Top image: Courtesy of Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize

World renowned physician Stephen Hawking passed away in the early hours of this morning at age 76.

The renowned physician behind leading research related to time and space, including popular science books such as A Brief History of Time, which explained the Big Bang and black holes.
Diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease in 1964 at the age of 22, Hawking was left having to use a wheelchair by the time he was 30. In 1986, aged 44, his voice was removed to save his life after an attack of pneumonia.

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

In 2014, Hawking received a nod from Hollywood in the form of a biopic, The Theory of Everything, presenting his findings in a popular and accessible way. The film, starring Eddie Redmayne, went on to be nominated for the Oscars.

In a statement his children, Lucy, Robert and Tim, 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 forever.”