Professor Stephen Hawking was probably the greatest scientist of all time. But some would argue for Isaac Newton, others for Albert Einstein – but it is not a contest; they all had brilliant minds. And all opinions should be respected!
But what is not in doubt is that the Professor’s achievements were set against a background of disability .. he had contracted Motor Neurone Disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) in his early 20s.
We at Disability Talk had created a photographic competition which we titled “A WORLD OF UNFAIRNESS”.
We were inundated with entries but our ‘world class’ panel of judges (led by the Professor himself) overwhelmingly chose the self-portrait submitted by Rebecca Dann (a student at the ‘University for the Creative Arts’) which she called “I’m Fine”.
Only those who were there, in the presence of Professor Stephen Hawking, can truly explain the experience and the emotions of that meeting.
……………………………………
On the right of the photo is our winner Rebecca, and on the left is Hollywood Actress, Eileen Grubba (another of our judges and who is also disabled) who flew in from Los Angeles especially for the ceremony.
And to our astonishment the professor kept a framed copy of this photo on his desk.
This photo has garnered serious publicity as not only did it feature probably the best known scientist of all time, it also profiled and highlighted the talent within the disabled community of which there was no better example than the Professor himself. It was also a very brave portrait of a young lady (Rebecca) who had a very independent outlook on life.
What has shocked us all at DISABILITY TALK is that after we sent a signed copy of the above photo to the Professor (as a thank you) we now find that it has been fully on display on his desk in his Cambridge Study until his death.
…………………………………………….
Stephen Hawking’s office was accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by H M Government from the Estate of Stephen Hawking and allocated to the Science Museum, 2021.
The above photo is going to be part of that display!
Shout Hurrah! The day a photo highlighted the amazing talent within the disabled community