Murray Gell-Mann who theorized the existence of the quark, dead at 89

SANTA FE, New Mexico - Murray Gell-Mann, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist who brought order to the universe by helping discover and classify subatomic particles, has died at the age of 89, The Associated Press reported.

He was considered among the most important physicists of the 20th century.

Gell-Mann died on Friday at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. His death was confirmed by the Santa Fe Institute, where he held the title of distinguished fellow, and the California Institute of Technology, or Caltech, where he taught for decades. The cause was not disclosed.