineMonotone "speaking" through a specially-designed computer]] (the voice of which is also very well-known), due to his having motor neuron disease (MND). This is the collective name for a group of five related degenerative neural disorders, of which best-known to the general public is ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), better known to Americans as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's not definitively known which form of MND he has, although it's thought that he has ALS. (He is also rather famous for his affliction, as well: if it is ALS, it would be the most protracted case ever recorded -- it hasn't progressed the way ALS normally does, which has stymied a definitive diagnosis, which can only be confirmed by post-mortem dissection of the brain.)

Hawking is also quite famous for his sense of humor. He has appeared several times on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons''[[note]]Although Hawking has stated that he enjoyed guest-starring on ''The Simpsons'', he also hates the attention it got him as most people now know Hawking from his appearance on the show, rather than his intellectual pursuits.[[/note]], ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'' and ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' AsHimself, each time bordering on the line of AdamWesting. (And yes, that's him reciting one of the "Boom-de-yadas" in the DiscoveryChannel's "[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC1yLD7R0ZU I Love The Whole World]]" promo.) {{Expy}}s of him have appeared in form (''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'') and in CharlieAndTheChocolateParody form (''WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory''). He appears as a character, but not on camera (perhaps he couldn't make the shoot fit his schedule, or just didn't like the show), in an episode of ''Series/StargateAtlantis''. Finally, he's the only person to appear in any ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series AsHimself (obviously, as a holodeck recreation of himself). Hawking is also known to be a fan of ''Series/RedDwarf''. He also appeared in ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddparents'', where he and Crocker knew each other from their days as college students. When Crocker gave Timmy an F because Timmy said 2+2=5, Hawking showed up and produced evidence Timmy was right. At the end of episode, Crocker claimed he reviewed Hawking's calculations and concluded 2 plus 2 was ''six''.

* AWizardDidIt: Subverted. God did not create the universe according to Hawking. Or more specifically, He may have, but He didn't ''need'' to, as it can be explained by gravity and quantum mechanics.

--> Hello. I am Stephen Hawking. Physicist, cosmologist, and something of a dreamer. Although I cannot move and I have to speak through a computer, in my mind I am free.
* AsHimself: The only person to have appeared in the entire ''StarTrek'' franchise AsHimself.[[note]]Technically, as a ''hologram'' of himself, but he played the hologram.[[/note]]

* {{Determinator}}: At 21, he was told he had (at most) two and a half years left to live. Ordinary people would consider suicide when diagnosed with an AndIMustScream-causing disease that [[DespairEventHorizon cannot be cured]]. He's lived long enough to have to take a mandatory retirement from his post at Cambridge University (the same position once held by UsefulNotes/IsaacNewton) because the University forbids anyone older than 67 from holding it. At the age of 70, he participated in (and helped narrate) the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. He recently turned ''seventy-two'' with a positive attitude.
-->Life has thrown at me, both good times, and bad. Perhaps it is human nature, that we adapt, and survive. As for me, I have lived with the prospect of an early death most of my life. I am not afraid of dying, but I am in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do and find out first.

** His opening statement on England's chances at winning TheWorldCup:
--> ''"It is widely accepted in the field, that a key factor of achieving World Cup champions status is winning matches."'', which doubles as SelfDeprecation.
* DisneyOwnsThisTrope: His synthetic voice is trademarked. To the point once he saw ''Film/TheTheoryOfEverything'', [[ApprovalOfGod his approval]] led to a similar computerized speech being replaced by the real deal.

Hawking was at one point offered a [[KnightFever knighthood]], but turned it down in protest of the state of science education in Britain.

* OneOfUs: A huge fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'', all of which he's appeared in [[AdamWesting as himself.]] Also of ''DoctorWho'', [[http://www.thesuperficial.com/stephen-hawking-doctor-who-peter-capaldi-08-2013 even suggesting the series to add a Female Doctor in a TV special]]. And scored a cameo in 2014 Creator/MontyPython reunion show, where he stops Creator/BrianCox from critiquing [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Galaxy Song]] ("You're being too pedantic!") and rolls away reciting the lyrics.

** His opening statement on England's chances at winning the World Cup:

* IronWoobie: Despite his horrible disease he still manages to be optimistic

* OneOfUs: A huge fan of ''Franchise/StarTrek'', ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' and ''Series/RedDwarf'', all of which he's appeared in [[AdamWesting as himself.]] Also scored a cameo in 2014 Creator/MontyPython reunion show, where he stops Creator/BrianCox from critiquing [[Film/MontyPythonsTheMeaningOfLife The Galaxy Song]] ("You're being too pedantic!") and rolls away reciting the lyrics.