Global EditionASIA 中文双语Français
World
Home / World / Europe

Stephen Hawking's thesis and wheelchair sell for $1 million

Updated: 2018-11-09 10:54
Share
Share - WeChat
Fine-art handler Tom Richardson poses with a motorized wheelchair belonging to British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking ahead of an auction of items from Hawkings' personal estate at Christie's in London, Britain Oct 30, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

LONDON - A motorized wheelchair used by the late British physicist Stephen Hawking sold at auction on Thursday for almost 300,000 pounds ($391,740.00) while a dissertation raised nearly twice that at a sale to raise money for charity.

Famed for his work exploring the origins of the universe, Hawking died in March at the age of 76 after spending most of his life confined to a wheelchair with motor neurone disease.

Some of his belongings including essays, medals, awards and a copy of his book a "Brief History of Time" signed with a thumbprint were sold online on Thursday alongside letters and manuscripts belonging to Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein.

Fine-art handler Tom Richardson poses with a copy of A Brief History of Time which has a thumb-print inside by author British theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking Oct 30, 2018.[Photo/Agencies]

Hawking's 117-page dissertation "Properties of expanding universes" from 1965 sold for 584,750 pounds, well ahead of the estimate of up to 150,000.

Medals and awards sold for 296,750 pounds, compared with an estimate of 15,000 pounds, while the red motorized wheelchair sold for 296,750 pounds, also compared with an estimate of 15,000 pounds.

Auction house Christie's ran the nine-day online auction called "On the Shoulders of Giants" to raise money for the Stephen Hawking Foundation and the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

It also offered fans of the physicist known for his electronic voice synthesiser a chance to buy some of his possessions.

"Stephen Hawking was a huge personality worldwide. He had this amazing ability to connect with people," Thomas Venning, head of the Books and Manuscripts department at auction house Christie's London, said ahead of the event.

Reuters

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US