TRIBUTES ARE COMING IN FROM
AROUND THE GLOBE TO HONOR ONE
OF THE WORLD'S MOST ACCLAIMED
SCIENTISTS.
STEPHEN HAWKING WHO DIED
OVERNIGHT AT THE AGE OF 76.
CBS4'S MARK PHILLIPS HAS MORE.
Reporter: HE WAS PROBABLY
THE BEST-KNOWN SCIENTIFIC MIND
OF MODERN TIMES, AND THE MOST
FAMOUS DISABLED PERSON IN THE
WORLD.
STEPHEN HAWKING, WITH HIS
WHEELCHAIR AND HIS COMPUTER
SYNTHESIZED VOICE --
FOR MANY PEOPLE --
Reporter: -- WAS AN
INSTANTLY RECOGNIZABLE PERSON.
BECOMING THE SUBJECT OF A
POPULAR MOVIE, ONLY ENHANCED
HIS POPULARITY.
HE WAS BORN IN OXFORD, ENGLAND
IN 1942.
HE WAS A 21-YEAR-OLD PHD
STUDENT WHEN HE WAS DIAGNOSED
WITH AMY AT TROPIC LATERAL
SCLEROSIS, LOU GEHRIG'S DISEASE.
AND TOLD HE HAD JUST A YEAR OR
TWO TO LIVE.
HE NOT ONLY LIVED FIVE DECADES
LONGER, HIS 1988 BOOK, "A BRIEF
HISTORY OF TIME," EXPLAINING
THE MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE
IN LAYMAN'S LANGUAGE, BECAME AN
INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER AND
MADE HIM AN UNLIKELY WORLDWIDE
CELEBRITY.
WHEN HE TURNED 60, HE DID A
STAR TURN WITH ED BRADLEY ON
CBS NEWS' "60 MINUTES."
I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GET
SO FAR.
Reporter: HAWKING WAS ONE OF
PRESIDENT OBAMA'S FIRST
RECIPIENTS OF THE MEDAL OF
FREEDOM, AWARDED BECAUSE HE HAD
OVERCOME DISABILITY TO PUSH THE
BOUNDARIES OF SCIENCE.
HE TOOK A ZERO GRAVITY FLIGHT
IN 2007, THE FIRST TIME IN 40
YEARS HE COULD MOVE WITHOUT THE
CHAIR.
HE HAD A ROLE ON "STAR TREK."
AND ON "BIG BANG THEORY."
BUT HE KNEW HE HAD MADE IT ON
"THE SIMPSONS."
WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?
I WANTED TO SEE YOUR UTOPIA.
Reporter: BUT IT'S THE
SCIENCE THAT WILL INDOOR.
AND HERE'S A FUN FACT.
