The Dead of Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts

When the old burying grounds in Boston and Cambridge starting closing due to overcrowding, an alternative site for burying the dead was sought and found on what was then the rural outskirts of Cambridge. The tastes of the day called for something more special, however, than a typical burying ground, and as a result, the concept of the "garden cemetery" was born. Opened in 1831, Mt. Auburn Cemetery quickly became the place of choice of the elite of Massachusetts to be interred. Ten of them are described below.

Edwin Booth (November 13, 1833 - June 7, 1893) Widely considered to be the greatest American actor of the 19^th Century, Edwin Booth, is perhaps better known for being the older brother of the actor turned assassin, John Wilkes Booth, who shot President Abraham Lincoln to death. Ironically, Edwin Booth would go on to save the life of the President's son, when Robert Lincoln had fallen onto a train platform as the train was pulling into the station. Booth's grave at Mt Auburn is probably the most visited; there is always a large collection of fresh flowers and other mementos left behind, presumably by actors and acting students.

Charles Bulfinch (August 8, 1763 - April 15, 1844) One of America's major talents in the areas of architecture and urban planning, Charles Bulfinch is known as the "Man Who Built Boston." The aftermath of the American Revolution left Boston in ruins, and Bulfinch was there to effectively oversee not so much the rebuilding of Boston, but the creation of a dramatically new town. He built the new Massachusetts State House, he was the creative force behind creation of the Beacon Hill neighborhood, as well as a new neighborhood between the West and North Ends. He built new wharf buildings down on the docks and created new public squares in the old South End (subsequently all lost in the Great Fire of 1872). Later in his career, Bulfinch was recruited to work in Washington D.C. on the U.S. Capitol building.