William Wirt (November 8, 1772 – February 18, 1834) served as the US Attorney General from 1817-1829. He is buried here in this tomb with seven other family members.
In 2003, the manager of the Congressional Cemetery began receiving phone calls asking about William Wirt's skull. The caller mentioned that Wirt's skull was stolen by a grave robber 18 years earlier. The manager took a close look at the tomb and discovered evidence that it had been broken into at one time, but a heavy granite slab prevented entrance to the tomb.
About that time, the skull was given to a city council member with instructions to return it to the cemetery. After several months, the tomb was opened and found to be vandalized inside. An expert was brought in and determined that the skull did belong to Wirt. It was returned to the tomb in October 2005.
Direct map link:
http://goo.gl/maps/H3sf8
Mystery of William Wirt's skull
© Google Maps
By milwhcky @ 2013-08-24 21:08:03
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/19/AR2005101902374.html