Stephen Hawking’s Wheelchair Was Sold For Rs 28,374,921.81 At Auction

Jyotis - Nov 09, 2018

The motorized wheelchair was one of Stephen Hawking's 22 items that were available at the online auction “On the Shoulders of Giants”.

Some remaining mementos of Stephen Hawking, the genius in a wheelchair, Stephen Hawking have been put up to online auction a few days ago. They are 22 items including his wheelchair, doctoral thesis and many other meaningful items.

The online event called “On the Shoulders of Giants” was held by the British auction house Christie’s from 31 October to 8 November. There were more than 400 participants from 30 various countries. Apart from Hawking’s mementos, there are a lot of objects from other great men such as Charles Darwin, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein.

When Hawking was 22, he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This disease is a neurodegenerative disorder and made him unable to control his muscles. In the beginning, Hawking is believed to only live for two years, but the magic came to his life.

He had another 55 years to research and live with his passion for science on a wheelchair before he passed away on March 14, 2018. He was 76.

Stephen Hawking spent three-fourths of his life on a motorized wheelchair. That’s why the wheelchair gained such many interests at the online auction. A secret buyer bought it at the price of Rs 28,374,921.81 (equal to £296,750).

In addition, his doctoral thesis “Properties of Expanding Universes” explaining the origins of space and time was also sold for Rs 55,716,551.96 (equal to £584,750). In 1966, Cambridge University published this thesis. With the Hawking’s memento, Christie’s got more than double the price as it expected.

All of the 22 items were sold for approximately Rs 130.570.195,11 ($1.8 million). The amount is 7 times more than it was originally estimated.

The proceeds will be transferred to the Stephen Hawking Foundation to support the research into astrophysics and cosmology. Besides that, a part of the proceeds will be used to sponsor for the Motor Neurone Disease Association to develop researches and campaigns to support people struggling with the same disease as Hawking.

You can read more researches of Stephen Hawking in this link:

>>> The Best Of Stephen Hawking Books On Black Holes, Multiverses, And More