Physicist Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76, a spokesman for his family has said.
The Briton was known for his ground-breaking work with black holes and relativity, and was the author of several popular science books including A Brief History of Time.
In a statement his children said: "He was a great scientist… whose work and legacy will live on for many years.
In the world of astrophysics, its hard to be more noble than him
No he was overall a very noble man, who remained true to his principles. Was just checking if you thought he was Noble Price winner as many people wrongly believed he was!
Stephen Hawking liked to say he was born 300 years to the day after Galileo died, and he died 139 years after Albert Einstein was born, on Pi Day, a holy holiday for the mathematically inclined.That was a fitting bookend.
