Washington's Proposed Tomb

The US Capitol Building was designed to house George Washington's tomb on public display. Both houses passed a resolution in 1799 calling for him to be entombed there, and his wife too consented to this, but due to various delays, it took until 1830 for this plan to become viable. The same year, an attempt was made to steal George Washington’s skull from his tomb at Mount Vernon. The thief, however, mistakenly stole the skull of Supreme Court Justice Bushrod Washington. After this theft, plans for Washington to be entombed at the Capitol were cancelled.