At the University of Cambridge’s Gonville and Caius College, where Stephen Hawking was a fellow for more than half a century, the college flag was flying at half-mast on Wednesday.
It had been lowered in acknowledgement of the death of the internationally renowned scientist, who was also one of the college’s most beloved figures. “Stephen’s loss is a great one for the college,” said its master, Prof Sir Alan Fersht, who first met Hawking in 1965 as a student. “Caius is Stephen – they have been intertwined for over 50 years.”
On Wednesday, at the college Hawking had called a “constant thread running through my life”, groups of students and tourists wandered in and out, some leaving flowers while others went to the college chapel to leave a note in a book of condolences.
“I was shocked when I heard about his death this morning,” said Russ Holmes, the college’s head porter who has been on staff for 15 years. “You think he [Stephen Hawking] will go on forever. I know he was poorly in the last few months but it was a shock.”
Holmes said he had been busy all morning, with press arriving, as well as students and tourists who wanted to pay their respects. Bouquets of flowers had started building up against the college gates.
The head porter said that in recent years Hawking came to the college for large events and dinners. “He was an iconic chap and we used to have a picture of him with a teddy bear that we sell in the gift shop. As soon as we did that, sales of the teddy shot up. Everyone wanted a piece of Stephen Hawking.”
Another Caius fellow, the British mathematician Prof Tim Pedley, who knew Hawking from his youth, said his death was “very sad and we will miss him”.
He remembered Hawking’s enduring sense of humour, even under the most difficult circumstances. When, in 1985, Hawking was flown home to undergo an urgent tracheotomy in a hospital in Cambridge, colleagues from Caius and the mathematics department visited him and took turns to read to him. “I read the Pickwick Papers,” said Pedley. “Stephen had a lovely sense of humour and you could tell in those days he was laughing. But he was in a pretty bad way.”
Pedley said Hawking would “always let you know if he disagreed with you” and he showed the world that people could be resilient in the most “daunting circumstances”.
“He loved being a celebrity ... and the centre of attention and he did it very well,” Pedley added.
Students at Cambridge said Hawking’s celebrity status as well as academic achievements made him a role model. “He stood out for his scientific contribution but also because he was loved by the public and had a great sense of humour. He appeared in shows like the Big Bang Theory,” said Kelly Marchisio, 27, a computer science student.
She said one of the reasons she came to Cambridge was because of scientists like Hawking: “My goal while I was here was to try and see him speak. I didn’t manage that but that’s why I came here today. I am going to sign the condolences book. I will thank him for being an inspiration for future scientists and engineers.”
