Herman Melville
Even if you haven’t been able to get through the famously-intricate prose, you certainly know about Herman Melville’s magnum Opus “Moby Dick.” This whaling author was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, New York, after he died in 1891. His famous grave is in the shape of a scroll and is situated next to his wife, Elizabeth, who died in childbirth.
People who visit the gravesite often leave whale and whaling tokens, a reference to a novel that is still being taught in high schools and colleges even today. Want to tackle this time? Just try one chapter a night.
Mel Blanc
Mel Blanc is the talent behind the voices for some of the most beloved cartoons of all time. His talent for cartoon voice-overs earned him the moniker "The Man of a Thousand Voices." The actor made such an impression on American culture that he and his character Bugs Bunny were both given stars on Hollywood Boulevard.
One of Blanc’s most famous lines, and the one that was etched onto his headstone, was delivered by quite a few of Blanc’s characters, including Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, and Porky Pig: “That’s all folks!” A send-off was usually followed by a smile and a wink.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Tons and tons of aviation pioneers came from Ohio, for some reason, and that includes men who would eventually stand on the moon. The Ohioans that got things rolling were Orville and Wilbur Wright, who were the first men to fly in a self-propelled airplane.
They designed, invented, built, and flew it together in North Carolina in 1903. They ushered in a new era of transportation that made travel much easier, faster, and cheaper. They share a single gravestone in Woodland Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, where pilots, aviation fans, and more visit regularly.
John Wilkes Booth
He was a famous stage actor, but one fateful day tied him to a president. On April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth snuck into the private box of President Abraham Lincoln and shot him. Lincoln died soon after, and Booth was tried and found guilty and shot dead on April twenty-sixth of the same year.
He rests in his family's plot in Baltimore's Greenmount Cemetery. Visitors to the gravesite will often leave a little monetary gift atop his headstone – pennies, which feature the austere head of the man he murdered. Take that, Booth.
President George Washington
The first President of the United States is one of those historical figures that almost everyone – both in and outside the United States – remembers. He defeated the English to help create America and became the nation's first president, setting the stage for democracy and representative republics. The first president rests in the Washington Family Tomb at Mount Vernon, Virginia, where he lived after becoming president.
Outside of the tomb are grave markers for his brother, John Augustine Washington, and his nephew, Bushrod Washington. The structure of the tomb is simple brick, which looks perfect for the first president.