LONDON: World dignitaries, celebrities and academics on Wednesday mourned Stephen Hawking, the British physicist who died aged 76 after a cosmic career in which his mental genius transcended his physical disability to probe the secrets of the universe.
Propelled to stardom by his 1988 book A Brief History of Time, an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking’s genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarefied world of astrophysics.
As a scientist he earned comparisons with Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton.
Hawking died peacefully at his home in the British university city of Cambridge in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A university source told AFP that his health deteriorated around Christmas time.
“We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today,” Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert, and Tim said in a statement.
“He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years.”
Queen Elizabeth II sent a message of condolence to Hawking’s family, Buckingham Palace said. Prime Minister Theresa May praised the scientist as “a brilliant and extraordinary mind” on Twitter.
Tearful well-wishers lined up at the University of Cambridge’s Gonville and Caius College, where Hawking was a fellow for more than five decades, to sign a book of condolence.
