Shropshire Star comment: Professor Stephen Hawking was an inspiration to all of us
The passing of exceptional scientist Stephen Hawking is a cause for national sorrow.
He was a remarkable genius who combined formidable brain power and academic achievement with a populist touch.
Though Professor Hawking was a world class thinker and scholar, he was not above meeting regular citizens, like those whom he met at a restaurant in Ludlow or others in Knighton.
He had strong links with Shropshire, of course, having studied at Shrewsbury School before going on to become Astronomer Royal.
The influential physicist and brilliant communicator made many astounding contributions to knowledge during his remarkable life. But his achievements were not confined to the world of academia.
Though he suffered from Motor Neurone Disease and was confined to a wheelchair, he fought hard against his disability and showed taught us all lessons about courage, fortitude, endurance and the power of the human spirit.
He was a determined communicator, a man who challenged his unhappy fate and made sure that his medical condition did not lay him low. In doing so, he provided a world class example to both those with disabilities and also to the able-bodied.
We can learn from his persistence, his determination and his extreme courage.
Professor Hawking also taught us lessons about humility. A man who could justifiably have led a cloistered life, separated from the wider world, instead chose to retain his links to normal folk. In doing so, he became a man of the people, a huge inspiration who transcended his physical difficulties as he helped us to better understand the world around us.
Professor Hawking was also a family man who had close relationships with his wife, three children and three grandchildren. His life story was dramatised during his own life as Eddie Redmayne offered an Oscar-winning performance of Professor Hawking in the spellbinding film The Theory of Everything.
He had a wickedly funny sense of humour and he overcame almost insurmountable odds to achieve worldwide acclaim.
The volume of tributes that have poured in from people around the world show just how much Professor Hawking meant to the academic community, to students and to scientists. His life has been described as a triumph and his death as Professor Hawking inspired many millions.
Professor Hawking has quite literally extended our horizons as he has helped us to develop a closer and clearer understanding of scientist and the way our universe evolved.
