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Stephen Hawking's ashes buried in Westminster Abbey
NBC News ^ | 06/15/18

Posted on 06/15/2018 10:26:13 PM PDT by Simon Green

The ashes of Stephen Hawking were buried Friday in a corner of Westminster Abbey that honors some of Britain's greatest scientists, between the graves of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.

More than 1,000 people attended a service of thanksgiving in the ancient abbey for the physicist, who died in March at age 76 after decades of living with motor neuron disease. When he was diagnosed, at the age of 22, he was given only a few years to live.

Hawking conducted groundbreaking research into black holes and the origins of the universe, and gained global fame as a popularizer and communicator of science. His book "A Brief History of Time" sold 9 million copies — even if many readers didn't finish it — and he appeared on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," ''The Big Bang Theory" and "The Simpsons."

"His name will live in the annals of science," Astronomer Royal Martin Rees said at the memorial service. "Nobody else since Einstein has done more to deepen our understanding of space and time.

"Millions have had their horizons widened by his books and lectures, and even more worldwide have been inspired by a unique example of achievement against all the odds," Rees said.

awking's first wife, Jane, and daughter, Lucy, were among an eclectic crowd that included scientists and schoolchildren; politicians, including British Culture Secretary Matt Hancock and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn; Chic guitarist Nile Rogers; actress Lily Cole; comedian David Walliams; and talk show host Piers Morgan.

Guests also included 1,000 members of the public selected by ballot from 25,000 applicants. A private funeral service was held in March in Cambridge, where Hawking lived and worked for decades.

The service included biblical readings by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Hawking in a BBC drama, and by Lucy Hawking. Astronaut Tim Peake read from "Queen Mab," by poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, which evokes the wonders of the universe.


TOPICS: Science
KEYWORDS: hawking
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1 posted on 06/15/2018 10:26:13 PM PDT by Simon Green
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To: Simon Green

Why? I thought he didn’t believe in a “higher power”.


2 posted on 06/15/2018 10:27:36 PM PDT by rktman (Enlisted in the Navy in '67 to protect folks rights to strip my rights. WTH?)
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To: rktman
#2: "Why? I thought he didn’t believe in a “higher power”."

Apparently neither do the people who run Westminster Abbey.
 

3 posted on 06/15/2018 10:29:27 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (MAGA in the mornin', MAGA in the evenin', MAGA at suppertime . . .)
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To: Simon Green

I’ve read his book, which oddly just seemed logical to me. Also it seems he was wrong about black holes? In the end, does he deserve being compared to the greats?


4 posted on 06/15/2018 10:31:19 PM PDT by Williams (Stop tolerating the intolerant.)
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To: Simon Green

On the other hand Sir Isaac Newton was no atheist.


5 posted on 06/15/2018 10:38:01 PM PDT by tflabo (Varmints)
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To: Williams
Time will tell. His strength was in exciting some imaginations. I'm sure he influenced many career choices. But it has been shown that he was dead wrong about many of his claims. He was severely crippled and people cut him a lot of slack out of pity, at times almost like he was a side show freak.

Given the hand life dealt him, I'd say he did well for himself. Although the fact that he was unfaithful to his wife with prostitutes does not impress me in the least. Disgraceful behavior, but not unexpected from someone with his theological beliefs or lack thereof.

6 posted on 06/15/2018 10:42:52 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (MAGA in the mornin', MAGA in the evenin', MAGA at suppertime . . .)
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To: Simon Green

He should have died in an asylum decades ago.


7 posted on 06/15/2018 10:44:03 PM PDT by DeathBeforeDishonor1
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To: Simon Green

Unlike many people, I do hold to the Biblical teachings that mingling among the dead makes one unclean. So burying people inside the church defies the sanctuary as well, and when I see cemeteries labeled as “Holy”, I cringe as well.


8 posted on 06/15/2018 10:50:53 PM PDT by prophetic (Trump is today's DANIEL. Shut the mouth of lions Lord, let his enemies be made the Cat Food instead.)
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To: Williams

Also it seems he was wrong about black holes? In the end, does he deserve being compared to the greats? <<

Everyone gets a Trophy ...


9 posted on 06/15/2018 10:59:30 PM PDT by M-cubed
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To: Simon Green

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6qnRvJZfh1c

Helen Wheels


10 posted on 06/15/2018 11:24:54 PM PDT by waterhill (I Shall Remain, in spite of __________.)
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To: rktman

No doubt Hawking accepted the possibility of principles well beyond his perceptive abilities.


11 posted on 06/15/2018 11:41:32 PM PDT by Gene Eric (Don't be a statist!)
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To: Simon Green

But who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?


12 posted on 06/15/2018 11:44:08 PM PDT by heights
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To: heights

I don’t know, Groucho. But what color is an orange?


13 posted on 06/15/2018 11:46:24 PM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (MAGA in the mornin', MAGA in the evenin', MAGA at suppertime . . .)
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To: Simon Green

How did I not know this guy had died? RIP


14 posted on 06/16/2018 12:04:32 AM PDT by jocon307
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

Good call..


15 posted on 06/16/2018 12:05:44 AM PDT by DanielRedfoot (Po Dunk)
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To: Williams

He was a great salesman in a wheelchair


16 posted on 06/16/2018 12:20:58 AM PDT by Hoosier-Daddy ("Washington, DC. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious")
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To: heights

But who is buried in Grant’s Tomb?

The correct answer is nobody.


17 posted on 06/16/2018 2:32:03 AM PDT by Hugin (Conservatism without Nationalism is a fraud.)
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To: Simon Green

We vacationed in England in May, toured Westminster, etc. Beautiful places.


18 posted on 06/16/2018 2:43:59 AM PDT by buffyt (M A G A)
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To: Gene Eric

According to Hawking, it’s gravitation all the way down... like the Earth being supported on the backs of a bunch of turtles.


19 posted on 06/16/2018 3:57:05 AM PDT by onedoug
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To: DeathBeforeDishonor1

“He should have died in an asylum decades ago.”

Let me guess? Something, something....political disagreements?

For those of us interested in his work before he later years of being a mouthpiece (just go with that term), he was one of the tops in he field, and he’s book are absolute classics in the astronomy and physics genres.

God knows how unnecessarily bitter a person would be to think that this guy should have died in an asylum.


20 posted on 06/16/2018 4:28:58 AM PDT by VanDeKoik
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