Stephen Hawking's ashes to be interred next to Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey

Professor Stephen Hawking will become the first scientists to be buried at Westminster Abbey in nearly 80 years. Photo / AP

The ashes of Stephen Hawking will be interred next to Sir Isaac Newton in Westminster Abbey, the first time a scientist has been afforded the honour in 80 years.

Professor Hawking will be the first well-known person to be laid to rest in the Abbey since Sir Laurence Olivier in 1989 and joins the likes of Charles Darwin, Elizabeth I, Charles Dickens and Geoffrey Chaucer.

The last scientist to be interred was the physicist Joseph John Thomson, the discoverer of the electron who died in 1940. Nuclear pioneer Sir Ernest Rutherford was also buried there three years earlier.

Hawking passed away on March 14 this year at the age of 76 having become one of the most renowned scientists in his field despite his decades-long battle with motor neurone disease.

The Dean of Westminster, the Very Reverend Dr John Hall, said: "It is entirely fitting that the remains of Professor Stephen Hawking are to be buried in the Abbey, near those of distinguished fellow scientists.

"Sir Isaac Newton was buried in the Abbey in 1727. Charles Darwin was buried beside Isaac Newton in 1882.

"Other famous scientists are buried or memorialised nearby, the most recent burials being those of atomic physicists Ernest Rutherford in 1937 and Joseph John Thomson in 1940.

"We believe it to be vital that science and religion work together to seek to answer the great questions of the mystery of life and of the universe."

Westminster Abbey is the resting place for kings, queens, prime ministers, scientists and artists. Photo / 123RF

The interment will take place following Professor Hawking's funeral at the University Church of St Mary the Great, Cambridge, on March 31.

The private service will be attended by family, friends and colleagues.

Hawking's children Lucy, Robert and Tim said: 'On behalf of our whole family we want to express our huge gratitude to all the wonderful tributes to our father and to those who have sent us messages of condolence.

'Our father lived and worked in Cambridge for over 50 years. He was an integral and highly recognisable part of the university and the city. For this reason, we have decided to hold his funeral in the city that he loved so much and which loved him.

"Our father's life and work meant many things to many people, both religious and non-religious. So, the service will be both inclusive and traditional, reflecting the breadth and diversity of his life.'

'We would like to thank Gonville & Caius College, Trinity College and the University of Cambridge for their assistance with our father's funeral service.'

Following his death, Cambridge University described him as "an inspiration to millions".

Hawking was eventually given the prestigious title of Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge - a position once held by Newton - having arrived in 1962 as a PhD student.

This article originally appeared on the Daily Telegraph.