Leaders, celebrities react to news of Stephen Hawking’s death

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in his Caltech office in Pasadena, Calif., on February 5, 1997. Hawking died on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at 76. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in his Caltech office in Pasadena, Calif., on February 5, 1997. Hawking died on Tuesday, March 13, 2018, at 76. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

Renowned physicist and professor Stephen Hawking has died at the age of 76.

Hawking was diagnosed with progressive and degenerative motor neuron disease in 1963 when he was 21 years old, according to Hawking.org, and given just two years to live by doctors. He's defied those odds by more than 50 years.

On Wednesday, as news about Hawking’s death spread, leaders and celebrities shared their thoughts on the famous professor.

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