British physicist Peter Higgs, renowned for the Higgs boson, a theory of a mass-giving particle that made him a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics, passed away at the age of 94, as disclosed by the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday.
“He passed away peacefully at home on Monday 8 April following a short illness,” the Scottish university, where he had been a professor for nearly five decades, said in a statement.
It called him “a great teacher and mentor, inspiring generations of young scientists”.
“His family has asked that the media and public respect their privacy at this time,” the university added
Higgs utilized pioneering theoretical research to elucidate the mechanism behind mass in the universe, thereby solving a significant enigma in physics. His contributions earned him a position in textbooks alongside esteemed figures like Albert Einstein and Max Planck.
His 1964 theory of a mass-giving particle, which became known as the Higgs boson or the “God particle”, earned him and Belgian physicist Francois Englert the 2013 physics Nobel Prize.
That followed experiments at the Large Hadron Collider at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) finally confirming the theory the previous year, nearly half a century on.
“Peter Higgs was a remarkable individual — a truly gifted scientist whose vision and imagination have enriched our knowledge of the world that surrounds us,” Peter Mathieson, Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh, said.
“His pioneering work has motivated thousands of scientists, and his legacy will continue to inspire many more for generations to come.”