Stephen Hawking was a renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist despite being diagnosed with ALS. He was born in 1942 in Oxford, England to a working class family. During his studies at Oxford University, he began exhibiting symptoms of ALS. He was later told he had only a few years to live but continued his academic career, receiving his PhD from Cambridge University. Hawking went on to make several groundbreaking discoveries about black holes and the origins of the universe. He received numerous honors for his scientific work and authored several popular science books, including A Brief History of Time. Though wheelchair-bound and unable to speak without a computer, Hawking inspired many with his perseverance in pursuing his scientific passions.