The ashes of Professor Stephen Hawking have been buried in the Scientists' Corner of Westminster Abbey, between the graves of Charles Darwin and Isaac Newton.
More than 1000 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, aged 22, he was given only a few years to live.
"His name will live in the annals of science," Astronomer Royal Martin Rees told the memorial service on Friday. "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.
Hawking's first wife Jane and daughter Lucy were among a crowd that included scientists and schoolchildren, politicians, Chic guitarist Nile Rogers, actress Lily Cole, comedian David Walliams, and talk-show host Piers Morgan.
Guests also included 1000 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.
A 1999 file photo of Professor Stephen Hawking smiling during a news conference at the University of Potsdam, near Berlin. Source: AAP
The service included a biblical reading by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who played Hawking on screen.
Astronaut Tim Peake read from Percy Bysshe Shelley's Queen Mab, which evokes the wonders of the universe.
Kip Thorne, a Nobel Prize-winning American physicist, paid tribute to "by far the most stubborn friend I ever had."
British actor, Benedict Cumberbatch speaks at a memorial service for British scientist Stephen Hawking. Source: Getty Images
"He absolutely refused to let his physical disability get in the way of doing great science or get in the way of having great fun," Thorne said.
Hawking was interred beneath a stone inscribed: "Here lies what was mortal of Stephen Hawking" - an English translation of the Latin words on the nearby grave of Newton, the 17th-century scientist who discovered the laws of gravity. The stone is also inscribed with one of Hawking's equations describing the entropy of a black hole.
After the service, Hawking's words, set to music by Greek composer Vangelis, were beamed into space from a European Space Agency satellite dish in Spain.
Vangelis, who is known for his work with electronic instruments, specially composed the piece in memory of Stephen Hawking.
Hawking's daughter, Lucy, said the music would be aimed at "the nearest black hole, 1A 0620-00", more than 3000 light years from earth.
"It is a message of peace and hope, about unity and the need for us to live together in harmony on this planet," Lucy Hawking said in a statement.
Hawking conducted groundbreaking research into black holes and the origins of the universe, and gained global fame as a populariser and communicator of science.
The ashes of physicist Stephen Hawking have been laid to rest at Westminster Abbey in London. Source: AAP
His book A Brief History of Time sold nine million copies, and he was also known for his involvement in popular culture - with appearances on Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Simpsons.
