Professor Stephen Hawking, 76, died early Wednesday morning English time, at his Cambridge home
    He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years, his three children said in a statement
    The famed astrophysicist was diagnosed with a form of motor neurone disease in 1963 and was given just two years to live
    The disease progressed slower than expected, allowing him to marry and have three children, but eventually left him almost completely paralysed
    Wrote or co-wrote more than 15 books and starred on several TV hits including The Simpson, The Big Bang Theory and Family Guy
    His book A Brief History of Time was a surprise runaway best seller and made science more accessible to the public