Talk:Père Lachaise Cemetery

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 24 September 2018 and 6 December 2018. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Ballard8, Hannahkanter.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 07:32, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Names of those interred
Gonna split away the list into Category:Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery. Objections? - CrazyRussian talk/email 19:54, 30 July 2006 (UTC)

Here's a list of redlinks that were here. If these links ever go blue, the Burials category should be added.
 * - CrazyRussian talk/email 21:26, 25 August 2006 (UTC)

There may be some confusion. These people are not mentioned in "Guide des Tombes" by Bertrand Beyern, but some of the included facts may not be correct.
 * Sophie Gail (nee Garre) (1775-1819), French composer, is buried in division 17. There is no mention of her in the English WP, although there is an entry in the French WP. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Constance Mayer-Lamartinière (1838-1888), artist. There seems to be some confusion. Constance Mayer (1776-1821), is buried in division 29. She killed herself by slitting her throat in front of her lover Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, who refused to marry her. Her name was officially Marie-Françoise Constance Mayer-La Martinière, a neoclassical painter and student of Prud'hon, but was generally known as Constance (or Melle) Mayer. Some of Prud'hons works were later attributed to her. There is no mention of her in the English WP, although there is an entry in the French WP. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Charles Henry VerHuell (1764-1803), Dutch admiral. Again there seems to be some confusion. Carel Hendrik Ver Huell was a Dutch and later French admiral. He lived from 1764-1845. He is buried in Père Lachaise, division 28. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

These people are mentioned in "Guide des Tombes" by Bertrand Beyern, but some of the original facts may not be correct.
 * Jean Nohain (1900-1981), lyricist, is buried in division 89 (but is referred to as "homme de télévision"). There is no mention of him in the English WP, although there is an entry in the French WP. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Gaspard Monge (1746-1818) - mathematician and inventor of descriptive geometry. He was buried in division 18 (where there is still a mausoleum built for him by his former students) but was transferred to the Panthéon in 1988: Caveau VII). His name is also on the Eiffel Tower (nr 54, side of the Military School). Gaspard Monge (1776-1789) can not be found. As Gaspard Monge only had daughters in his marriage to Catherine Huart (often referred to as the young widow Madame Horbon) it is unlikely that this is a son. The period 1776-1789 is the exact period in which the US became an independant republic. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)
 * Walery Wróblewski (1836-1908), leader of the Polish insurrection movement of 1863-64, is buried in division 76 (close to the Mur des Fédérés). He is not named in the English WP but is mentioned in the Polish WP. JHvW (talk) 17:30, 4 May 2010 (UTC)


 * Elvire Popesco (1894-1993), Romanian-born actress
 * Eduard Wiiralt (1898-1954), Estonian artist


 * There also seems to be some confusion over the dictator Rafael Trujillo and his son Rafael 'Ramfis' Trujillo. According to Findagrave and this Spanish Myspace page Rimfas was actually buried in the El Pardo cemetery in Madrid, not at Père Lachaise. His father Rafael's remains were exhumed from Père Lachaise and re-interred with Ramfis at El Pardo at about the same time. Muzilon (talk) 04:47, 13 November 2011 (UTC)
 * This may be true. It is said that the body of the father was moved to Madrid around 1970. There was, however, still a grave in division 85, when I visted in 2009. 77.167.212.162 (talk) 22:51, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

This section doest not include http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France_Clidat 24.212.160.200 (talk) 16:59, 13 August 2012 (UTC)
 * She has been addedJHvW 10:44, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

I plan to make some changes to the lead section. Objections?--Ballard8 (talk) 03:10, 10 October 2018 (UTC)

Article name
Should there be a hyphen between the Père and the Lachaise?--A bit iffy 07:42, 10 June 2007 (UTC)


 * I came here to ask the same question. In the article title, there's no hyphen, but in the lead para there is.  We have to be consistent.  --  JackofOz (talk) 13:34, 21 July 2008 (UTC)


 * I've noticed that in the French WP article it's hyphenated throughout. I suspect that's because in French one hyphenates a complex adjective, even if it consists of parts of a person's name or title.  But in English we don't do that.  Cemeteries named after John Smith and Captain Cook would be "John Smith Cemetery" and "Captain Cook Cemetery", not "John-Smith Cemetery" or "Captain-Cook Cemetery".  The hyphens don't belong in "Père Lachaise Cemetery" in English, so I'm removing them.  --  JackofOz (talk) 06:00, 22 July 2008 (UTC)


 * Your assumption is correct. The name however is however dubious. But being consistent is paramount and even the French refer to the cemetery as Cimetière du Père-Lachaise (although formally it should be Cimetière de l'Est or Cimetière du Père de la Chaize). As long as the French WP sticks to Père-Lachaise (they even named the underground station Père-Lachaise), the English entry should be the same, i.e. Père-Lachaise.JHvW (talk) 15:24, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Burials today
Are people still buried in Père Lachaise? If so, are there any sort of criteria that one has to reach to be buried there? Funnyhat (talk) 19:47, 1 September 2008 (UTC)


 * One has to be dead. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.196.58.137 (talk) 21:01, 30 August 2009 (UTC)


 * Haha. Morrison was buried there fairly recently. I visited regularly between 2004 and 2006, but I don't recall seeing any burial apparatus. There are still cremations. There are many derelict graves.Dioxinfreak (talk) 19:06, 5 December 2009 (UTC)


 * Great to see that this sensitive subject (to many) can be approached with a sense humor. It is not certain that James Douglas Morrison is actually buried in Père Lachaise, there are many (conspiracy) theories. His grave however is one of, if not the, most visited in Père Lachaise. And yes, people are still buried in Père Lachaise (they remain buried until their grave is cleared, this depends on the concession). When space becomes available (which does not happen often) the space can be used again.
 * In 1986 the "Jardin du Souvenir" was openend, in the English speaking world it would be called a Garden of Remembrance. In this garden cremains can be deposited. JHvW (talk) 15:15, 4 May 2010 (UTC)

Grave of Oscar Wilde
For some reason the picture of the grave of Oscar Wilde has been removed but no reason is stated. This monument by Jacob Epstein is one of the most beautiful graves in Pere Lachaise and practically deserves a monograph of its own. Can anybody explain why it has been removed? JHvW (talk) 22:05, 9 March 2010 (UTC)


 * It was obviously removed because the image was deleted, either from Wikipedia or Commons, which could happen for a number of reasons (usually copyright). Thanks for replacing it! Hohenloh + 18:02, 10 March 2010 (UTC)

Actual Size
The first sentence of the article states that the cemetery is 48 hectares, 118.6 acres, but the details box immediately adjacent states that the cemetery is 480 hectares, 1,186 acres. I would assume it is the former, but this probably ought to be corrected by a knowledgeable or authoritative source. Danellicus (talk) 03:56, 22 September 2011 (UTC)
 * Although it pains me to say, the cemetery is close to 44 hectares, according to the Mairie de Paris (the owners). This has been corrected in the article. 77.167.212.162 (talk) 22:31, 20 April 2013 (UTC)

Pauper Burials?
The article may give impression Pere Lachaise is an exclusive cemetery but were there not burials for paupers and the unidentified? In the days the old Paris Morgue (up to 1907) was open to public viewing, an American writer for the Harvard Crimson during the time, Arthur Mark Cummings, wrote about an unknown man whose body had been taken into the morgue: "Unnamed and unknown, he will lie in the public pits of Pere Lachaise". (The writer may have been simplistic and used Pere Lachaise as a generic term for Paris public cemeteries.) See link: .Cloptonson (talk) 11:26, 4 August 2014 (UTC)

Link to an unrelated, commercial site in the box on the top right
In the box on the top right side is a link to a website "Find a Grave". This might be a useful functionality to some people that look for information regarding a specific person on the cemetery. But firstly it's a commercial website not related to the running of the cemetery. Secondly it's a generic website that serves many other cemeteries.

And by the way - "Find a Grave" is unlikely to be the most recognised or useful website for the majority of the visitors. The most popular website for this cemetery (have a look at search engine results or ask visitors) is this: http://www.pere-lachaise.com/perelachaise.php?lang=en.

I suggest to replace "Find a Grave" by a link to the useful, generally relevant and official page, a section on the website of the city of Paris: http://equipement.paris.fr/cimetiere-du-pere-lachaise-4080. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Steinwinde (talk • contribs) 18:42, 26 September 2015 (UTC)

Side Entrance at Père Lachaise Metro Station
When I visited on 14th September 2018, this side entrance was open. There was a map seller at the gate which suggests it is always or often open to the public. 95.147.159.235 (talk) 12:20, 15 September 2018 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.147.159.235 (talk) 12:16, 15 September 2018 (UTC)

Cremation at Pere Lachaise - chronology confusing
The article states the crematorium was built in 1894, but 'the first cremation took place in....1889' after cremation was legalised. If the year is not typo, it ought to be stated where the first cremation in France took place as it must have been other than Pere Lachaise. Clarify please.Cloptonson (talk) 07:49, 5 March 2021 (UTC)