Theresa May has been joined by leading scientists and figures from the entertainment industry in paying tribute to Professor Stephen Hawking who died this morning.
British astronaut Tim Peake tweeted that Professor Hawking, who was 76, "inspired generations to look beyond our own blue planet and expand our understanding of the universe".
Professor Stephen Hawking was a brilliant and extraordinary mind - one of the great scientists of his generation.
Image: Eddie Redmayne played the role of the scientist in the film The Theory of Everything.
Professor Hawking contracted motor neurone disease in 1963 aged 21.
Stephen Hawking, RIP 1942-2018. pic.twitter.com/nAanMySqkt — Neil deGrasse Tyson (@neiltyson) March 14, 2018.
It was his 1988 book A Brief History Of Time that cemented his position as one of the best-known scientists of his time. R.I.P. Stephen Hawking. »