This list of notable funerals represents significant historical funerals, based on both the number of attendants and estimated television audience.
Funeral | Date | Country | City | No. of attendees | Television audience |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
C. N. Annadurai | February 4, 1969 | ![]() | Madras | ~15,000,000 [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] | |
Ruhollah Khomeini | June 5–6, 1989 | ![]() | Mausoleum of Ruhollah Khomeini, Tehran | ~7,200,000 [8] | |
Qasem Soleimani | January 5, 2020 | ![]() | Ahvaz and Mashhad | ~7,000,000 [9] | |
January 6, 2020 | Tehran and Qom [10] | ||||
January 7, 2020 | Kerman [10] | ||||
Pope John Paul II | April 8, 2005 | ![]() | Rome | ~4,000,000 [11] [12] | 2,000,000,000 [13] |
Umm Kulthum | February 5, 1975 | ![]() | Cairo | ~4,000,000 [14] [15] [16] | |
Indira Gandhi | November 3, 1984 | ![]() | Delhi | ~3,500,000 [17] | |
M.G. Ramachandran | December 25, 1987 | ![]() | Madras | ~3,500,000 [17] | |
Ayrton Senna | May 5, 1994 | ![]() | São Paulo | ~3,000,000 [18] | (in Brazil) at least 100,000,000 [19] [20] |
Eva Perón | August 9, 1952 | ![]() | Buenos Aires | ~3,000,000 [21] | |
Gamal Abdel Nasser | October 1, 1970 | ![]() | Cairo | ~3,000,000 [8] [22] [23] | |
Puneeth Rajkumar | October 29, 2021 | ![]() | Bengaluru | ~3,500,000 [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] | 50,000,000 |
Chiang Kai-shek | April 10–16, 1975 | ![]() | Taipei | ~2,500,000 [29] | |
Victor Hugo | June 1, 1885 | ![]() | Paris | ~2,000,000−3,000,000 [30] | |
Bal Thackeray | November 18–19, 2012 | ![]() | Shivaji Park, Mumbai | ~1,500,000−2,500,000 [31] [32] | |
Benigno Aquino Jr. | August 31, 1983 | ![]() | Metro Manila | ~2,000,000 [33] | |
Berkin Elvan | March 12, 2014 | ![]() | Istanbul, and all around Turkey (as a part of the Gezi park protests) | ~2,000,000 [34] | |
Houari Boumédiène | December 29, 1978 | ![]() | Algiers | ~2,000,000 [35] | |
J. Jayalalithaa | December 6, 2016 | ![]() | Chennai | ~2,000,000 [36] | |
Kim Il-sung | July 19, 1994 | ![]() | Pyongyang | ~2,000,000 [37] | |
Mahatma Gandhi | February 6, 1948 | ![]() | New Delhi | ~2,000,000 [38] [39] | |
Park Chung-hee | November 3, 1979 | ![]() | Seoul | ~2,000,000 [40] | |
Ziaur Rahman | June 2, 1981 | ![]() | Dhaka | ~2,000,000 [41] [42] | |
Vijayakanth | December 29, 2023 | ![]() | Chennai | ~1,600,000 | |
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington | November 18, 1852 | ![]() | London | ~1,500,000 [43] | |
Jawaharlal Nehru | May 28, 1964 | ![]() | New Delhi | ~1,500,000 [44] | |
Hassan Nasrallah | February 23, 2025 | ![]() | Camille Chamoun, Beirut | ~1,300,000−1,700,000 [45] [46] [47] [48] | |
Juan Perón | July 2–4, 1974 | ![]() | Buenos Aires | ~1,135,000 [49] | |
Hugo Chávez | March 6–8, 2013 | ![]() | Caracas | ~1,000.000−3,000,000 [50] | |
Akhtar Raza Khan | July 20, 2018 | ![]() | Bareilly | ~1,000,000 [51] [52] [53] | 12,500,000 |
Charles de Gaulle | November 12, 1970 | ![]() | Colombey | ~1,000,000 [54] | |
Enrico Berlinguer | June 13, 1984 | ![]() | Rome | ~1,000,000 [55] | |
GP Koirala | March 20, 2010 | ![]() | Kathmandu | ~1,000,000 [56] | |
Ibrahim Rugova | January 27, 2006 | ![]() | Prishtina | ~1,000,000 [57] | |
Johnny Hallyday | December 9, 2017 | ![]() | Paris | ~1,000,000 [58] | 15,000,000 [59] |
M. Karunanidhi | August 8, 2018 | ![]() | Chennai | ~1,000,000 [60] | |
Mother Teresa | September 13, 1997 | ![]() | Calcutta | ~1,000,000 [61] | at least 1,000,000 [13] |
Muhammad Abdul Wahhab | November 18, 2018 | ![]() | Raiwind Markaz, Lahore | ~1,000,000 [62] [63] | |
Muhammad Zia Ul Haq | August 19, 1988 | ![]() | Islamabad | ~1,000,000 [64] | |
Pope Shenouda III | March 20, 2012 | ![]() | Cairo | ~1,000,000 [65] | |
Diana, Princess of Wales | September 6, 1997 | ![]() | London and Althorp, Northamptonshire | ~1,000,000 (2,000 at funeral service) [66] [67] | 2,500,000,000 [67] |
Queen Elizabeth II | September 19, 2022 | ![]() | London | ~1,000,000 (2,000 at funeral service) [68] [69] | 29,000,000 in the UK [70] |
Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother | April 9, 2002 | ![]() | London | ~1,000,000 [71] | |
Mao Zedong | September 9–18, 1976 | ![]() | Beijing | ~1,000,000 [72] | |
Nelson Mandela (memorial service) | December 10–15, 2013 | ![]() | Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Qunu | ~1,000,000 1,000 for Memorial Service [73] [74] | |
Sridevi | February 26, 2018 | ![]() | Mumbai | ~1,000,000 [75] | |
Võ Nguyên Giáp | October 12–13, 2013 | ![]() | Hanoi | ~1,000,000 [76] | |
Ovadia Yosef | October 7, 2013 | ![]() | Jerusalem | ~850,000 [77] [78] | |
King Hussein of Jordan | February 8, 1999 | ![]() | Amman | ~800,000 [79] | |
Pierre Gemayel | November 23, 2006 | ![]() | Beirut | ~800,000 [80] | |
Mir Osman Ali Khan | February 25, 1967 | ![]() | Hyderabad | ~800,000 [81] [82] | |
Chaim Kanievsky | March 20, 2022 | ![]() | Bnei Brak | ~750,000 [83] [84] | |
Zubeen Garg | September 21–22, 2025 | ![]() | Guwahati | ~700,000–1,500,000 [85] [86] | |
Josip Broz Tito | May 8, 1980 | ![]() | Belgrade | ~700,000 [87] | |
Pedro Aguirre Cerda | November 28, 1941 | ![]() | Santiago | ~700,000 [88] | |
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk | November 11, 1938 | ![]() | Ankara | ~600,000−750,000 [89] [90] | |
Carter Harrison III | October 31–November 1, 1893 | ![]() | Chicago | ~500,000 [91] –1,060,000 [92] (funeral procession) ~100,000 (public visitation of open casket) [91] | — |
John F. Kennedy | November 25, 1963 | ![]() | Washington, D.C. | ~550,000 [18] | 41,500,000 [13] |
Georgi Asparuhov | June 30–July 2, 1971 | ![]() | Sofia | ~550,000 [93] | |
Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk Death and state funeral of Tomáš Masaryk | September 21, 1937 | ![]() | Prague | ~500,000−750,000 [94] | |
Juan Gabriel | September 4–5, 2016 | ![]() | Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua and Mexico City | ~500,000−1,000,000 [95] | |
August Spies, George Engel, Adolph Fischer, and Albert Parsons (executed Haymarket Affair defendants) | November 13, 1887 | ![]() | Chicago | ~500,000 [96] | — |
Baruch Charney Vladeck | November 2, 1938 | ![]() | New York City | ~500,000 [97] -750,000 [98] | |
BP Koirala | July 21, 1982 | ![]() | Kathmandu | ~500,000 [99] | |
B. R. Ambedkar | December 6, 1956 | ![]() | Mumbai | ~500,000 [100] | |
Carmen Miranda | August 12, 1955 | ![]() | Rio de Janeiro | ~500,000 [101] | |
Engelbert Dollfuss | July 30, 1934 | ![]() | Vienna | ~500,000 [102] | |
Michael Collins | August 28, 1922 | ![]() | Dublin | ~500,000 [103] | — |
Patriarchh Pavle | November 19, 2009 | ![]() | Rakovica Monastery, Belgrade | ~2,000,000 [104] | |
Sathya Sai Baba | April 24, 2011 | ![]() | Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh | ~500,000 [105] | |
Winston Churchill | January 30, 1965 | ![]() | London | ~500,000 (6,000 at funeral service) [106] [107] | 6,000 [106] |
Necmettin Erbakan | March 1, 2011 | ![]() | Istanbul | ~400,000−2,000,000 [108] [109] | |
Pope Francis | April 21–26, 2025 | ![]() | Rome | ~400,000 [110] | |
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani | January 9–11, 2017 | ![]() | Tehran | ~330,000−2,500,000 [111] | |
Francisco Franco | November 22–23, 1975 | ![]() | Madrid | ~300,000−500,000 [112] [113] | |
Fernando Poe Jr. | December 22, 2004 | ![]() | Metro Manila | ~300,000 [114] | |
Giuseppe Verdi | February 27, 1901 | ![]() | Milan | ~300,000 [115] | |
January 30, 1901 | ~10,000 [115] | ||||
Martin Luther King Jr. | April 9, 1968 | ![]() | Atlanta | ~300,000 [116] | 120,000,000 [13] |
Abdulbaki Erol | July 13, 2023 | ![]() | Adıyaman | ~250,000 [117] | |
Hendrik Verwoerd | September 10, 1966 | ![]() | Pretoria | ~250,000 [118] | |
Heydar Aliyev | December 15, 2003 | ![]() | Baku | ~250,000 [119] [ self-published source ] | |
Józef Piłsudski | May 18, 1935 | ![]() | Kraków | ~250,000 [120] [121] | |
Sholem Aleichem | May 13, 1916 | ![]() | New York City | ~250,000 [122] | |
Emperor Hirohito | February 24, 1989 | ![]() | Tokyo | ~250,000 [123] | |
Ho Chi Minh | September 9, 1969 | ![]() | Hanoi | ~250,000 [124] | |
Nguyễn Phú Trọng | July 25–26, 2024 | ![]() | Hanoi | ~250,000 | |
Pelé | January 2–3, 2023 | ![]() | Santos | ~230,000 [125] [126] | |
Wali Rahmani | April 4, 2021 | ![]() | Munger | ~200,000−500,000 [127] [128] [129] | |
Pedro II of Brazil | December 9, 1891 | ![]() | Paris | ~200,000−300,000 [130] [131] | |
Mohammed Burhanuddin | January 17, 2014 | ![]() | Raudat Tahera, Mumbai | ~200,000 [132] | |
Anton Cermak | March 8–10, 1933 | ![]() | Chicago | hundreds of thousands: ~50,000 mourners for return of mayor's remains to city (March 8); [133] ~25,000 spectators at funeral service in Chicago Stadium (March 10); [134] ~50,000 marchers and "hundreds of thousands" of additional mourners at funeral procession (March 10) [135] | |
Burhan Wani | July 8, 2016 | ![]() | Pulwama | ~200,000 [136] | |
Hrant Dink | January 23, 2007 | ![]() | Istanbul | ~200,000 [137] | |
Khadim Hussain Rizvi | November 21, 2020 | ![]() | Lahore | ~200,000 [138] | |
Kim Jong-il | December 28, 2011 | ![]() | Pyongyang | ~200,000 [139] | |
Paul von Hindenburg | August 6–7, 1934 | ![]() | Tannenberg Memorial, Hohenstein in Ostpreußen | ~200,000 [140] | (via radio, not television) at least 1,000,000 [141] |
Wilhelm I | March 12–16, 1888 | ![]() | Berlin | ~200,000 [142] | |
Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht | June 13, 1919 | ![]() | Berlin | ~200,000 [143] | |
Huey Long | September 12, 1935 | ![]() | Baton Rouge | ~200,000 [144] | |
Jānis Čakste | March 18, 1927 | ![]() | Rīga | ~200,000 [145] | |
Rafic Hariri | February 16, 2005 | ![]() | Beirut | ~200,000 [146] | |
Pope Benedict XVI | January 5, 2023 | ![]() | Rome | ~200,000 [147] | |
Roman Dmowski | January 7, 1939 | ![]() | Warsaw | ~200,000 [148] | |
Zoran Đinđić | March 15, 2003 | ![]() | Belgrade | ~200,000 [149] [150] | |
Imre Nagy (reburial) | June 16, 1989 | ![]() | Budapest | ~150,000−250,000 [151] | |
Abraham Lincoln | April 19 – May 3, 1865 | ![]() | East and Midwest | ~150,000 [152] | — |
Corazon Aquino | August 1–5, 2009 | ![]() | Metro Manila | ~122,000 [153] | |
Ronald Reagan | June 7, 2004 | ![]() | Simi Valley, California and Washington, D.C. | ~104,684 [154] | 35,700,000 [155] |
Otto von Habsburg | July 16, 2011 | ![]() | Vienna | ~101,000 [156] | 413,000–557,000 [157] |
Uğur Mumcu | January 27, 1993 | ![]() | Istanbul | ~100,000−150,000 [158] | |
Aleksandar Ranković | August 22, 1983 | ![]() | Belgrade | ~100,000 [159] [160] [161] | |
Alparslan Türkeş | April 8, 1997 | ![]() | Ankara | ~100,000 [162] | |
Kostis Palamas | February 12, 1943 | ![]() | Athens | ~100,000 [163] | |
Édith Piaf | October 11, 1963 | ![]() | Père Lachaise Cemetery, Paris | ~100,000 [164] [165] | |
Bob Marley | May 21, 1981 | ![]() | Kingston | ~100,000 [166] | |
Bobby Sands | May 7, 1981 | ![]() | Belfast | ~100,000 [167] | |
Henry George | October 29, 1897 | ![]() | New York City | ~100,000 [168] | |
Lee Kuan Yew | March 23–29, 2015 | ![]() | Mandai | ~100,000 (funeral cortege) [169] [170] | |
Lorenzo Bandini | May 10, 1967 | ![]() | Reggiolo | ~100,000 [171] | |
Mahmut Ustaosmanoğlu | June 24, 2022 | ![]() | Istanbul | ~100,000 [172] | |
Muhammad Ali (memorial service) | June 10, 2016 | ![]() | Louisville, Kentucky [173] | ~100,000 (funeral procession) 15,000 (memorial service) [174] | 1,000,000,000 [175] |
Robert Menzies | May 19, 1978 | ![]() | Melbourne | ~100,000 [176] | |
Turgut Özal | April 21, 1993 [177] | ![]() | Ankara | ~100,000 [178] | |
Gianni Agnelli | January 26, 2003 | ![]() | Turin | ~10,000 [179] ~100,000 paid their respects while he laid in state [180] | |
Yahya Ayyash | January 6, 1996 | ![]() | Gaza | ~100,000 [181] | |
Yisroel Avrohom Portugal | April 2, 2019 | ![]() | Brooklyn, New York City | ~100,000 [182] | |
Zubayer Ahmad Ansari | April 18, 2020 | ![]() | Brahmanbaria | ~100,000 [183] | |
Bhupen Hazarika | November 9-5, 2011 | ![]() | Guwahati | ~100,000 [184] | |
Elvis Presley | August 16–18, 1977 | ![]() | Memphis | ~75,000 [185] | |
Charlie Kirk | September 21, 2025 | ![]() | Glendale | ~200,000 [186] (Initial report) | |
Selena Quintanilla-Pérez | April 3, 1995 | ![]() | Corpus Christi, Texas | ~70,000 | |
Juliana of the Netherlands | March 30, 2004 | ![]() | Delft | ~60,000 [189] Also, 50,000 people paid their respects at the coffin while Juliana laid in state prior to the funeral. [190] | 3,246,000 [191] |
Richard Nixon | April 26–27, 1994 | ![]() | Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, Yorba Linda, California | ~54,000 | 28,300,000 [192] |
André Hazes | September 27, 2004 | ![]() | Amsterdam | ~48,000 [193] | 6,000,000 (5 million in the Netherlands and 1 million in Belgium) [194] [195] |
Gershon Agron | November 2, 1959 | ![]() | Jerusalem | ~40,000 [196] [197] | |
Hank Williams | January 4, 1960 | ![]() | Montgomery | ~15,000−25,000 [198] | |
Ludwig van Beethoven | March 29, 1827 | ![]() | Vienna | ~20,000 [199] | |
Rico Yan | April 4, 2002 | ![]() | Paranaque | ~20,000 [200] | |
Michael Jackson (memorial service) | July 7, 2009 | ![]() | Staples Center, Los Angeles | ~17,500 [201] | 3,000,000,000 [202] [203] |
Dursun Karataş | August 11, 2008 | ![]() | Istanbul | ~15,000−20,000 [204] | |
John Garfield | May 23, 1952 | ![]() | New York | ~10,000 [205] [206] | |
Kahlil Gibran | August 21, 1931 | ![]() | Beirut & Bsharri | ~10,000 [207] [208] | |
Rudolph Valentino | August 30, 1926 | ![]() | New York City | ~10,000 [209] | |
Ömer Halisdemir | July 17, 2016 | ![]() | Çukurkuyu, Niğde | ~5,000 [210] [211] | |
Gerald Ford | December 30, 2006 – January 3, 2007 | ![]() | Washington, D.C., and Grand Rapids, Michigan | ~3,700 [212] | 15,000,000 [192] |
Cecilia Gentili | January 31, 1972 – February 6, 2024 | ![]() | New York City | ~1,400 [213] | |
Bhumibol Adulyadej | October 26, 2017 | ![]() | Bangkok | ~1,000 [214] | (state funeral) at least 1,000,000 [214] |
George H. W. Bush | December 3–6, 2018 | ![]() | Washington, D.C. and Houston, Spring, & College Station, Texas | ~1,000 [215] | 17,500,000 [192] |
Lata Mangeshkar | February 6, 2022 | ![]() | Mumbai | ~1,000 [216] | |
Margaret Thatcher | April 17, 2013 | ![]() | London | ~1,000 [217] | at least 4,000,000 [218] |
Pierre Trudeau | October 3, 2000 | ![]() | Montreal | ~1,000 [219] | |
Pim Fortuyn | May 10, 2002 | ![]() | Driehuis | ~800 (at service) Tens of thousands of people paid their respects at the coffin while Fortuyn laid in state. | 2,000,000 [221] |