10 famous people who are buried in Pennsylvania

Whether they were born in the state or called it home for life, these 10 notable figures are laid to rest in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania has its fair share of celebrities from the state. Many of these famous figures have been buried in the commonwealth upon their deaths, and their gravesites have become pilgrimage sites for fans or tourists seeking a closer connection to their favorite departed stars.

Read on about the political names, pop culture phenomena, and insightful artists who are laid to rest in Pennsylvania—possibly near you!

1. Andy Warhol (1928-1987)

Celebrated pop artist Andy Warhol, one of the most influential figures in 20th-century American art, was born Andrew Warhola Jr. in 1928 to Eastern European immigrant parents in Pittsburgh. Though he spent much of his career in New York, where he created iconic works exploring pop culture, marketing, and celebrity, Warhol is buried in his hometown. After he died in New York following what was meant to be a routine gallbladder surgery, his body was returned to Pittsburgh and laid to rest in the family plot at St. John the Baptist Byzantine Catholic Cemetery in Bethel Park, just south of the city. Today, Pittsburgh honors Warhol’s legacy with the Andy Warhol Museum, one of the world’s largest museums dedicated to a single artist. The Warhol even maintains a livestream of the artist’s grave at all hours of the day, where you can see the tributes and trinkets that visitors have recently left.

2. Jim Thorpe (1887-1953)

Olympic gold medalist Jim Thorpe is buried in the Carbon County town that now bears his name—but he never actually visited it. Thorpe, a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, was born in what is now Oklahoma in 1887 and died in 1953. Most of his family wanted him buried on Native American land in Oklahoma. Thorpe’s widow, however, made a controversial decision: She sold his remains to two small Pennsylvania towns—Mauch Chunk and East Mauch Chunk —which combined, renamed themselves “Jim Thorpe,” and erected statues of the athlete and a memorial for his remains. Thorpe’s sons filed a lawsuit against the town of Jim Thorpe in 2010, seeking to have their father’s remains returned to Oklahoma. But after years of legal back and forth, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case in 2015, effectively ensuring Pennsylvania would remain Thorpe’s final resting place.

3. Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967)

Jayne Mansfield rose to stardom as an actress and one of the original “blonde bombshells” of the 1950s and 1960s. But before Hollywood and Broadway, Mansfield was part of eastern Pennsylvania; her family’s roots were centered in the Lehigh Valley in and around Pen Argyl. After her untimely death at the age of 34, Mansfield was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Pen Argyl. Her heart-shaped tombstone is one of the most recognizable in the cemetery.

4. Fred Rogers (1928-2003)

More commonly known as Mister Rogers, everyone’s favorite neighbor—Fred Rogers—was born and buried in the Western Pennsylvania town of Latrobe. The beloved host of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” left an impact on millions of children across the country, but Mister Rogers never strayed far from his Pennsylvania roots. “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” was filmed in the big city—Pittsburgh, that is, about an hour from Latrobe—and Mister Rogers’ famous sweaters were originally hand-knit by his mother. Mister Rogers died in 2003 at the age of 74 and is buried in a mausoleum at Latrobe’s Unity Cemetery. Latrobe is also home to a statue of Mister Rogers in James H. Rogers Park (named in honor of Rogers’ father, a community figure). It’s just one stop on Western Pennsylvania’s Fred Rogers Trail, where you can discover more about Mister Rogers and the places that shaped him.

5. Ben Franklin (1706-1790)

Perhaps Philadelphia’s most famous son, Benjamin Franklin is buried in the city he helped build, and his grave at Christ Church Burial Ground in the Old City neighborhood is a popular tourist spot. He was a founding father of the United States, but Franklin also laid the groundwork for the Philadelphia of today, establishing the city’s first fire department, hospital, and library, as well as the school that would become the University of Pennsylvania. When Franklin died at the age of 84 in 1790, the city came out in full force to mourn him, with his funeral attracting more than 20,000 people—nearly half the Philly population at the time. Today, visitors to Franklin’s grave throw pennies on his tombstone in honor of the popular adage credited to him: “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

6. August Wilson (1945-2005)

Playwright August Wilson was born in Pittsburgh in 1945, and the city inspired many of his plays, including the 10-play “Pittsburgh Cycle” series that chronicles the Black experience throughout the 20th century. In the “Pittsburgh Cycle” play “Seven Guitars,” a character is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, a real-life cemetery located just north of Pittsburgh in O’Hara Township. The historic cemetery, which dates to 1874, was once one of the only cemeteries that accepted African American burials. Wilson himself is buried in Greenwood Cemetery.

7. Pearl S. Buck (1892-1973)

Author and humanitarian Pearl S. Buck wrote her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Good Earth,” while living in China, drawing on her extensive understanding of rural Chinese life. But she spent nearly four decades in Bucks County. Today, her Perkasie home is the Pearl S. Buck House, a museum dedicated to Buck’s literary and global humanitarian work. Buck is buried on the grounds of the home, in a spot beneath “the good earth” that she chose herself. Her headstone, which she designed herself, is inscribed with her name in Chinese characters.

8. Betsy Ross (1752-1836)

Betsy Ross is a legendary American seamstress known for sewing the first U.S. flag. While historians today doubt this story, the famous Philadelphia seamstress did indeed contribute to the American Revolution, sewing U.S. flags for decades. Ross was initially buried in 1836 at a Quaker cemetery within Society Hill, but after the city purchased the cemetery land 20 years later, her remains were moved to Mount Moriah Cemetery. Ross’ remains—or what could be found of them—were moved once again in 1975 and buried on the grounds of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia’s Old City. But as a funeral historian told the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2022, “earth burial is an inexact science”; it’s possible that Ross is, in part, at all three burial sites.

9. Stephen Foster (1826-1864)

Known as the “father of American music,” composer Stephen Foster was responsible for well-known folk songs like “Oh! Susanna” and “My Old Kentucky Home.” The famous songwriter was born in Pittsburgh and is laid to rest in the same city. He has a standard grave in the family plot at Allegheny Cemetery. Find it within the cemetery’s section 21 in lot 30.

10. Jim Croce (1943-1973)

Singer-songwriter Jim Croce was born in South Philadelphia to Italian immigrant parents and rose to prominence as part of the folk music revival of the 1960s. Croce wrote and sang folk-rock hits like “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” and “Time in a Bottle.” His life and career were cut short when he died in a plane crash at the age of 30. Croce is buried in Chester County at Haym Salomon Memorial Park.

This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

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