--- title: The Internet Points Out That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day description: People think it's an interesting coincidence that Stephen Hawking died on March 14, which is also known as National Pi Day. canonical: https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/ author: Ashley Hoffman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-03-14T14:34:15.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-12T09:02:41.253Z og:title: People Think It's an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day og:description: It's also Albert Einstein's birthday og:url: https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71b8402da7e59fd/69892ac2656a3f1642bd3d98/gettyimages-476665123.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4932 og:image:height: 2774 og:image:alt: Cosmologist Stephen Hawking og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: People Think It's an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day twitter:description: It's also Albert Einstein's birthday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71b8402da7e59fd/69892ac2656a3f1642bd3d98/gettyimages-476665123.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # People Think It's an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=31327581-d30a-4ed2-a50b-c89160789d7f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Today is Pi Day. Here's What You Should Know About the Irrational Number [Watch (HLS stream): Today is Pi Day. Here's What You Should Know About the Irrational Number](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/sft5sEAH.m3u8) (1:38)  _Published 2018-03-14. It’s not hard to figure out why March 14 is celebrated annually as “Pi Day” by math fans: The date resembles the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter_ by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 14, 2018 2:34 PM UTC Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died early Wednesday, a University of Cambridge spokesman said. He was 76 years old. by [Ashley Hoffman](https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/) ## Ashley Hoffman Mar 14, 2018 2:34 PM UTC Some people on the internet think [Stephen Hawking](http://time.com/5198751/stephen-hawking-physicist-obituary/) couldn’t have calculated a better day to die. The 76-year-old theoretical physicist, one of science’s most famous luminaries died on March 14, also known as [National Pi Day](http://time.com/4699479/pi-day-2017-history-origins/) — an annual day for scientists and mathematicians around the world to celebrate the value of pi that even includes [deals on pizzas and actual pies](http://time.com/money/5197676/national-pi-day-2018-deals-free-pizza-pie/). Suffice it to say that the noteworthy coincidence was not lost on the internet. The date of Hawking’s death — 3/14 — is significant because 3.14 are the first three digits of pi, a bedrock of geometry. Specifically, it’s the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter. Naturally, the fact that science’s big celebration overlapped with the day the life of the party left us is making people geek out about the details. As soon as news spread that Hawking died early Wednesday morning in London, people were quick to to connect the dots. > [](https://twitter.com/arturaskerelis/status/973781817248665600) > [](https://twitter.com/berryonline/status/973866751598317568) > [](https://twitter.com/brotips/status/973788122059300864) > [](https://twitter.com/spaceagenda/status/973808514538835968) And Twitter users also noted March 14 was also significant for another famous scientist — it’s Albert Einstein’s birthday. > [](https://twitter.com/coolcambackup/status/973904768270721024) > [](https://twitter.com/Lean3JvV/status/973886328843759616) People also remembered the way pop culture toasted Hawking, from his _Star Trek_ cameo to his [historic moments on _The Simpsons_](http://time.com/5199216/stephen-hawking-death-the-simpsons/). > [](https://twitter.com/DamonGulczynsk1/status/973904600309825537) > [](https://twitter.com/DarkWingman/status/973881913520902145) > [](https://twitter.com/DameYankee/status/973877813328728064) ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/"},"headline":"People Think It's an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day","datePublished":"2018-03-14T14:34:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-12T09:02:41.253Z","description":"It's also Albert Einstein's birthday","url":"https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime","Science"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71b8402da7e59fd/69892ac2656a3f1642bd3d98/gettyimages-476665123.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Ashley Hoffman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/ashley-hoffman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf71b8402da7e59fd/69892ac2656a3f1642bd3d98/gettyimages-476665123.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Cosmologist Stephen Hawking","caption":"Cosmologist Stephen Hawking","creditText":"Santi Visalli—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5199167/stephen-hawking-death-date-pi-day/","name":"People Think It's an Interesting Coincidence That Stephen Hawking Died on Pi Day"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Famed Physicist Stephen Hawking Has Died at the Age of 76","description":"Stephen Hawking, whose brilliant mind ranged across time and space though his body was paralyzed by disease, died early Wednesday, a University of Cambridge spokesman said. 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