A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as homes or other sites, or works of art such as , , or . Larger memorials may be known as monuments.
Types
The most common type of memorial is the
Headstone or the
memorial plaque. Also common are
War memorial commemorating those who have died in wars. Memorials in the form of a cross are called
.
are often created on websites and social media to allow digital access as an alternative to physical memorials which may not be feasible or easily accessible.
When somebody has died, the family may request that a memorial gift (usually money) be given to a designated charity, or that a tree be planted in memory of the person.[ Grassroots Memorials: The Politics of Memorializing Traumatic Death, eds Peter Jan Margry and Cristina Sánchez-Carretero (New York: Berghahn, 2011).]
Sometimes, when a student has died, the memorials are placed in the form of a scholarship, to be awarded to high-achieving students in future years.
Memorials to persons or events of major significance may be designated as national memorials.
Haymarket-martyrs-memorial-Forest-Home-Cemetery-IL.jpg|The Haymarket Martyrs' Monument at the Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois
File:Martyrs Memorial. Algiers, Algeria.jpg|Maqam Echahid in Algiers, Algeria
File:Airport Disaster 20.06.11 Memorial near Petrozavodsk 3.JPG|The memorial monument of the 2011 airport disaster in Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia
File:Podlaskie - Białystok - Białystok - św. Rocha - Koścół św. Rocha - Tablica ofiarom katastrofy smoleńskiej 20120428 05.JPG|Memorial dedicated to the victims of the 2010 Polish Air Force Tu-154 crash in Smoleńsk at the Church of St. Roch in Białystok, Poland
File:Airborne Museum 'Hartenstein'.jpg|The Airborne Museum in Arnhem, Netherlands commemorates the liberation of the city during World War II
File:Orthodox Cathedral of St. Andrew in South Bound Brook.jpg|St. Andrew Memorial Church in South Bound Brook, New Jersey, was built in 1965 to commemorate the victims of the Holodomor
File:Namantar Shahid Smarak Nagpur.jpg|Namantar Shahid Smarak commemorates the Namantar Andolan
File:Victoria Memorial situated in Kolkata.jpg|The Victoria Memorial of Kolkata is an important monument of India
File:Robison, Mathew Stanford FULL MONUMENT.jpg|The grave memorial for a ten year old disabled boy; Matthew Stanford Robison. Salt Lake City Cemetery Utah.
File:Golconda Playground memorial.jpg|Homemade memorial in Brooklyn, NYC featuring a photo cut-out of the deceased giving the The finger
File:Lincoln Memorial (May 2014) crop.jpg|Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., United States.
File:Chiang Kai-shek memorial amk.jpg|Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan.
File:Anıtkabir, Ankara.jpg|Anıtkabir in Ankara, Turkey.
File:Mausoleum of the Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah medium View.JPG|Mazar-e-Quaid in Karachi, Pakistan.
See also
External links
