The world is a little less sparkly today.
Dolly Parton, musician, actor, philanthropist, and businesswoman, has died, her nephew announced on Tuesday. She was 80.
In a world defined by polarization, Parton was the rare public figure beloved across the political spectrum.
On Tuesday afternoon, President Donald Trump said on Truth Social he was ordering American flags to be lowered across the country for one week to honor her legacy — one of the longest periods ever granted to a private citizen.
But she’s not the first non-politician to be granted this honor. Following the deaths of civil rights leaders, American icons, and pop-culture legends, presidents dating back to the 1960s have ordered flags to be lowered at federal buildings.
Here are nine public figures — not politicians — who received the rare presidential tribute.
Dolly Parton
Upon the news of Parton’s death, President Trump posted on Truth Social his intention to lower the flag for a full week, starting from 6 p.m. on the day her death was announced, August 25, until September 1.
“This is a true loss for millions of people. There has never been anyone like her, and never will,” he wrote.
Charlie Kirk
After 31-year-old Kirk’s assassination on September 10, 2025, President Trump ordered the flags to be lowered from that day until September 14, 2025.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
Billy Graham
Billy Graham, who died on February 21, 2018, was an evangelist and minister. He was 99.
President Trump announced on the date of Graham’s death that the flags should be lowered on the date of his interment, March 2, 2018.
Neil Armstrong
Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, died on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82. President Barack Obama announced the presidential proclamation two days later.
A private memorial service was held on August 31, and his ashes were buried at sea on September 14.
Dorothy Height
Civil rights and women’s rights icon Dorothy Height died at the age of 98 on April 20, 2010. On April 26, President Obama ordered the flags to be lowered to half mast on the day of her interment, which was on April 29.
Coretta Scott King
King, the widow of Martin Luther King, Jr., and a civil rights icon in her own right, died on January 30, 2006, at age 78.
On February 6, President George W. Bush issued a proclamation ordering the flags to be lowered upon her interment the next day.
Rosa Parks
After the death of 92-year-old Parks, another civil rights icon, on October 24, 2005, President Bush issued the half-staff proclamation.
From October 30 to 31, she lay in honor in the Capitol Rotunda, the first woman to ever be laid in honor there, NBC reported.
Bush ordered federal flags lowered on the day of her interment, which was on November 2.
Bob Hope
Hope died on July 27, 2003. The iconic comedian and American pop-culture mainstay died less than two months after his 100th birthday.
The day after his death, President Bush announced that the flags would be lowered on the day of Hope’s interment, on July 31.
Roy Wilkins
Wilkins, a civil rights icon, was best known for his work with the NAACP from 1955 to 1977. He died at the age of 80 on September 8, 1981.
President Ronald Reagan announced that the flags should be lowered from that day until Wilkins’ interment on September 11.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Upon 39-year-old King Jr.’s assassination on April 4, 1968, President Lyndon C. Johnson declared April 7, 1968, a national day of mourning. He also issued a proclamation that the flags would be lowered from April 5 until his interment on April 9.
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