Tributes from tech leaders, scientists, and business people have poured in for world renowned theorist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking after he died in his Cambridge home last night.
Hawking died aged 76, after a 54-year battle with motor neurone disease.
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Soon after the news of Hawking’s death broke, UK prime minister Theresa May tweeted that Hawking was “a brilliant an extraordinary mind” and an outlier of his generation.
Professor Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary mind – one of the great scientists of his generation. His courage, humour and determination to get the most from life was an inspiration. His legacy will not be forgotten.
— Theresa May (@theresa_may) March 14, 2018
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By GlobalDataInventor of the internet Sir Tim Berners-Lee, also shared his sorrow, tweeting: “We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit”.
British astronaut Tim Peake, who recently returned to earth from space, said Hawking inspired generations “to look beyond our own blue planet and expand our understanding of the universe. His personality and genius will be sorely missed.”
We have lost a colossal mind and a wonderful spirit. Rest in peace, Stephen Hawking. https://t.co/ectv7r4UIm
— Tim Berners-Lee (@timberners_lee) March 14, 2018
CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella also took to social media writing: “we lost a great one today”.
We lost a great one today. Stephen Hawking will be remembered for his incredible contributions to science – making complex theories and concepts more accessible to the masses. He’ll also be remembered for his spirit and unbounded pursuit to gain a complet…https://t.co/z1du859Gy2
— Satya Nadella (@satyanadella) March 14, 2018
He added:
He’ll also be remembered for his spirit and unbounded pursuit to gain a complete understanding of the universe, despite the obstacles he faced. May he rest peacefully as his legacy and brilliance live on.
As the most famous scientist since Albert Einstein, Hawking has left an “intellectual vacuum” in his wake, said American astrophysicist Neil de Grasse Tyson.
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
Hawking delivered his lectures with an American accented speech syntheizer after losing his voice during a life-saving tracheotomy.
US space agency Nasa also rushed to pay its respects on social media, saying Hawking’s “theories unlocked a universe of possibilities”.
May you keep flying like superman in microgravity.
Remembering Stephen Hawking, a renowned physicist and ambassador of science. His theories unlocked a universe of possibilities that we & the world are exploring. May you keep flying like superman in microgravity, as you said to astronauts on @Space_Station in 2014 pic.twitter.com/FeR4fd2zZ5
— NASA (@NASA) March 14, 2018
The US FCC chair Ajit Pai also tweeted his tribute.
RIP, Stephen Hawking: British theoretical physicist was "a great scientist and an extraordinary man." I had privilege to meet him in mid-1990s & thanked him for "A Brief History of Time," a wonderful book on the universe's origins, black holes, & more. https://t.co/8539eExpub
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) March 14, 2018
He said:
RIP, Stephen Hawking: British theoretical physicist was “a great scientist and an extraordinary man.” I had privilege to meet him in mid-1990s & thanked him for “A Brief History of Time,” a wonderful book on the universe’s origins, black holes, & more.
Hawking studied natural science at under-graduate level at Oxford university.
He then went on to do his post graduate at Cambridge, where he later served as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a post formerly held by Isaac Newton who discovered gravity.
Hawking helped popularise science with one of the best-selling books of all time, A Brief History of Time, that stepped out his theories that time began with the Big Bang, and that black holes, were found to emit radiation, causing them to explode.
Lawrence Krauss, a physicist and cosmologist said a “star just went out in the cosmos”.
We have lost an amazing human being. Stephen Hawking fought and tamed the cosmos bravely for 76 years and taught us all something important about what it truly means to celebrate about being human. I will miss him.
