Renowned British scientist Stephen Hawking, known for his breakthrough ideas in theoretical physics and space research, has died at the age of 76, his family says.
Here is full report from RT.COM
“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,” Hawking’s children Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement.
The world-famous astrophysicist had been battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a debilitating neurological condition, for over half a century.
Born in 1942 in Oxford, Hawking was one of four children and the eldest son of Frank and Isobel Hawking, both Oxford University graduates. His mother once said that her son was always adamant in pursuing a career in theoretical astronomy. “Stephen always had a strong sense of wonder, and I could see that the stars would draw him,” she once said.
At the age of 20, he graduated with first-class honors in natural science at Oxford’s University College and shortly after began his graduate work in cosmology at Trinity Hall, Cambridge.
Diagnosed with the slow-progressing disease at the age of 21, Hawking was given a mere two years to live. But beating all the odds, he built a remarkable career as a theoretical physicist and cosmologist, popularizing science with his best-selling book, ‘A Brief History of Time.’
Hawking believed in the colonization of Mars, arguing that the Earth is “becoming too small for us” and will soon be unable to sustain human life. He said people will eventually master space travel beyond the Solar System, and even this generation could manage to send a probe to Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to Earth.
Despite having multiple health problems and being almost completely paralyzed, Hawkins, who had studied black holes and theories of gravity throughout his life, did not give up on his dream to travel in space.
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