Burial places of presidents and vice presidents of the United States are located across 23 states and the District of Columbia. Since the office was established in 1789, 45 people have served as President of the United States. [upper-alpha 1] Of these, 39 have died. The state with the most presidential burial sites is Virginia with seven. Since its 1789 establishment, 49 people have served as Vice President of the United States. Of these, 43 have died. The state with the most vice-presidential burial sites is New York with 10. Fifteen people have served as both president and as vice president. Of these, 14 have died, and each is listed in both tables. Altogether, 79 people have held either or both offices. Of these, 68 have died.
The first table below lists each deceased president's place of burial, along with the date of death, and the order of their presidency. The second table lists each deceased vice president's place of burial, along with the date of death, and the order of their vice presidency.
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice president is also an officer in the legislative branch, as the president of the Senate. In this capacity, the vice president is empowered to preside over the United States Senate, but may not vote except to cast a tie-breaking vote. The vice president is indirectly elected together with the president to a four-year term of office by the people of the United States through the Electoral College. Since the passage of the Twenty-fifth Amendment to the US Constitution, the vice president may also be appointed by the president to fill a vacancy, via majority confirmation by both the Senate and the House.
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two cemeteries in the United States National Cemetery System that are maintained by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres in Arlington County, Virginia.
George Clinton was an American soldier, statesman, and Founding Father of the United States. A prominent Democratic-Republican, Clinton served as the fourth vice president of the United States from 1805 until his death in 1812. He also served as the first governor of New York from 1777 to 1795 and again from 1801 to 1804. Along with John C. Calhoun, he is one of two vice presidents to hold office under two consecutive presidents. He was also the first vice-president to die in office.
The United States National Cemetery System is a system of 164 cemeteries in the United States and its territories. The authority to create military burial places came during the American Civil War, in an act passed by the U.S. Congress on July 17, 1862. By the end of 1862, 12 national cemeteries had been established. Two of the nation's most iconic military cemeteries, Arlington National Cemetery and Gettysburg National Cemetery were established in 1864 and 1863, respectively.
The John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame is a presidential memorial at the gravesite of assassinated United States President John F. Kennedy, in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. This permanent site replaced a temporary grave and eternal flame used at the time of Kennedy's state funeral on November 25, 1963, three days after his assassination. The site was designed by architect John Carl Warnecke, a long-time friend of Kennedy. The permanent John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame grave site was consecrated and opened to the public on March 15, 1967.
Hollywood Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 412 South Cherry Street in the Oregon Hill neighborhood of Richmond, Virginia. It was established in 1847 and designed by the landscape architect John Notman. It is 135-acres in size and overlooks the James River. It is the only cemetery other than Arlington National Cemetery that contains the burials of two United States Presidents, James Monroe and John Tyler.
The Congressional Cemetery, officially Washington Parish Burial Ground, is a historic and active cemetery located at 1801 E Street, S.E., in Washington, D.C., on the west bank of the Anacostia River. It is the only American "cemetery of national memory" founded before the Civil War. Over 65,000 individuals are buried or memorialized at the cemetery, including many who helped form the nation and Washington, D.C. in the early 19th century.
Montgomery Cunningham Meigs was a career United States Army officer and military and civil engineer, who served as Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army during and after the American Civil War. Although a Southerner from Georgia, Meigs strongly opposed secession and supported the Union. His record as Quartermaster General was regarded as outstanding, both in effectiveness and in ethical probity, and Secretary of State William H. Seward viewed Meigs' leadership and contributions as key factors in the Union victory in the war.
After Abraham Lincoln was assassinated on April 14, 1865, a three-week series of events was held to mourn the death and memorialize the life of the 16th president of the United States. Funeral services, a procession, and a lying in state were first held in Washington, D.C., then a funeral train transported Lincoln's remains 1,654 miles (2,662 km) through seven states for burial in Springfield, Illinois. Never exceeding 20 mph, the train made several stops in principal cities and state capitals for processions, orations, and additional lyings in state. Many Americans viewed the train along the route and participated in associated ceremonies.
The Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington, D.C., most commonly known as St. Matthew's Cathedral, is the seat of the Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. As St. Matthew's Cathedral and Rectory, it has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1974.
Memorial Amphitheater is an outdoor amphitheater, exhibit hall, and nonsectarian chapel located in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. It was designed in 1913 as a replacement for the older, wooden amphitheater near Arlington House. Ground was broken for its construction in March 1915 and it was dedicated in May 1920. In the center of its eastern steps is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated in 1921. It has served as the site for numerous Veterans Day and Memorial Day events, as well as for memorial services and funerals for many individuals.
John C. Metzler Jr. is an American civil servant who was Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, from 1991 to 2010. He achieved notoriety in the press at the end of his tenure due to the Arlington National Cemetery mismanagement controversy.
Charles Schuveldt Dewey was a banker and politician from Illinois. The cousin of George Dewey, Charles S. Dewey entered the real estate business in Chicago, Illinois, in 1905. He served in the United States Navy during World War I. In 1920, he began a career in banking as vice president of the Northern Trust Company of Chicago. Four years later, Andrew W. Mellon appointed Dewey an Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. A committee led by Dewey standardized the portraits and dimensions of American currency; the dimensions are still in use today.
James Martin Barnes was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois and administrative assistant to Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman.
In the United States, state funerals are the official funerary rites conducted by the federal government in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that are offered to a sitting or former president, a president-elect, high government officials and other civilians who have rendered distinguished service to the nation. Administered by the Military District of Washington (MDW), a command unit of the Joint Force Headquarters National Capital Region, state funerals are greatly influenced by protocol, steeped in tradition, and rich in history. However, the overall planning as well as the decision to hold a state funeral, is largely determined by a president and their family.
The grave of Robert F. Kennedy is a historic grave site and memorial to assassinated United States Senator and 1968 Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy located in section 45 of Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, in the United States. It was dedicated on December 6, 1971, and replaced a temporary grave in which Kennedy was originally buried on June 8, 1968. It is adjacent to the John F. Kennedy Eternal Flame.
The Public Vault at the Congressional Cemetery in Washington, D.C. is an early classical revival structure built 1832–1834 with funds appropriated by the United States Congress to store the bodies of government officials and members of the public before burial. About 4,600 individuals were temporarily interred in the vault, including three U.S. presidents, First Lady Dolley Madison, and sixteen congressmen who died while serving in office.