Ernest Orlando Lawrence died on August 27, 1958. His death brought forth an outpouring of tributes. Here is a small sample of what was said:

"My own career in science has a great deal of its foundation in Ernest Lawrence's contributions and generosity, his buoyant optimism, and his invincible spirit. He was one of a rare company of men in history who lend majesty and hope to human existence."
— Glenn T. Seaborg,
Nobel laureate chemist

"Ernest Lawrence was one of the greatest pioneers of science in worldhistory and one of the greatest administrators of scientific research."
— Clark Kerr,
former UC President

"The achievements of Ernest Lawrence represented the highest standard of scholarly excellence, but it is of Ernest the man I am thinking today; of his vitality and integrity, his friendliness and modesty."
— Robert Gordon Sproul, President Emeritus of the University of California.

"His loss is a tragic one for the United States and for the entire free world."
— Dwight D. Eisenhower

"His were truly magnificent attainments and were all geared to the eventual attainment of peace in our world and the betterment of humanity in general."
— Goodwin J. Knight, Governor of California

"He helped solve the most fantastic problems ever faced by scientists and will go down in history as a distinguished scientist, a distinguished inventor, and a distinguished administrator."
— Major General Leslie R. Groves,
Director of the Manhattan Project

"The real difficulty is that there isn't an Ernest Lawrence anymore."
— Luis Alvarez, Nobel laureate physicist, one of "Ernie's boys."