A copy of Stephen Hawking's doctorate thesis signed in a shaky hand was the highlight of an auction of the British physicist's personal items in London, which raisednearly £1.4 million ($1.8 million, 1.6 million euros).

The copy, one of only five originals of the thesis entitled "Properties of expanding universes", smashed pre-sale expectations four times over to sell for£584,750 at the Christie's sale, which ended on Thursday.

A red leather wheelchair that Hawking used from the late 1980s to the mid-1990s, driving himself using a joystick, sold for £296,750 while an early edition of hisbestselling book "A Brief History of Time" marked with a thumbprint, fetched £68,750.

A script from one of his appearances on the television series "The Simpsons" was one of the 22 lots under the hammer, selling for £6,250.

A collection of his medals and awards, including honours from the Royal Astronomical Society, sold for £296,750, with the entire collection achieving £1,384,625.

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