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INSIGHTi
Lying in State or Honor in the U.S. Capitol by
Non-Members of Congress
September 22, 2020
On September 25, 2020, Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18, wil lie in
state at the U.S. Capitol after lying in repose at the United States Supreme Court on September 23 and 24.
In a press release, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Justice Ginsburg would lie in state in
National Statuary Hal . Because of COVID-19, the arrival ceremony for Justice Ginsburg is for invited
guests only. At the time of this writing, details on viewings have not yet been announced.
Justice Ginsburg wil be the 35th individual to have lain in state or honor in the Capitol Rotunda or
National Statuary Hal . The most recent to lie in state was Representative John Lewis on July 27 and 28,
2020. The most recent to lie in honor was the Reverend Bil y Graham on February 28 and March 1, 2018.
Lying in State v. Honor
Lying in State
Current or former government officials (e.g., Member of Congress, President, Vice President); military leaders; unknown
servicemembers from World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era.

Lying in Honor
Private Citizens
Of the 35 individuals to have lain in state or honor (excluding four unknown soldiers from World War I,
World War II, Korea, and Vietnam who lay in state), 13 did not serve in Congress. Justice Ginsburg wil
be the first woman to lie in state (Rosa Parks was the first to lie in honor on October 24, 2005). Justice
Ginsburg wil be the first Supreme Court Justice to lie in state since Chief Justice Wil iam Howard Taft
(who also served as President) lay in state on March 11, 1930 (see Table 1).
Figure 1 shows President and Chief Justice Wil iam Howard Taft lying in state on March 11, 1930.
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Figure 1. Lying in State of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft
March 11, 1930

Source: B.C. Mossman and M.W. Stark, “Chapter 2: Former President Wil iam Howard Taft State Funeral, 8 -11 March
1930,” The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funerals 1921-1969, (Washington, DC: Department of the Army, 1991) at
https://history.army.mil/books/Last_Salute/Ch2.htm.
Since President Abraham Lincoln’s death in 1865, the caskets of most individuals who have lain in state
or honor have rested on the Lincoln catafalque. The Lincoln catafalque is a platform constructed in 1865
“to support the casket of Abraham Lincoln while the president’s body lay in state in the U.S. Capitol
Rotunda.”
Authorization Process
When an individual lies in state or honor in the Rotunda—a space jointly controlled by the House of
Representatives and the Senate—a concurrent resolution is often used to authorize the event. For
example, for Representative Lewis, two concurrent resolutions (H.Con.Res. 106—use of the Lincoln
Catafalque; and H.Con.Res. 105—use of the Rotunda) were agreed to. In at least one instance, for
President Gerald Ford, Congress was out of session and a concurrent resolution was not adopted.
When an individual lies in state or honor in National Statuary Hal , a space controlled by the House of
Representatives, the Speaker often announces the event through a press release. For example, in October
2019, Representative Elijah Cummings lay in state in National Statuary Hal and Speaker Pelosi issued a
press release to announce the occasion.
When an individual lies in state or honor in the Rotunda or National Statuary Hal , the Architect of the
Capitol and/or the U.S. Capitol Police may issue special instructions about public access to the Capitol,
public viewing hours, and other protocols.

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Non-Members of Congress Lying in State or Honor
Justice Ginsburg wil be the 13th individual to lie in state or honor who was not also a Member of
Congress. Additional y, four unknown soldiers (World War I, World War II, Korea, and Vietnam) have
lain in state. Table 1 lists the individuals who have lain in state or honor who did not serve as Members of
Congress, the date of their death, the date of lying in state, and the positions they held in government, if
any.
Table 1. Lying in State and Honor by Non-Members of Congress
Individual
Date of Death
Date of Lying in State
Position
Lying in State
Pierre Charles L’Enfant
June 14, 1825a
April 28, 1909
Planner, Architect
George Dewey
January 16, 1917
January 20, 1917
U.S. Navy Admiral
Wil iam Howard Taft
March 8, 1930
March 11, 1930
President, Chief Justice
John Joseph Pershing
July 15, 1948
July 18-19, 1948
General of the U.S. Armies
Douglas MacArthur
April 5, 1964
April 8-9, 1964
General of the U.S. Army
Herbert Clark Hoover
October 20, 1964
October 23-25, 1964
President, Cabinet Secretary
J. Edgar Hoover
May 2, 1972
May 3-4, 1972
FBI Director
Ronald Reagan
June 5, 2004
June 9-11, 2004
President, Governor
Lying in Honor
Officer Jacob J. Chestnut, Jr.
July 24, 1998
July 28, 1998
Capitol Police Officer
Detective John M. Gibson
July 24, 1998
July 28, 1998
Capitol Police Officer
Rosa Parks
October 24, 2005
October 30-31, 2005
Civil Rights Leader
Reverend Bil y Graham
February 21, 2018
February 28-March 1, 2018
Minister
Unknown Soldiers
Vietnam Conflict
—
May 25-28, 1984
—
World War II
—
May 28-30, 1958
—
Korean War
—
May 28-30, 1958
—
World War I
—
November 9-11, 1921
—
Source: Compiled by CRS from U.S. Congress, Architect of the Capitol, “Those Who Have Lain in State or in Honor in
the Rotunda,” October 2018, at https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/documents/basic-page/us-capitol-lain-state-honor-
2019-01.pdf; and U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, “Individuals Who Have Lain in State or in Honor,” at
https://history.house.gov/Institution/Lie-In-State/Lie-In-State-Honor/.
Notes:
a. Pierre Charles L’Enfant’s remains were brought to the Capitol to lie in state prior to being reinterred at Arlington
National Cemetery. See S.Con.Res. 2 (61st Congress), agreed to March 26, 1909, and Arlington National Cemetery,
“Pierre Charles L’Enfant,” at https://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/Explore/Notable-Graves/Science-Technology-
Engineering/Pierre-Charles-LEnfant.

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Author Information

Jacob R. Straus

Specialist on the Congress




Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan shared staff
to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and under the direction of
Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other than public understanding of
information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in connection with CRS’s institutional role.
CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not subject to copyright protection in the United
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as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or material from a third party, you may need to obtain the
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