The ashes of the world famous scientist were buried in Westminster Abbey, where for the last thousand years ceremonies of coronations, royal weddings and burials took place, and where the most famous British are buried.
Hawking's tomb is located next to the resting places of the famous British scientists Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727) and Charles Darwin (1809 - 1882).
Burial within the walls of the abbey is a rare honor awarded to people who have achieved special merit to Britain and the whole world. The last time a funeral took place at Westminster Abbey was in 1940. Then, within the walls of the abbey, the ashes of Joseph John Thomson, the discoverer of the electron and the 1906 Nobel Prize winner in physics, were laid to rest.
According to Hawking's dying will, the recording of his voice, superimposed on the music of the Greek composer Vangelis, was sent using a transmitter from the European Space Agency in Spain to the area of the closest black hole to Earth 1A 0620-00. In his posthumous message, Hawking speaks of the importance of peace and hope for humanity.
Theoretical physicist and popularizer of science Stephen Hawking died in Cambridge, UK at the age of 76. In 1963, doctors diagnosed him with incurable amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which led to complete paralysis. It usually takes three to five years from the first signs of this disease to death, but Hawking's case was called exceptional. His condition stabilized over time. In 1985, the physicist underwent tracheal surgery after pneumonia and lost his ability to speak. He began to use a speech synthesizer.
Hawking became the founder of quantum cosmology. The physicist studied how the universe came into being as a result of the Big Bang and made many discoveries about black holes.
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