5 Of The Largest Celebrity Funerals In American History

Death is one of those things none of us can escape. Sooner or later we all have to go to the "upper room." If you live long enough, we will also be faced with the pain and sorrow of losing our loved ones. It's never easy whether it's expected or not.

Funerals are a sad reality of human life and signify beginnings and endings here on earth at least. Some call this ritual homegoing, a celebration of life, or a memorial. It's really not for the dead, it's just a way for the living to remember the person who passed and acknowledge the legacy they left behind.

Some ceremonies are bigger and grander than others. Take the pyramids for example. Now that's sending someone off on a grand scale! Through the many centuries, depending on the dearly departed, some funerals can last a few days. To that point, here are 5 Of The Largest Funerals In American History.

1. Abraham Lincoln (February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865)

After his assassination, Lincoln's body and that of his 11-year-old son William, who died in 1862 of typhoid fever, was transported by a funeral train that stopped and passed through 444 communities in 7 states. The train was viewed by millions of Americans, including two future presidents, Theodore Roosevelt and Grover Cleveland, in a funeral procession that would last close to three weeks—before reaching its final resting place at Memorial Hall in his hometown of Springfield, Illi., Lincoln’s body had to be moved from one burial site to another after. In 1876, thieves tried to steal the body.

2. John F. Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963)
Kennedy's funeral service was held at St. Matthew's Cathedral with 1,200 invited guests, which included representatives from over 90 countries. JFK's body flag-draped coffin was carried on a horse-drawn caisson, which brought President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Unknown Soldier. Some 300,000 people watched as it headed to the Capitol. Roughly a quarter million passed through the rotunda where his body lay in state for 18 hours. Kennedy is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.

3. Rudolph Valentino  (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926) An estimated 100,000 people attended his funeral in Manhattan at the Frank Campbell Funeral Home. There were reports of hysterical fans committing suicide. An all-day riot broke out because people fought to get inside the funeral home to view his body. Fans were smashing windows trying to get into the funeral home. More than 100 mounted police and NYPD's Police Reserve were called in to restore order. Heavily armed officers had to line the streets for the remainder of the viewing.

Valentino reportedly didn't have burial arrangements. His friend June Mathis buried him in a crypt that she purchased for her husband before their divorce. A year later, she died and was interred beside him in the adjoining crypt she had bought for herself. The two are buried at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

4. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 - April 4, 1968)
There was a memorial service followed by two funeral services in Atlanta, Georgia, for family and close friends at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where King and his father served as senior pastors. This was followed by a three-mile procession to King's alma mater, Morehouse College, for public service attended by 100,000. Another 120,000,000 view the funeral on TV. President Lyndon B. Johnson declared April 7 a national day of mourning.

Sadly, King was denied a state funeral/ lying in state by then-governor Lester Maddox, who had 64 riot state troopers on the steps of the capitol in Atlanta. He also refused to allow the state flag to be lowered at half-staff until he was told it was a federal mandate. President Lyndon Johnson did not attend King's funeral due to concerns protests over the Vietnam War would be disruptive. Vice President Hubert Humphrey attended on his behalf.

5. Muhammed Ali - (1942 - 2016)
The Champ's homegoing was a two-day event that began on June 9 at the Freedom Hall with an Islamic Janazah prayer service. His funeral processional was 23 miles long and hundreds of thousands lined the streets as it drove through Louisville to bid him farewell. Ali's body was interred at Cave Hill Cemetery, during a private ceremony.

The following day a public memorial service was held for Ali in downtown Louisville at the KFC Yum! Center before 22,000 and an estimated 1 billion watched it from home around the world.  Billy Crystal gave the eulogy and the pallbearers included actor Will Smith, and boxers Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis. Boxing greats  George Chuvalo, George Foreman, Larry Holmes, and George Foreman were honorary pallbearers.