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Arlington National Cemetery is one of the most famous cemeteries in the world. The United States military cemetery was established during the Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, which had been the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee"s wife Mary Anna Lee. On June 15, 1864, the Arlington House property and 200 acres of surrounding land were designated as a military cemetery as Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs wanted to ensure that Lee could not return to the site.
Today the cemetery is the final resting place for more than 300,000 veterans died in every American conflict, from the Revolutionary War to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The first soldier to be buried in Arlington was Private William Henry Christman of Pennsylvania on May 13, 1864. The most famous people buried to Arlington are Presidents William Howard Taft and John F. Kennedy. Also Kennedy"s two brothers, Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Senator Edward 'Ted' Kennedy, and General of the Armies John J. Pershing are buried there.