Author: The Lineup / Source: did you know?
Some souls live on even in death. In the case of the individuals profiled below, eternal life meant being preserved for public viewing. From immortal leaders to the world’s oldest mummy, meet 10 famous corpses you can actually visit.
The leader of the Russian Revolution and the founder of the first Communist state, the Soviets were too proud of Lenin to put him in the ground when he died in 1924.
His body lies in a glass sarcophagus in its mausoleum on Red Square. The Russians are secretive about how exactly they keep him looking so perfect (it’s the full-time job of five or six scientists), but experts agree his may be the best preserved corpse on earth. Visitors can view the body in its Mausoleum, although there are strict rules about behavior: Keeping your hands in your pockets is not allowed, for example.
You have to give credit to the Egyptians, of course, for coming up with the idea of long-lasting preservation. Tutankhamen was not a particularly important king in his day, but he became a sensation when his unplundered tomb was discovered in the Valley of the Kings more than 3,300 years later in 1922. Even this minor, sickly pharaoh who died before his 20th birthday was buried in a solid gold coffin with rooms full of treasure.
When his mummy was painstakingly unwrapped, it revealed a slight boy about five and a half feet tall with a curved spine. His body is on display in a glass case, still in his tomb, about 30 feet from where he lay for millenia.
In the Catholic Church, a body that does not decay is a sign of sainthood. Bernadette may be the most famous example. She began having visions of the Virgin Mary when she was 14 and living in Lourdes, France. When she died in 1897, she had been visited by the mother of Jesus 18 times and been asked to found the now-famous healing shrine at Lourdes.
Bernadette’s body was exhumed three times over the years since her death, and each time showed no signs of corruption. She was canonized in 1933 and is now on display in a crystal coffin the convent in Nevers, France where she spent the last part of her life. Her skin turned black when exposed to the air, so church officials covered her face and hands with a light wax, but say that she is otherwise unaltered.
Ötzi is really old—the oldest mummy ever found. He’d already been lying in the ice for 2,000 years when King Tut was laid to rest in his tomb. He was so…
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