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After being , the scientific and personal archive of , has been fully catalogued and is now available to all who might benefit from access to it at Cambridge University Library.

The  contains not only his scientific papers but personal correspondence and mementoes which brings into focus an incredible life and career as one of the most famous scientists (and personalities) of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Across 113 boxes of archive material is a treasure trove of tens of thousands of pages of papers relating to his work on theoretical physics as well as photographs and scripts from films and TV series like The Simpsons, The X Files and Futurama – and souvenirs from his encounters with Popes, Presidents and the public.

There are also touching personal letters to and from his parents and wider family, including one of the first dictated using his now famous communication system, acquired after his tracheostomy in 1986.

“I’m writing this letter on my new computer which also speaks but a bit like a Dalek, but with an American accent,” wrote Hawking in a letter to his mother and father in early January 1986. “It is very useful for communicating but it is too big to carry around. However I have another one which I may be able to get fixed to my chair.”

The catalogue publication and public availability of the Hawking Archive coincides with a special collection of Hawking papers in the latest issue  featuring a  from the Library’s Katrina Dean, Keeper of Archives and Modern Manuscripts, and Hawking Archivist Susan Gordon. The journal includes other Hawking papers from experts at the Science Museum exploring one of the most significant scientific acquisitions in recent history. The Science Museum is home to Professor Hawking’s  – a unique collection of more than 1,000 objects transferred from the University of Cambridge in 2021.

Professor Hawking’s family wanted his work to be made freely available to future generations of scientists and struck a landmark Acceptance in Lieu (AIL) agreement with HMRC, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Cambridge University Library and Science Museum Group in . The agreement means that thousands of pages of Hawking’s scientific and other papers remain in Cambridge, while objects including his wheelchairs, speech synthesisers, and personal memorabilia are displayed at the Science Museum.

Photo credit: The late Professor Hawking, pictured in his office at the University of Cambridge (Photograph: Andre Pattenden)