, '' he wrote . He added : `` I have been lucky , that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case . But it shows that one need not lose hope . '' The disease has left him paralyzed -- he is able to move only a few fingers on one hand . Hawking is completely dependent on others or technology for virtually everything -- bathing , dressing , eating , even speech . He uses a speech synthesizer with an American accent . Hawking has been married and divorced twice . In 2004 , police completed an investigation into accusations by Hawking 's daughter that his second wife was abusing him . Authorities said they found no proof . His Web site says he has three children and one grandchild . Hawking was born in Oxford , England , on what turned out to be an auspicious date : January 8 , 1942 -- the 300th anniversary of the death of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei . A Cambridge University spokesman told CNN : `` Professor Hawking is very ill and has been taken by ambulance to Addenbrookes Hospital , Cambridge . '' Professor
LONDON , England -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Scientist and author Stephen Hawking is `` very ill '' and has been hospitalized , according to Cambridge University , where he is a professor . Stephen Hawking in Pasadena , California , in March . Cambridge University said the 67-year-old is `` comfortable '' and will stay overnight at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge . Hawking , one of the world 's most famous physicists , is also a cosmologist , astronomer , and mathematician . Wheelchair-bound Hawking is perhaps most famous for `` A Brief History of Time , '' which explored the origins of the universe in layman 's terms . The book is considered a modern classic . Hawking has Lou Gehrig 's Disease -LRB- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis , or ALS -RRB- , which is usually fatal after three years . Hawking has survived for more than 40 years since his diagnosis . On his Web site , Hawking has written about living with ALS . `` I try to lead as normal a life as possible , and not think about my condition , or regret the things it prevents me from doing , which are not that many