“Lying in State” and “Lying in Honor” in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda
Since Henry Clay in 1852, the U.S. Capitol Rotunda has been used as a place to pay tribute to the Nation’s most distinguished citizens. Made available for public viewing in the Rotunda, persons who have “lain in state” traditionally have been military officers or elected American officials, including 10 U.S. Presidents. In 1998, to recognize two Capitol Police officers who died in the line of duty, Congress granted use of the Rotunda for their caskets to “lie in honor.” Rosa Parks is the third private citizen to lie in honor in the Rotunda.

For a complete list of individuals who have lain in state or lain in honor in the the Capitol Rotunda, see: http://www.aoc.gov/cc/capitol/lain_in_state.cfm.

		President Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) 40th President of the United States (1981–1989)		Image courtesy of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
		Lain in State: June 9-11, 2004	The 40th President and former Governor of California, Ronald Reagan was the 10th President to have lain in state in the U.S. Capitol.

		Rosa Parks (1913-2005) Civil Rights Pioneer		Image courtesy of the Library of Congress
		Lain in Honor: October 30-31, 2005	Rosa Parks, an African-American seamstress whose act of civil disobedience in 1955 galvanized the U.S. civil rights movement, was the first woman and the second black American to lie in honor in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol.