World renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76 surrounded by friends and family at his home in Cambridge.
At the age of 22 Hawking was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease and given two years to live; he defied the odds communicating his extraordinary works via a voice synthesiser for most of his life.
Hawking was regarded as one of the greatest theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein making important discoveries about black holes; finding that they leak energy and fade to nothing dubbed ‘Hawking radiation’ and his ‘theory of everything’ to name just a few.
Comedian and presenter of the BBC's Stargazing Live Dara O'Briain said Hawking’s work elevated us to the extra-ordinary; his life pushed down a terrible, limiting disease. In both, he was a triumph of what we, as humans, can achieve.