Book from Starmus festival in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) celebrating Hawking, including his contribution

Book from Starmus festival in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) celebrating Hawking, including his contribution Book from Starmus festival in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) celebrating Hawking, including his contribution Book from Starmus festival in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain) celebrating Hawking, including his contribution

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License this image for commercial use at Science and Society Picture Library

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Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Israelian, G., May, B. eds., Beyond the horizon : a tribute to Stephen Hawking, STARMUS, 2017.

Hawking gave a biographical speech during the 2017 Starmus festival. This was one of his last trips abroad. After a subsequent visit to the Vatican, Hawking spent the last year+ of his life closer to home.

Starmus is a global festival of science communication and art that "brings together the most brilliant minds on the planet". Hawking was a board member, and from 2015 onwards, Starmus gives out an award for science communication called the Hawking Medal.

Stephen Hawking's office contained more than 300 books, all located on the bookshelves above the kitchen counter. They date as early as his student years, and the bulk corresponds to his long professional career from the 1960s to the 2010s. From the 1990s onwards Stephen would have used digital versions increasingly, so the books in his bookcases were a select subset. While some items are rare copies -like the dissertations he advised or book drafts- most of the library contents are rather standard prints. The majority contain significant individual marks, and even for those that do not, the connection to Hawking is evident. Books by friends and colleagues often contain inscriptions and inserts that evidence their relationship. Others remind of places he visited, conferences he attended, or relate to having become a celebrity and inspiration throughout the world. Of the books that he authored, there are usually multiple versions, translations, and occasionally draft versions. A good portion of the books also contain inserts such as notes by the authors or editors, receipts, and occasionally unrelated material that found its way into them around the time of their acquisition. A portion of them has also been bookmarked with post-its by Stephen's assistants pointing to the sections most relevant to show visitors.

Details

Category:
Stephen Hawking Office
Collection:
Stephen Hawking’s Office
Object Number:
2021-561/107
Materials:
paper (fibre product)
Measurements:
overall: 287 mm x 240 mm x 26 mm, 1.63 kg
type:
book
credit:
Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by H M Government from the Estate of Stephen Hawking and allocated to the Science Museum, 2021