Stephen Hawking, who was known as the world's most famous physicist, has died at age 76

Professor Stephen Hawking, the English theoretical physicist, author and Director of Research at the Centre for Theoretical Cosmology at the University of Cambridge has passed away at age 76, a spokesman for his family confirmed on Tuesday night.

Hawking, a specialist in cosmology and quantum gravity, introduced the world to an entirely new way of thinking about the universe, largely thanks to his 1988 publication, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes, which sold more than 10 million copies and inspired a documentary. He was that rare thing in our current era: a preeminent scientific mind, and a household name. Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with ALS in 1963, when he was 21. He defied doctors' predictions of an early death and lived with the disease for more than 50 years, while becoming one of the world's greatest modern scientists.

RIP sir.