Notable burials · Arts and entertainment
Writers and poets buried in Virginia
Wikidata records 279 writers as buried in 48 of the cemeteries we list in Virginia. Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington holds the most, with 169. Virginia has the 5th highest count of any state, out of 6,032 nationally.
People recorded as writers, novelists, poets, playwrights or screenwriters.
279
writers
48
cemeteries
5%
of notable burials in Virginia
2000s
the decade with the most deaths (26)
Map of cemeteries
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Each point is a cemetery; open it for everyone recorded there.
Best documented
Writers and poets buried in Virginia
- George Washington1732-1799Founding Father and first U.S. presidentWashington Family Cemetery, Mount Vernon, VA
- John F. Kennedy1917-1963President of the United States from 1961 to 1963Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Thomas Jefferson1743-1826Founding Father, U.S. president from 1801 to 1809Jefferson Tomb, Charlottesville, VA
- James Monroe1758-1831President of the United States from 1817 to 1825Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- William Howard Taft1857-193027th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Henry Kissinger1923-2023American diplomat and geopolitical advisor, served as U.S. Secretary of State from 1973 to 1977Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis1929-1994First Lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Robert F. Kennedy1925-1968American politician and lawyerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jefferson Davis1808-1889President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865Hollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- John Glenn1921-2016American astronaut and politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Dashiell Hammett1894-1961American writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Sherwood Anderson1876-1941American writerRound Hill Cemetery, Marion, VA
- Arthur Ashe1943-1993American tennis playerWoodland Cemetery, East Highland Park, VA
- Murray Rothbard1926-1995American economistOakwood Cemetery, Orange, VA
- Robert McNamara1916-2009American businessman and Secretary of DefenseArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Maureen O'Hara1920-2015Irish, American actress and singerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- R. Lee Ermey1944-2018American actor and soldierArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Gus Grissom1926-1967American astronautArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Robert Green Ingersoll1833-1899American lawyer, orator, and politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- John Marshall1755-1835Chief justice of the United States from 1801 to 1835,Shockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Edgar Mitchell1930-2016American astronautArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- William Jennings Bryan1860-1925American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Hiram Bingham III1875-1956American academic, explorer, treasure hunter and politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Tom Wolfe1930-2018American author and journalistHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Simon Newcomb1835-1909American astronomerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Audie Murphy1924-1971American soldier and actorArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Philip Sheridan1831-1888United States Army generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Richard F. Gordon1929-2017American astronautArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- John Wesley Powell1834-1902American geologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Elizabeth Magie1866-1948American board game designerColumbia Gardens Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Leon Uris1924-2003American authorQuantico National Cemetery, Triangle, VA
- Charles Wilkes1798-1877Naval officer and explorer from the United StatesArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Daniel Patrick Moynihan1927-2003American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Mike Gravel1930-2021American politician; United States SenatorArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Zitkala-Sa1876-1938Yankton Dakota writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Matthew Fontaine Maury1806-1873United States Navy officerHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- V. C. Andrews1923-1986American novelistOlive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth Heights, VA
- L. Sprague de Camp1907-2000American non- and speculative fiction writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- James Branch Cabell1879-1958American authorHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Ellen Glasgow1873-1945Novelist, short story writerHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Charles Colson1931-2012American lawyer, politician, public servant and Christian advocateQuantico National Cemetery, Triangle, VA
- Walter Bedell Smith1895-1961United States Army general and Director of Central IntelligenceArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- George Adamski1891-1965American ufologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Matthew Henson1866-1955American explorerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- William Safire1929-2009American journalist and presidential speechwriterKing David Memorial Gardens, Idylwood, VA
- Elliott Coues1842-1899American ornithologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Cordwainer Smith1913-1966American authorArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Ludwig Bemelmans1898-1962Author of Madeline booksArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Josephine Diebitsch Peary1863-1955American explorerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Marguerite Higgins1920-1966American journalistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Varina Davis1826-1906Second wife of President Jefferson Davis and First Lady of the Confederate StatesHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- David Dixon Porter1813-1891United States Navy admiralArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Mary Roberts Rinehart1876-1958American mystery writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Burt Kennedy1922-2001American film director and screenwriterArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- John Randolph of Roanoke1773-1833American politicianHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Adolphus Greely1844-1935American army officer and polar explorerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Hervey Allen1889-1949American novelist, biographerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Edward Lansdale1908-1987United States generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Robert Ressler1937-2013FBI agentArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Arthur Godfrey1903-1983American radio personality and television actorUnion Cemetery, Leesburg, VA
- Elizebeth Smith Friedman1892-1980American cryptanalyst and authorArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Pierre Salinger1925-2004American Senator and journalistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Marcus Ward Lyon, Jr.1875-1942U.S. mammalogist, bacteriologist, and pathologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Bill Mauldin1921-2003American editorial cartoonistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Joseph Wheeler1836-1906Confederate Army generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Birch Bayh1928-2019American lawyer and politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Kenneth Roberts1885-1957American writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Herbert Yardley1889-1958American cryptographerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- William Alexander Hammond1828-1900American military physician and neurologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Hugh Scott1900-1994American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Joe Foss1915-2003United States Marine Corps Medal of Honor recipientArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Sarah Elmira Royster1810-1888Sweetheart of Edgar Allan PoeShockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Nelson S. Bond1908-2006American writerEvergreen Cemetery, Roanoke, VA
- Jack Anderson1922-2005American newspaper columnistFerguson Family Cemetery, Cave Spring, VA
- Charles Chaillé-Long1842-1917American explorerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Harvey Washington Wiley1844-1930American chemistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Charles Marquis Warren1912-1990Film directorArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Vance Hartke1919-2003American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jay Presson Allen1922-2006American screenwriter, producer, playwrightOld Chapel Cemetery, Berryville, VA
- Anne Spencer1882-1975American poetForest Hill Cemetery, West Lynchburg, VA
- John Shaw Billings1838-1913American surgeon, statistician, United States Army officer, designer of New York Public libraryArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Mary Randolph1762-1828American food writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Charles Willeford1919-1988American crime novelistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- George Washington Parke Custis1781-1857Adopted son of George WashingtonArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- George B. McClellan Jr.1865-1940American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Anna Chennault1923-2018American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Francis Vinton Greene1850-1921United States Army officer in Spanish-American WarArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Theodore Ayrault Dodge1842-1909Union United States Army officerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Fairfax Harrison1869-1938American railroad president and writerIvy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, VA
- George Ayittey1945-2022Ghanaian economist and authorMount Comfort Cemetery, Groveton, VA
- Luther Terry1911-1985Surgeon General of the United StatesArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jeanne M. Holm1921-2010United States generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Michael Musmanno1897-1968United States admiralArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jabez Lamar Monroe Curry1825-1903American politicianHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Serge Wolkonsky1860-1937Russian drama teacherHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Blair Niles1880-1959American writer, explorer and photographerLakeview Cemetery, Blackstone, VA
- Theodore R. Cogswell1918-1987American writer 1918-1987Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Virginia Sale1899-1992American actressArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Bradley A. Fiske1854-1942United States Navy admiralArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Clarence Long1908-1994American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Trevor N. Dupuy1916-1995American military historianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Paul V. McNutt1891-1955Governor of Indiana from 1933 to 1937Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Alan Campbell1904-1963American screenwriterHebrew Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Mary Johnston1870-1936American novelist and women's rights advocateHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Constance Cary Harrison1843-1920American writerIvy Hill Cemetery, Alexandria, VA
- Emily Newell Blair1877-1951American writer and suffragistMount Comfort Cemetery, Groveton, VA
- Anson Mills1834-1924United States generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Elizabeth Blair Lee1818-1906An American woman who lived through the American Civil War, and wrote hundreds of lettersArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Joseph Medill Patterson1879-1946American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Castello Newton Holford1845-1905American novelistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Vernon Baker1919-2010U.S. Army Medal of Honor recipientArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Irving R. Levine1922-2009American journalistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Varina Anne Davis1864-1898American writerHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Sam Jones1819-1887United States Army officerHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Francis Fauquier1703-1768Anglo-American politician;Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery, Williamsburg, VA
- John Esten Cooke1830-1886American novelistOld Chapel Cemetery, Berryville, VA
- Margaret Junkin Preston1820-1897American writerStonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, VA
- Frances Courtenay Baylor1848-1920American authorMount Hebron Cemetery, Winchester, VA
- Garrick Mallery1831-1894American ethnologistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Julian Hatcher1888-1963American generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Andrew Summers Rowan1857-1943United States Army officerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Thomas Vernor Smith1890-1964American politicianArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Millicent Todd Bingham1880-1968American geographer, Emily Dickinson ScholarArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Catherine Crook de Camp1907-2000American science fiction writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Lyn Nofziger1924-2006Journalist, political consultant and authorNational Memorial Park, West Falls Church, VA
- Carl W. Ackerman1890-1970American journalist, first dean of the Columbia School of JournalismHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Kate Langley Bosher1865-1932American writerHollywood Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Virginia Randolph Cary1786-1852American writerSaint Paul's Cemetery, Alexandria, VA
- James T. Callender1758-1803Scottish pamphleteer and journalistSaint Johns Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Thornton Jenkins Hains1866-1953American writerOlive Branch Cemetery, Portsmouth Heights, VA
- Susan Archer Talley Weiss1822-1917Poet, b. in Hanover county, Va., 14 Feb., 1835Riverview Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- John Bigelow, Jr.1854-1936Indian Wars, Cuban-American War Silver Star recipientArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Jeb Stuart Magruder1934-2014American author, businessman, civil servantArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Martha Summerhayes1844-1926American memoiristArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Harry H. Caldwell1873-1939US Navy officerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Michael Kilian1939-2005American journalistArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Collier Young1908-1980Film producerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Hans Christian Adamson1890-1968Danish-American writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Charles Dwight Sigsbee1845-1923Rear Admiral in the United States NavyArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- George William Bagby1828-1883American physician and editorShockoe Hill Cemetery, Richmond, VA
- Louisa Morton Greene1819-1900American social reformer and writerSaint Paul's Cemetery, Alexandria, VA
- Philip Pendleton Cooke1816-1850American writer and lawyerOld Chapel Cemetery, Berryville, VA
- Lenoir Chambers1891-1970American journalistForest Lawn Cemetery, Norfolk, VA
- Armistead Lindsay Long1825-1891Brigadier General for the Confederate States of America, and later wrote the 1886 book Memoirs of Robert E. LeeMaplewood Cemetery, Charlottesville, VA
- Paul Kester1870-1933U.S. playwrightPohick Episcopal Church Cemetery, Lorton, VA
- James Albert Harrison1848-1911American philologistStonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery, Lexington, VA
- Edwin C. Parsons1892-1968United States admiralArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Job Barnard1844-1923United States federal judgeArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- Raoul Whitfield1896-1945American writerArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
- John McAuley Palmer1870-1955United States Army generalArlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
Showing the 150 with the most Wikipedia language editions, of 279. Cemetery pages list everyone recorded there.
Over time
Deaths by decade
- 1760s1
- 1790s1
- 1800s1
- 1820s2
- 1830s3
- 1840s1
- 1850s4
- 1860s2
- 1870s3
- 1880s10
- 1890s12
- 1900s14
- 1910s13
- 1920s20
- 1930s22
- 1940s24
- 1950s25
- 1960s24
- 1970s14
- 1980s13
- 1990s18
- 2000s26
- 2010s19
- 2020s5
By recorded year of death, for the 277 people with one.
Cemeteries
Where they are buried
- Arlington National Cemetery · Arlington, VA169
- Hollywood Cemetery · Richmond, VA32
- National Memorial Park · West Falls Church, VA6
- Mount Hebron Cemetery · Winchester, VA4
- Elmwood Cemetery · Norfolk, VA4
- Spring Hill Cemetery · West Lynchburg, VA3
- Ivy Hill Cemetery · Alexandria, VA3
- Stonewall Jackson Memorial Cemetery · Lexington, VA3
- Old Chapel Cemetery · Berryville, VA3
- Shockoe Hill Cemetery · Richmond, VA3
- Columbia Gardens Cemetery · Arlington, VA3
- Quantico National Cemetery · Triangle, VA2
- Jefferson Tomb · Charlottesville, VA2
- Bruton Parish Episcopal Church Cemetery · Williamsburg, VA2
- Saint Paul's Cemetery · Alexandria, VA2
- Mount Comfort Cemetery · Groveton, VA2
- Forest Lawn Cemetery · Norfolk, VA2
- Maplewood Cemetery · Charlottesville, VA2
- Riverview Cemetery · Richmond, VA2
- Olive Branch Cemetery · Portsmouth Heights, VA2
- Culpeper National Cemetery · Culpeper, VA1
- Fredericksburg City Cemetery · Fredericksburg, VA1
- Masonic Cemetery · Culpeper, VA1
- King David Memorial Gardens · Idylwood, VA1
- Hebrew Cemetery · Richmond, VA1
Top 25 of 48 cemeteries. The map shows all of them.
More lists
Other notable burials in Virginia
World War II veterans1,175World War I veterans815American Civil War veterans444Medal of Honor recipients401Spanish-American War veterans353Korean War veterans314United States representatives305Vietnam War veterans213Aviators and astronauts171Journalists125Inventors and engineers113Painters, sculptors and photographers95Business leaders92Physicians86Scientists86United States senators85American football players81Governors64Mexican-American War veterans53Actors50Musicians and singers45Baseball players43Architects23Supreme Court justices19Basketball players18
Method
How this list is made
A person is on this list when their Wikidata entry gives a cemetery we list as their place of burial and also carries the statement this list is built on. We do not add anyone by judgment, so the list reflects how complete Wikidata is: some people are missing, and burial places can be disputed.
Names, years and descriptions are shown as Wikidata records them. Names link to Wikipedia where an English article exists.