THE physicist and author of A Brief History of Time Stephen Hawking has died peacefully at his home in Cambridge.
Hawking suffered from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease Hawking’s diagnosed in 1963, when he was 21, and doctors initially gave him only a two years to live. The disease left him wheelchair-bound and paralyzed.
His 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, became an unlikely worldwide bestseller. Now it is considered easily one of the most important and widely-read texts published in the 20th century, selling over 10 million copies.
He had at least 12 honorary degrees and was awarded the CBE in 1982. A CBE, or Commander in the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Hawking is considered a major honour for a British citizen and is one rank below knighthood.
In an interview last year, Hawking spoke also of death, an eventuality that sat on a more distant horizon than doctors thought. “I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die,” he said. “I have so much I want to do first.”
In a statement on Wednesday March 14, his children paid tribute to their father saying “We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today” also noted that their father was an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. He leaves his three children, from his first marriage to Jane Wilde, and three grandchildren.