The Panthéon: Two Women Given Burial In French Hero Mausoleum

Marie Curie is about to get some new neighbors. President François Hollande of France announced he selected two men and two women to be interred in the Panthéon, France’s historic mausoleum and tourist attraction located in Paris’ Latin Quarter.

Of the 73 heroes who have been honored in the Panthéon, only two are women—Marie Curie, the only woman to gain entrance on her own merit, and Sophie Bertholot, who was buried with her husband Marcellin Bertholot. Other interred heroes include Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Émile Zola, and Louis Braille.

The two women to be buried are French resistance fighters Germaine Tillion and Genèvieve de Gaulle-Anthonioz. Both fought against the German occupation of France during World World II. The two men selected by Hollande were resistance fighters as well.

Each French president is bestowed the honor of selecting persons to be entombed in the Panthéon. While some have recognized Hollande’s decision as a significant step towards equality, others expressed disappointment that many other noteworthy women—including French feminist and philosopher Simone de Beauvoir—have not yet been selected for burial in the necropolis. Many French women and gender equality activists hope that the gender imbalance will be rectified in the future.

In addition to the four new faces of the French Resistance, the French government announced a huge art installation beginning on April 22 that will include faces of ordinary French citizens. Anyone can upload a photo for inclusion in the installation.

10 Fun Facts About the Panthéon

1. Panthéon means “every god” in Greek. Paris’ Panthéon has a façade modeled on the Pantheon in Rome.
2. The Panthéon was commissioned by King Louis XV and constructed between 1757 and 1791.
3. It was originally constructed as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but it now functions as a secular mausoleum.
4. It was the site of Leon Foucault’s pendulum and famous experiment demonstrating the rotation of the earth (1851).
5. The inscription above the entrance reads AUX GRANDS HOMMES LA PATRIE RECONNAISSANTE – “To the great men, the grateful homeland.”
6. Author of the Three Musketeers Alexander Dumas was buried there in 2002.
7. In 2007, President Jacques Chirac recognized 2600 men and women who helped save the lives on Jewish citizens during World War II on a plaque.
8. Each French President has been given the honor of selecting heroes for burial in the mausoleum. Some presidents have selected multiple people, while others have selected none for inclusion.
9. Many of the Panthéon’s 73 honorees were selected by Napoleon.
10. The Panthéon was once a meeting place for France’s intellectual community.

Jen Udan