George H.W. Bush Will Become One of Only 32 People to Lie in State at the U.S. Capitol
George H.W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States, passed away last Friday at the age of 94. There are many memorial services planned by the Bush family and Department of Defense for this week, in both Texas and Washington, D.C. Among them is one particularly interesting tradition: from Monday afternoon to Wednesday morning, the former president's remains will lie in state in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol, so members of the public can pay their respects.
The practice of lying in state at the U.S. Capitol was started in 1852, with the death of Senator Henry Clay, and since then only 30 people have lain in state in the building's Rotunda; George H.W. Bush will be the 32nd to receive the honor, which is bestowed by leaders of Congress.
The selective group includes presidents such as Abraham Lincoln, Gerald Ford, and John F. Kennedy, military leaders, and unknown soldiers. It also includes several Senators and Congressmen who died while serving. In recent years, there have also been four people unconnected to the government who have lain "in honor" in the capitol.
"'Lying in state' is a phrase typically reserved for those who have served in elective office-presidents, members of Congress, governors, etc., and is used for ceremonies in the U.S. Capitol and in state capitols," Katherine Scott, an associate historian in the U.S. Senate Historical Office tells Town & Country.
"'Lying in honor' is used to describe ceremonies in the Capitol Rotunda that honor non-elected officials, such as Rosa Parks in 2005 or the two Capitol police officers killed in the line of duty in 1998.
See the full list of individuals who have lain in state or honor in the capitol in reverse chronological order below:
Senator John McCain: August 31, 2018
Reverend Billy Graham: February 28-March 1, 2018,
Senator Daniel K. Inouye: December 20, 2012
President Gerald Ford: December 30, 2006 – January 2, 2007
Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks: October 30-31, 2005
President Ronald Reagan: June 9-11, 2004
Policemen Jacob Joseph Chestnut and John Michael Gibson: July 28, 1998
Senator Claude Denson Pepper: June 1-2, 1989
Unknown Soldier of the Vietnam Conflict: May 25-28, 1984
Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey: January 14-15, 1978
President Lyndon Baines Johnson: January 24-25, 1973
Director of the FBI J. Edgar Hoover: May 3-4, 1972
Congressman Everett McKinley Dirksen: September 9-10, 1969
President Dwight D. Eisenhower: March 30-31, 1969
President Herbert Clark Hoover: October 23-25, 1964
General Douglas MacArthur: April 8-9, 1964
President John F. Kennedy: November 24-25, 1963
Unknown Soldiers of World War II and the Korean War: May 28-30, 1958
Senator Robert A. Taft: August 2-3, 1953
General John Joseph Pershing: July 18-19, 1948
President William Howard Taft: March 11, 1930
President Warren G. Harding: August 8, 1923
Unknown Soldier of World War I: November 9-11, 1921
Admiral George Dewey: January 20, 1917
Pierre Charles L'Enfant, planner of the city of Washington D.C.: April 28, 1909 (a re-interment)
President William McKinley, Jr.: September 17, 1901
Senator John A. Logan: December 30-31, 1886
President James A. Garfield: September 21-23, 1881
Vice President Henry Wilson: November 25-26, 1875
Senator Charles Sumner: March 13, 1874
Congressman Thaddeus Stevens: August 13-14, 1868
President Abraham Lincoln: April 19-21, 1865
Senator Henry Clay: July 1, 1852
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