The man who was told he would not live past 25 proved his doctors wrong. He made it to 76. Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, leaving behind a new era of quantum physics, which has successfully opened up our imaginations to a multiverse.
Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS (remember the Ice Bucket Challenge?) when he was 21. But this disease, that has progressively paralysed him over the years, did not hinder him from living life the way he wanted. In other words, Hawking was an all-round badass.
While the world grieves his death, we take a leaf out of Hawking’s book to not take life too seriously. So, here are seven of his badass quotes to make you smile.
When He Took on Trump AND His Supporters
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2Fb28d29a1-deaf-43a1-b0af-997c625dc902%2F1.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
When the Genius Refused to Boast About His IQ
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2Fa14325ae-9b95-48f2-92b1-6774048ecc85%2F2.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
When He Dissed Life on Planet Earth
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2F9722a30a-17c8-4e85-b256-bcaf3e122fc3%2F3.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
And Gave Sceptics Something to Think About
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2F643c27e5-6412-407a-9c25-63ce056a0653%2FHe%20is%20a%20demagogue%20who%20seems%20to%20appeal%20to%20the%20lowest%20common%20denominator..jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
When Superman Was His Favourite Hero
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2Ff7cfd06f-0a7e-459b-b657-b2d3ac2a78af%2F5.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
And He Thought to Comfort ‘One Direction’ Fans
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2F6405a163-a5a2-46c7-998d-7804f1647725%2F6.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
Finally, When He Called Us All and Himself ‘Monkeys’
![Legendary scientist Stephen Hawking passed away on Wednesday, 14 March, at the age of 76.](https://images.thequint.com/thequint%2F2017-01%2Fd07b68c8-63de-4821-bc86-7fa8c6687d16%2F7.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fmt=webp&width=720)
(This article has been republished from The Quint’s archives. It was first published on 8 January 2017.)
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