According to a report by the BBC, the 76-year-old died peacefully at his home in Cambridge.

His family did not disclose the cause of his death.

"We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years," the family said in a statement.

He was considered as one of the leading voices in science because of his accomplishments and research.

His greatest achievement, according to the man himself, was the discovery that black holes are not entirely black.

He also discovered that black holes leak energy and fade to nothing. This phenomenon would later become known as the Hawking radiation.

At the age of 22, he was diagnosed with a rare form of motor neurone disease and was only given a few years to live by the doctors.

The disease left Hawking permanently wheelchair-bound and unable to speak, except through a voice synthisizer.

If you're a huge fan of his work and you want to send the physicist off with a binge-watching marathon tribute, here are a couple of movies and TV series we recommend you watch:

#1 Hawking (2004)

If you're a fan of Hawking, this 2004 drama series is a definite must watch. 'Sherlock' actor Benedict Cumberbatch plays the role of the theoretical physicist during his time as a post-graduate student at Cambridge University.

'Hawking' was very well-received and Cumberbatch was nominated for a couple of awards, ultimately winning the Golden Nymph Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Film or Miniseries in 2005.

Here's another cool bit: it was the first ever portrayal of the physicist on screen. More reason for you to watch it.

#2 The Theory Of Everything (2014)

If you're looking for a movie based on Hawking's life, this is it. 'The Theory Of Everything' is a biopic starring Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, and follows his journey from his time at Cambridge University until the day he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

The movie received critical acclaim and it dominated most of the Awards show that year. Oh, here's a super cool fact: Hawking actually allowed the producers of the film to use his speech synthesiser voice for the film.

You need to include this into your must-watch list pronto.

#3 Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking (2010)

Believe aliens exist? Think time travel is real? This one's for you.

'Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking' is a three-part science documentary mini-series written by the man himself. Hawking was also the host of the mini-series; debating on subjects such as aliens, time travel and the past and future of humankind.

If you love science series, you gotta watch this.

#4 The Big Bang Theory (2012)

How could you have a show revolving around a couple of a theoretical physicists and not have Stephen Hawking guest star in it, right? Hawking appeared as himself in several 'The Big Bang Theory' episodes, usually trading barbs with Sheldon Cooper.

If you want to check the episodes out, they are: S05E21, S08E14, S09E17, S10E09 and S11E01.

#5 Genius By Stephen Hawking (2016)

Want to watch Stephen Hawking school ordinary people? You've come to the right place.

In this series, Hawking challenges three volunteers to solve some of humanity's most enduring questions like 'are we alone?' or 'where did the universe come from?'. The goal of this series, according to Hawking, is to teach the volunteers as well as the audience how to think like a genius.