Buried at Père Lachaise are many famous figures in the arts, including Miguel Ángel Asturias, Honoré de Balzac, Sarah Bernhardt, Georges Bizet, Frédéric Chopin, Colette, George Enescu, Max Ernst, Olivia de Havilland, Marcel Marceau, Georges Méliès, Amedeo Modigliani, Molière, Édith Piaf, Camille Pissarro, Marcel Proust, Gertrude Stein, Oscar Wilde, Richard Wright, Jim Morrison, and Michel Petrucciani.

Many famous philosophers, scientists, and historical figures are buried there as well, including Peter Abelard, Pierre Bourdieu, Jean-François Champollion, Auguste Comte, Georges Cuvier, Joseph Fourier, Manuel Godoy, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, Jean-François Lyotard, Nestor Makhno, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Jean Moulin, Henri de Saint-Simon, Jean-Baptiste Say, Emmanuel Joseph Sieyès, J. R. D. Tata, Adolphe Thiers, and Rafael Trujillo.

Napoleon, who had been proclaimed Emperor by the Senate three days earlier, had declared during the Consulate that "Every citizen has the right to be buried regardless of race or religion".

[4] The French officials approved the transformation of 17 hectares of Mont-Louis into the Cemetery of the East in 1803 and the work was given to neoclassical architect Alexandre-Theodore Brongniart.

He used English-style gardens as inspiration,[5] designing the cemetery with uneven paths adorned with diverse trees and plants and lined with carved graves.

Consequently, the administrators devised a marketing strategy to improve the cemetery's stature: in 1817, with great fanfare, they organized the transfer of the remains of Jean de La Fontaine and Molière to the new resting place.

Then, in another great spectacle, the purported remains of Pierre Abélard and Héloïse d'Argenteuil were also transferred to the cemetery along with their monument's canopy made from fragments of the abbey of Nogent-sur-Seine.

By tradition, lovers or lovelorn singles leave letters at the crypt in tribute to the couple or in hope of finding true love.

[7][8] The Commune soldiers had been captured in earlier battles by the French Army, were taken to the prisons of Mazas and la Roquette, where they were quickly tried by military courts and sentenced to death.

With the work of anticlerical and free-thinkers (Charles-Ange Laisant, André Lorulot), the use of cremation became more popular after overturning of the ban by the Catholic Church in 1963.

[11] Inside the columbarium rest the remains of numerous celebrities including the director Max Ophuls and the comedian Pierre Dac.

[citation needed] The law of separation of church and state on 9 December 1905 had no impact on Père Lachaise because religious emblems were still allowed on private funeral monuments.

It was sanctified by the Catholic Church in 1834 and is supported by the basilique Notre-Dame du Perpetuel Secours [cs; de; fr; id; it; nl; pt; zh].

[14] Some noteworthy individuals buried in the 19th century include the actress Rachel Felix, the first French rabbi, David Sintzheim, and Robles, Singer and Fould Rothschild.

In 1899, the Monument aux Morts by Albert Bartholomé was erected in Père Lachaise as a memorial to unidentified deceased Parisians.

[20] The grave sites at Père Lachaise range from a simple, unadorned headstone to towering monuments and even elaborate mini chapels dedicated to the memory of a well-known person or family.

Many of the tombs are about the size and shape of a telephone booth, with just enough space for a mourner to step inside, kneel to say a prayer, and leave some flowers.

[citation needed] Although some sources incorrectly estimate the number of interred as 300,000 in Père Lachaise, according to the official website of the city of Paris, one million people have been buried there to date.

[23] A change in management practices, including a prohibition on the use of pesticides and a sterilization program that reduced the cemetery's population of feral cats, set the stage for what is now described as a "rich ecosystem.

[23] Père Lachaise is often referenced in French culture and has been included in various films, literary works, video games and songs.