Lou Gehrig

A.L.S. is widely known as Lou Gehrig's disease, named after the famous Yankee's baseball player of the that name. Gehrig was diagnosed with ALS and died of it in 1941. His heroics on the field and off made Gehrig a true fan favorite, and his name has given this mysterious illness vast recognition. "Fans, for the past two weeks you have been reading about a bad break I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth. I have an awful lot to live for." Lou Gehrig at Yankee Stadium for Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day (after being diagnosed with a rare neuromuscular disease, ALS).

 Stephen Hawking

Another amazing man who has given a face to the crippling effects of ALS is Stephen Hawking. Professor Hawking, undeterred by his 20 year battle with Lou Gehrig's Disease, is the most acclaimed physicist since Albert Einstein. As the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University in England (a position once held by Sir Isaac Newton) he has expanded our understanding of the beginnings of the universe. His groundbreaking research into cosmology and black holes reveals the startling possibilities of time running backwards, an eleven-dimensional universe and a "no boundary" model of creation. In his best-selling book, A Brief History of Time, Professor Hawking shares these insightful revelations with everyone, scientist and nonscientist alike. And though his body has been ravaged by the disease, Hawking's mind is as sharp as ever, as he continues to live supported by artificial life.