people in the UK "whose actions during the reign of Elizabeth II have had a significant impact on lives in these islands and given the age its character". Personal life Edwards married Ruth Fowler Edwards (1930–2013), also a scientist with significant work, granddaughter of 1908 Nobel laureate physicist Ernest Rutherford and daughter of physicist Ralph Fowler, in 1956. The couple had five daughters and 12 grandchildren. Death Edwards died at home near Cambridge, England on 10 April 2013 after a long lung illness. A spokesperson for the University of Cambridge said "He will be greatly missed by family, friends and colleagues." The Guardian reported that, as of Edwards' death, more than four million births had resulted from IVF. Louise Brown said "His work, along with Patrick Steptoe, has brought happiness and joy to millions of people all over the world by enabling them to have children." According to the BBC, his work was motivated by his belief that "the most important thing in life is having a child." A plaque was unveiled at the Bourn Hall Clinic in July 2013 by Louise Brown and Alastair MacDonald – the world's first IVF baby boy – commemorating Steptoe and Edwards. See also Fernando Bonilla-Musoles References External links Papers of Sir Robert Edwards and associated papers held at Churchill Archives Centre 1925 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Bangor University Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Commanders of the Order of the British Empire English Nobel laureates English physiologists Fellows of Churchill College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society British andrologists In vitro fertilisation Knights Bachelor Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine People from Batley Recipients of the Lasker-DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award National Institute for Medical Research faculty