Stephen William Hawking was a theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author whose area of study was mainly focused on the universe, its creation and cosmos.
At least three generations of science-aficionados today will remember him as the genius with the 'robot voice' who could do everything from his all-powerful throne.
From children's guides to memoirs and books, Hawking brought science to the masses in a way no scientist has ever done.
Twitter reactions from across the world
Farewell to Stephen Hawking, the most intelligent guest star in the brief history of The Simpsons pic.twitter.com/po3fIHgEdh
— Matt Selman (@mattselman) March 14, 2018
His passing has left an intellectual vacuum in his wake. But it's not empty. Think of it as a kind of vacuum energy permeating the fabric of spacetime that defies measure. Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt
— Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 14, 2018
The world has lost a beautiful mind and a brilliant scientist. RIP Stephen Hawking
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) March 14, 2018
A new star is in the heavens tonight. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking. Your advice and wisdom live on. pic.twitter.com/RqUjo4qQa8
— Maria Shriver (@mariashriver) March 14, 2018
May you ride some stardust to another dimension and watch over us. #RIP #StephenHawking https://t.co/d02l3aiyZW
— Elizabeth Banks (@ElizabethBanks) March 14, 2018
R.I.P. Stephen Hawking. Among his many profound contributions to this world was this simple sentiment: “It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.”
— Samantha Power (@SamanthaJPower) March 14, 2018
'The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge' - Stephen Hawking pic.twitter.com/fVJ06rxY0y
— Prof Thuli Madonsela (@ThuliMadonsela3) March 14, 2018
A friend just pointed out to me that Professor Stephen Hawking dying today falls on International Pi Day (3.14), which is also Albert Einstein’s birthday. I don’t know enough about how the universe works, but that is a VERY freaky coincidence.
— Luke Cooper (@luke__cooper) March 14, 2018
Stephen Hawking has passed away, which means the world’s a little less bright than it was yesterday.
— Malcolm Freberg (@MalcolmWHW) March 14, 2018
The rest of us will just have to pick up the slack.
With Stephen Hawking's death (Obit: https://t.co/vmLfc6GtYu), we look back on a moment during our Envelope Screening Series chat on "The Theory of Everything" when Eddie Redmayne describes the physicist arriving on set. https://t.co/B6JmJJgfM9 pic.twitter.com/feoU5s5uyt
— LAT Entertainment (@latimesent) March 14, 2018
Stephen Hawking: A timeline (AP)
Jan. 8, 1942 — Born in Oxford, England, the eldest of four children born to Frank Hawking, a biologist, and Isobel Hawking, a medical research secretary.
1952 — Attends St. Albans School.
1959 — Receives scholarship to attend University College, Oxford, from which he graduates with a degree in Natural Science.
1962 — Begins graduate research in cosmology at Cambridge University.
1963 — Diagnosed with the degenerative nerve disorder ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease, at the age of 21. He was given two years to live.
Jul. 14, 1965 — Marries his first wife, Jane Wilde, a modern languages student he met at Cambridge.
1967 — The couple's first son, Robert, is born.
1970 — Jane gives birth to a daughter, Lucy.
1974 — Elected as a fellow of the Royal Society at age 32, one of the youngest people to receive the honour.
1979 — Becomes Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, a prestigious position once held by Isaac Newton. Hawking holds the post until 2009. Jane gives birth to a third child, Timothy.
1985 — Admitted to a hospital in Geneva with pneumonia. He survives after an operation, but loses what remained of his speech. The next year he begins communicating through the electronic voice synthesizer that gave him his trademark robotic "voice."
1988 — Publishes "A Brief History of Time," a book on cosmology aimed at the general public that becomes an instant best-seller.
1989 — Made a Companion of Honour by Queen Elizabeth II.
1995 — Marries his nurse, Elaine Mason.
2007 — Divorces Elaine Mason. Hawking and his daughter, Lucy also published ‘George’s Secret Key to the Universe’ – a children’s book explaining theoretical physics in an accessible manner.
2014 — Hawking's life is celebrated in the Oscar-winning biopic "The Theory of Everything," based on the memoir "Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen," by Jane Hawking.
2017 – Hawking was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Imperial College London.
2018 – Hawking passed away on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76.
