Cambridge University Library: Stephen Hawking Archive Made Available to Historians and Researchers

From Cambridge University Library:

After being donated to the nation by the Hawking Family in 2021, the scientific and personal archive of Professor Stephen Hawking has been fully catalogued and is now available to all who might benefit from access to it at Cambridge University Library.

The Hawking Archive [Video] contains not only his scientific papers but personal correspondence and mementoes which brings into focus an incredible life and career as one of the most famous scientists (and personalities) of the 20^th and 21st centuries.

Across 113 boxes of archive material is a treasure trove of tens of thousands of pages of papers relating to his work on theoretical physics as well as photographs and scripts from films and TV series like The Simpsons, The X Files and Futurama – and souvenirs from his encounters with Popes, Presidents and the public.

There are also touching personal letters to and from his parents and wider family, including one of the first dictated using his now famous communication system, acquired after his tracheostomy in 1986.

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The catalogue publication and public availability of the Hawking Archive coincides with a special collection of Hawking papers in the latest issue of the Science Museum Group Journal featuring a paper from the Library’s Dr Katrina Dean, Keeper of Archives and Modern Manuscripts, and Hawking Archivist Susan Gordon.

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Hawking Archivist Susan Gordon, who has spent the past 28 months cataloguing the extraordinary collection of papers, said: “The Library’s Stephen Hawking Archive documents not only his journey to becoming one of the preeminent theoretical physicists of his time, but also how his efforts to communicate science to a general audience catapulted him to the status of pop cultural icon.

Learn More, Read the Complete Article, View a Few Highlights From the Collection

Media Coverage

• Stephen Hawking Kept Scripts From The Simpsons and X-Files Among Works on Theoretical Physics (via The Telegraph)
• Professor Stephen Hawking’s Scientific And Personal Archive is Made Available (PA Media via MSN)

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