Select items from the office of the late and eminent theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking will go on display at the Science Museum in London next year.
The announcement comes following an acceptance in lieu agreement, which allows families to offset tax, between the Cambridge University Library, the Science Museum Group and the UK Government.
Thanks to this, Professor Hawking s considerable collection of scientific and personal papers will remain in Cambridge in the collections of the university library.
This archive includes correspondence dating from 1944–2008, a first draft of a Brief History of Time and a highlighted script from his first cameo on The Simpsons .
Items belonging to Professor Stephen Hawking – from landmark papers on theoretical physics to his scripts from The Simpsons – have been acquired by two UK cultural institutions.
A landmark acceptance in lieu (AIL) agreement between Cambridge University Library, the Science Museum Group and the UK Government will see Prof Hawking’s archive of scientific and personal papers remain at the university Library.
The entire contents of his office will be preserved as part of the Science Museum Group Collection, with selected highlights going on display next year, including personalised wheelchairs and scientific bets signed with his thumbprint.
The Cambridge archive contains letters dating from 1944 to 2008, a first draft of his book A Brief History Of Time, film and TV scripts, and autographed scientific manuscripts from the early phase of his career.