Stephen Hawking’s ashes to be buried at Westminster Abbey near Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin
Westminster Abbey is the final resting place of 17 monarchs and of some of the most significant figures in British history
Stephen Hawking’s ashes will be buried near the graves of fellow British scientists Isaac Newton and Charles Darwin at Westminster Abbey.
The remains of the legendary physicist and icon, who died last week, will be laid in the church during a thanksgiving service later this year, the abbey said.
His family earlier confirmed the funeral will take place on March 31 at Great St Mary’s church in Cambridge University, a short distance from Gonville and Caius College, where Hawking worked at unlocking the secrets of the universe for more than 52 years.
Hawking died aged 76 on March 14 after a cosmic career in which his mental genius transcended his physical disability.
Propelled to stardom by his 1988 book A Brief History of Time, an unlikely worldwide bestseller, Hawking’s genius and wit won over fans from far beyond the rarefied world of astrophysics.
As a scientist, he earned comparisons with Newton and Albert Einstein.