NYC DINNER: 85th Annual Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race Dinner

The Program, Thursday, April 5, University Club (click on each page to enlarge)

Photos of the 2018 NYC Dinner, via Cambridge in America. 

Stephen Hawking at 21

Moment of Silence for Professor Stephen Hawking

John Tepper Marlin, Trinity College, Oxford 

It is an honor to rise in memory of Stephen Hawking, who died three weeks ago at 76 years of age. He was born in Oxford, because his parents believed that even Hitler would not bomb Oxford… which turned out to have been true. 

Soon after his 21st birthday, Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or ALS, known in this country as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was given few years to live. He actually lived for 55 more years, and became the Number One Celebrity Scientist as well as the Poster Child for battling disease and disability. He wrote a book called “A Brief History of Time” that sold 25 million copies.

He set out to finish Einstein’s quest for a general theory of everything. He wanted to understand the universe, “why it is as it is and why it exists at all,” and he focused on Black Holes.

Hawking as Cox of the Univ 2nd Eight

Hawking’s life revolved around Oxford and Cambridge. At Oxford, he coxed the Univ 2nd Eight, and reportedly steered with as little effort or propriety as he studied physics and chemistry. Getting into the water-borne shell helped him get out of his own. At Cambridge, he taught for more than 50 years. He said: "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

Hawking also said: "We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star. But we can understand the Universe. That makes us something very special."

Ladies and gentlemen, may we have a minute of silence in memory of this very special inspirational force, Stephen Hawking, whose happiest moments might have been in the stern of the Univ 2nd eight. (284 words, 2 minutes)

Other Posts on Stephen Hawking
Obituaries

The Committee

Committee (R to L): Dhaval Patel (MC), Hervé Gouraige (Chair), John Tepper Marlin,
Lee Li, Andrew Cunningham, Daniel Vasquez Sally Fan, Jack Carlson, Cassie
Llewellyn-Smith, Seth Lesser.

The Newark Boys Chorus

Previous Boat Race Dinners
2017 2016 2015 2014 & Earlier . History of the Boat Race

Alumni Boat Races and Other Reunions
Boat Races 2017 .  Branches Reunion 2012

Other Events
Talk on Oxford Colleges' Coats of Arms,  Oxford-Cambridge Club, April 16, 2018