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Memorial service bids Stephen Hawking a final farewell

By Bo Leung in London | chinadaily.com.cn | Updated: 2018-06-16 00:24
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Dean of Westminster, John Hall, accompanied by Stephen Hawking's first wife Jane Hawking, watches as his daughter Lucy Hawking, places flowers at the site of the interment of the ashes of British scientist Stephen Hawking in the nave of the Abbey church during a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, Britain, June 15, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

Scientist's ashes interred alongside Darwin and Newton

World famous British physicist Stephen Hawking was laid to rest in London’s Westminster Abbey on Friday with his ashes interred next to the grave of Sir Isaac Newton following a memorial service.

It is the first time in 80 years that a scientist has been afforded this honor.

Hawking’s final resting place is also near Charles Darwin. Newton was buried in the abbey in 1727 and Darwin was buried close by in 1882.

File photo of physicist Stephen Hawking. [Photo/Agencies]

Around 1,000 members of the public, selected by ballot, and guests from the worlds of science, entertainment and politics joined Hawking’s family to celebrate the life of the scientist, who died in March aged 76 after a long battle with motor neurone disease.

Tributes and readings were given by the physicist’s collaborator and Nobel laureate Professor Kip Thorne, Astronomer Royal Lord Rees of Ludlow, actor Benedict Cumberbatch, astronaut Tim Peake and technologist Tom Nabarro.

Thorne said: “He absolutely refused to let his disability get in the way of doing great science or having great fun,” while Nabarro said Hawking “showed when time is precious we must make space for what makes us real”.

Hawking’s daughter Lucy Hawking also addressed the service.

Flowers are placed alongside the ashes of British scientist Stephen Hawking at the site of interment in the nave of the Abbey church, during a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, in London, Britain, June 15, 2018. [Photo/Agencies]

A message from Hawking was beamed into space toward the nearest black hole as his ashes are interred following the service of thanksgiving.

The late scientist's words were set to an original piece of music, composed by Vangelis, offering a message of peace and hope.

Memorial stone for Stephen Hawking's grave. Incised is Hawking's most famous equation describing the entropy of a black hole. [Photo/Westminster Abbey's Twitter account]

Hawking gained a worldwide following for his work on theoretical physics, dedicating his life in probing the origins of the universe, the mysteries of black holes and the nature of time itself.

His book on cosmology, A Brief History of Time, written for non-specialist readers, remains one of the most famous and highly regarded science books of modern times, and his life story was made into an Academy Award-winning film, The Theory of Everything.

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