Renowned physicist and professor Stephen Hawking has died, the UK Press Association reported, citing a family spokesperson.

Hawking was 76. He died at his home in Cambridge, London.

Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim have confirmed the news in a statement today.

“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. 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.” – the statement read.

Hawking was diagnosed with motor neurone disease when he was 21. Doctors told Hawking he would not live for more than two years, but Hawking survived for more than half a decade, long enough for his disability to define him.

Hawking’s first claim to fame was in 1970, when he and Roger Penrose proved that a singularity, a region of infinite curvature in spacetime, lay in our distant past, from which originated the big bang.

Hawking is also known for his theory of general relativity and theoretical prediction that black holes emit radiation.

Stephen Hawking’s book – ‘A Brief History of Time’ – had appeared on the British Sunday Times best-seller list for a record-breaking 237 weeks in the 2000s.