On this day in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated. Former President William Howard Taft, who was serving as chief justice of the Supreme Court, presented the monument to President Warren G. Harding, who accepted it on behalf of the American people. Also in attendance that day was Lincoln’s only surviving son, 78-year-old Robert Todd Lincoln. Efforts to create a fitting tribute to Lincoln started immediately after his assassination in 1865. Within 2 years, Congress authorized the construction of a monument on the Capitol grounds, but took until 1911 for funding to be approved. Construction then slowed due to World War I. The architect, Henry Bacon, modeled the monument’s design after the Parthenon. It’s 190 feet long, 120 feet wide, 99 feet tall, and made from Colorado Yule marble. Lincoln’s statue inside was originally supposed to be 10 feet tall. But they increased the size, over concerns it would look too small in the extensive space. It’s 19 feet tall from head to foot, and if Lincoln were depicted standing, he’d be 28 feet tall! Today, more than 7 million people visit the monument every year. Learn more in the audio below.