Stephen Hawking Is Dead at Age 76

Stephen Hawking, the British theoretical physicist, author, and director of research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge, has passed away at age 76, a spokesman for his family confirmed on Tuesday night. Hawking, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity, introduced the world to an entirely new way of thinking about the universe, largely thanks to his 1988 publication, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, which sold more than 10 million copies and inspired a documentary. He was that rare thing in our current era: a preeminent scientific mind and a household name.

Hawking was the world’s most famous living physicist, and highly decorated, too: He was a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and honored with such awards as the Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, the Paul Dirac Medal, the Wolf Prize, the Julius Edgar Lilienfeld Prize, the Copley Medal, the Russian Fundamental Physics Prize, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the citation for which concluded that “his persistence and dedication has unlocked new pathways of discovery and inspired everyday citizens”). He made appearances on popular TV shows like The Simpsons, The Big Bang Theory, Futurama and Star Trek: The Next Generation, always as a version of himself. His inspiration extended far into popular culture: Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour sampled Hawking for the song “Keep Talking” on the band’s album Division Bell, and Philip Glass included a version of Hawking in his 1992 opera The Voyage. “Not since Albert Einstein has a scientist so captured the public imagination and endeared himself to tens of millions of people around the world,” Michio Kaku, a professor of theoretical physics at the City University of New York, told The New York Times.

Hawking’s diagnosis, at age 21, of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) was depicted in the 2014 film The Theory of Everything (for which Eddie Redmayne, who portrayed Hawking, won an Academy Award), and he spent nearly all of his adult life bound to a wheelchair, dependent on a computerized voice system for communication. He said that he wanted “to show that people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit,” and he kept a busy schedule with frequent public appearances, which he largely used to raise awareness about issues like global warming, the imperiled future of the planet, and our purpose on it—which in his view, was a lot less grand than you might think. “We are just an advanced breed of monkeys on a minor planet of a very average star,” he said. “But we can understand the universe. That makes us something very special.” In 2008, Hawking gave a TED talk titled “Questioning the Universe,” in which he stated his belief that in order for humanity (and its “selfish and aggressive instincts”) to survive, it would need to expand beyond earth; that same year he spoke to NASA on the same topic, saying that “spreading out into space will . . . completely change the future of the human race, and maybe determine whether we have any future at all.”

In physics, Hawking’s name will forever be connected with black holes, but in common use, Hawking will likely be remembered best for refusing to let his disease interfere with his fierce intellectual power. (When asked about the study of physics taking him “beyond physical limitations,” Hawking famously answered, “The human race is so puny compared to the universe, that being disabled is not of much cosmic significance.”) He was not terribly interested in slowing down: In 2007, at 65, Hawking experienced zero gravity; he also booked a seat with Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic to ride on a suborbital flight.

His 2010 book, The Grand Design, laid bare his lack of sentimentality in regard to religion or the idea of an afterlife. “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first,” he told The Guardian. “I regard the brain as a computer that will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken-down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” In the interview, Hawking emphasized the need to fulfill our potential on earth by making good use of our lives, an effort he felt best fulfilled by seeking “the greatest value of our action.”

He is survived by three children, Robert, Lucy, and Timothy, from his first marriage to Jane Wilde, and three grandchildren. “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years,” his children said in a statement, praising his “courage and persistence” and “brilliance and humor.”

“He once said, ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him forever,” they said.