NPR

'He Broke Boundaries With His Mind': Public Pays Tribute At Stephen Hawking's Funeral

About 500 guests honored the physicist at Saturday's private service in Cambridge, his intellectual home for half a century. The procession was met by admirers who lined the streets to share memories.
Flowers and a note honor the renowned theoretical physicist near the university church of St. Mary the Great in Cambridge, where a private funeral service was held Saturday.

When the hearse carrying the body of Professor Stephen Hawking arrived at the university church of St. Mary the Great in Cambridge, the bell rang 76 times — to mark each year of the renowned physicist's life.

His coffin was draped with white flowers — lilies for the universe, roses for the polar star. Six pallbearers carried the coffin from Gonville & Caius College, where Hawking was a fellow for more than 50 years.

Hawking's family invited around 500 guests for the private, read Ecclesiastes 3.1-11.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR4 min read
From Jailhouse Melodies To Vanishing Salmon, Rejuvenate Your Listening History
Enjoy the spring bloom, get outside, listen to a new podcast! The NPR One team has gathered a few returning favorites as well as some fresh releases from across public media.
NPR3 min read
A Cartoonist's Guide To Navigating 'Normal'
Cartoonist Liana Finck has spent years learning the "rules" of social interactions. She's not convinced. Her comics poke fun at the contradictions and absurdities of daily life and modern parenting.
NPR11 min read
Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets' Is Written In Blood
With The Tortured Poets Department, the defining pop star of her era has made an album as messy and confrontational as any good girl's work can get.

Related Books & Audiobooks