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INSIGHTi

Lying in State or Honor in the U.S. Capitol by
Non-Members of Congress
Updated July 15, 2022
On July 14, 2022, Hershel Woodrow “Woody” Williams, the last surviving World War II Medal of Honor
recipient, lay in honor in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda. In a press release, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that “‘When Woody lies in honor under the Capitol
Dome, it will be with immense gratitude for his service that the Congress will pay tribute to this
legendary hero—and all of the patriots who fought for our nation in World War II.’”
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Williams was the 41st individual to have lain in state or honor in the Capitol
Rotunda or National Statuary Hall. Before Mr. Williams, the most recent to lie in state in the Capitol
Rotunda was Senator Harry Reid, on January 12, 2022, and the most recent to lie in state in National
Statuary Hall was Representative Donald Young, on March 29, 2022. The most recent to lie in honor was
United States Capitol Police Officer William “Billy” F. Evans, on April 13, 2021.
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
Other Honorees
Of the 41 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), 16 did not serve in Congress (see Table 1). Figure 1
shows President and Chief Justice William 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 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 John Lewis in July 2020, 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 Hall, a space controlled by the House of
Representatives, the Speaker often announces the event through a press release. For example, in
September 2020, Justice Ginsburg lay in state in National Statuary Hall and Speaker Pelosi issued a press
release to announce the occasion.

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Non-Members of Congress Lying in State or Honor
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Williams was the 16th individual to lie in state or honor who was not also a
Member of Congress. Additionally, 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 or honor, and the positions they
held in government, if any.
Table 1. Lying in State and Honor by Non-Members of Congress
Date of Lying in State or
Individual
Date of Death
Honor
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
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
September 18, 2020
September 25, 2020
Associate Supreme Court
Justice
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
Officer Brian D. Sicknick
January 7, 2021
February 2-3, 2021
Capitol Police Officer
Officer Wil iam “Bil y” Evans April 2, 2021
April 13, 2021
Capitol Police Officer
Chief Warrant Officer
June 29, 2022
July 14, 2022
Last surviving World War II
Hershel Woodrow
Medal of Honor recipient
“Woody” Wil iams
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,” March 2022, at https://www.aoc.gov/sites/default/files/2022-03/lain_state_honor_2022-03.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/.

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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.

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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IN11510 · VERSION 7 · UPDATED