More Blatant Self-Promotion (with just a dash of self-defense)

This is my other big website. What is it? Allow me to explain, lest you think I am seriously twisted. I am fascinated by presidential history. In my travels after college, I began to try to visit the gravesites of each of the deceased presidents. As I did this, I thought it would also be interesting to visit the gravesites of each of the deceased vice-presidents.

Doing the research to find out where these men are buried, I began to notice that many of them were buried in cemeteries where other famous people are also buried. For instance, President Grover Cleveland is buried in Princeton Cemetery in Princeton, New Jersey. Also in that cemetery are Jonathan Edwards (famous theologian and former president of Princeton Seminary), John Witherspoon (signer of the Declaration of Independence), George Gallup (of Gallup poll fame), Charles Hodge (another famous theologian), and Paul Tulane (founder of Tulane University in New Orleans).

Another example, Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler are both buried in Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. Also in that cemetery are buried Jefferson Davis (Confederate President), George Pickett (Confederate General), and a number of other notable people.
So, as I have traveled, I have tried to locate the graves of as many famous people as possible. Currently, I have visited approximately 1,223 famous dead people in 386 cemeteries located in 33 U.S. States (plus Washington D.C.) and 11 other countries.

Why such a morbid hobby, you ask? Well, let me tell you several benefits I have seen personally:

(1) It's a very inexpensive hobby. Since I have a digital camera, I can take many pictures of the places I visit, and my only cost is driving to the place and purchasing CDs to store the pictures. With very few exceptions, cemeteries don't charge you an entrance fee (though they may be very unhelpful at times in assisting your attempt to locate a famous person).

(2) It's a fascinating way to learn about history. Some very famous people have very unnoticed grave markers. On the other hand, some people get bigger markers than they deserve, in my ever-so-humble opinion. Really, though, visiting these gravesites has motivated me to learn much about my own country's history, particularly the Civil War and World War II.

(3) Cemeteries (and this is true more in America than in foreign countries) are some of the most beautiful places you can visit. The cemetery staff is trying to make the place a quiet, serene location for people to say goodbye to their loved ones, so the cemetery will often have beautiful landscaping, ponds, and the like. Even in downtown New York City, you can find a quiet place by visiting a cemetery (and you can also visit Walter Hunt's gravesite while you're at it! - he's the guy who invented the safety pin).