Frank Hawking's Diaries Reveal 1961 Fears About Stephen's Future Ahead of September Biography
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 23
Frank Hawking's Diaries Reveal 1961 Fears About Stephen's Future Ahead of September Biography
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 23
Previously unseen diaries show Frank Hawking wrote in 1961 that his son "hangs round the house with little initiative and does not study much," doubting how Stephen Hawking was developing as an Oxford student.
More than 200,000 words from Frank Hawking's partly coded journals have been decoded by biographer Graham Farmelo, who gained unprecedented access to family papers for the first estate-authorized Hawking biography.
Those papers also capture the family's response after Hawking's 1963 motor neurone disease diagnosis, including a 1967 entry in which his father described conversation with him as painfully slow and difficult.
Farmelo's book, titled "Hawking," will be published on Sept. 24 by John Murray after interviews with Hawking's sisters, first wife Jane and his three children.
The newly opened archive adds intimate detail to the life of Hawking, who defied a two-year prognosis, transformed black hole theory and died in 2018 at 76.
What family secrets, hidden in a coded diary for 60 years, will redefine the Stephen Hawking we thought we knew?
His father wrote of despair. How did this private family struggle forge Hawking's legendary scientific genius?
Stephen Hawking’s Life Unveiled: Exclusive Family Archives and Coded Diaries Power the First Authorized Biography (September 29, 2026)
Overview
The first and only authorized biography of Stephen Hawking, written by Graham Farmelo, will be released on September 29, 2026. This landmark book stands out for its unprecedented access to the Hawking family’s personal records, including unseen diaries and extensive archives. With active participation from Hawking’s children, the biography promises an intimate and authentic look into his extraordinary life. The collaboration between Farmelo and the family ensures a deeply personal narrative, offering readers new insights into Hawking’s journey and marking a significant moment for those eager to understand the man behind the scientific legend.