A treasure trove of archive papers and personal objects belonging to the late Professor Stephen Hawking has been acquired by two leading UK cultural institutions, facilitated through Christie’s Heritage and Taxation Advisory Service.
Following an Acceptance In Lieu (AIL) agreement between the Hawking Estate and the UK Government the archive of Professor Stephen Hawking’s scientific and personal papers will remain in Cambridge at the University Library. The entire contents of Hawking’s office will be preserved as part of the Science Museum Group Collection, with selected highlights going on display at the Science Museum in 2022.
Professor Hawking’s archive contains letters dating from 1944-2008, a first draft of A Brief History of Time, film and tv scripts and autograph scientific manuscripts from the early phase of his career. There is a large collection of photographs, papers and correspondence with Popes, US Presidents and leading scientists of the age, including Nobel Prize winners Kip Thorne and Roger Penrose. The archive will be made available to current and future generations of scientists continuing his ground-breaking work in theoretical physics, and will provide future biographers and science historians with an extraordinary gateway and insight into Hawking’s life and work.
