The brilliant British theoretical physicist, Stephen Hawking who overcame a debilitating disease to publish wildly popular books probing the mysteries of the universe, has died at age 76.
According to his family, he died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday.
At the age of 21, Prof Stephen Hawking was said to have only a few years to live after being diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease. An illness that left him in a wheelchair and largely unable to speak except through a voice synthesiser. He was able to move only a few fingers on one hand and was completely dependent on others or on technology for virtually everything – bathing, dressing and eating.
However, during his lifetime, Prof Hawking made highly significant in science and considered by many to be the world’s greatest living scientist. Hawking was also a cosmologist, astronomer, mathematician and author of numerous books including the landmark: A Brief History of Time, which has sold more than 10 million copies.
Hawking became a hero to math and science geeks and pop culture figure, guest-starring as himself on Star Trek: The Next Generation as well as in The Simpsons. His life was dramatized in the movie: The Theory of Everything.”
Family, fans and fellow scientists who hail Hawking for his work and influence in the field of science are deeply saddened by his death.
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