Stephen Hawking passes into the ages

One of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Einstein passes into worlds beyond our understanding.

IMAGE: Professor Stephen Hawking at a launch event for the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication in London. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Stephen Hawking, the legendary British theoretical physicist who explored the mysteries of the universe from his wheelchair and went on to become an inspiring figure globally, died at his home in Cambridge.

His family said that Professor Hawking, 76, died peacefully in his home near Cambridge University, where he did much of his ground-breaking work on black holes and relativity.

Hawking's children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement: '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 courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world,' the statement said.

'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 for ever,' it said.

Professor Hawking was born in Oxford, England, on January 8 -- the 300th anniversary of the death of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei.

He suffered from ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), a neurodegenerative disease commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, which is usually fatal within a few years.

He was diagnosed in 1963, when he was 21, and doctors initially only gave him a few years to live.

But he went on to study at Cambridge and became one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists since Albert Einstein.

The disease left Professor Hawking wheelchair-bound and paralysed. He was able to move only a few fingers on one hand and was completely dependent on others or on technology for virtually everything -- bathing, dressing, eating, even speech.

Known for his unique way of speaking while living his life in a wheelchair, Professor Hawking became an emblem of human determination and curiosity.

His first major breakthrough came in 1970, when he and Roger Penrose applied the mathematics of black holes to the entire universe and showed that a singularity, a region of infinite curvature in space-time, lay in our distant past: the point from which came the big bang.

Professor Hawking's seminal contributions continued through the 1980s.

The theory of cosmic inflation holds that the fledgling universe went through a period of terrific expansion.

In 1982, Professor Hawking was among the first to show how quantum fluctuations -- tiny variations in the distribution of matter -- might give rise through inflation to the spread of galaxies in the universe.

But it was A Brief History of Time that rocketed Professor Hawking to stardom.

Published for the first time in 1988, the title made The Guinness Book of Records after it stayed on the Sunday Times bestsellers list for an unprecedented 237 weeks. It sold 10 million copies and was translated into 40 different languages.

Professor Hawking won the Albert Einstein Award, the Wolf Prize, the Copley Medal, and the Fundamental Physics Prize. The Nobel prize, however, eluded him.

Despite being a British citizen he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the US' highest civilian honor, in 2009 by President Barack Obama.

He was the subject of the 2014 film The Theory Of Everything, which starred Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones.

'I want to show that people need not be limited by physical handicaps as long as they are not disabled in spirit,' Professor Hawking once said.

He leaves behind three children and three grandchildren.

Prime Minister Narendra D Modi condoled Professor Hawking's passing and said his grit and tenacity inspired people all over the world.

Modi described Professor Hawking as an outstanding scientist and said his demise was 'anguishing'. He also said his work made the world a better place.