The current cemetery replaced the old cemetery (l'ancien cimetière communal de Passy##, located on Rue Lekain), which was closed in 1802.
In the early 19th century, on the orders of Napoleon I, Emperor of the French, all the cemeteries in Paris were replaced by several large new ones outside the precincts of the capital. Montmartre Cemetery was built in the north, Père Lachaise Cemetery in the east, and Montparnasse Cemetery in the south. Passy Cemetery was a later addition, but has its origins in the same edict.
The current entrance was built in 1934 (designed by René Berger). The retaining wall of the cemetery is adorned with a bas relief (by Louis Janthial) commemorating the soldiers who fell in World War I.
Among its more famous residents are:
Bảo Đại (1913–1997), the last Emperor of VietnamJean-Louis Barrault (1910–1994), actor and director; buried with his wife, the actress Madeleine RenaudLouis-Ernest Barrias (1841–1905), sculptorJeanne Julia Bartet (1854–1941), actressMarie Bashkirtseff (1858–1884), Russian artist famous for her published journal; her tomb is a recreation of her studio and has been declared a historical monument by the government of FranceMaurice Bellonte (1896-1983), pioneering aviator, as is his flight companion Dieudonné CostesJames Gordon Bennett, Jr. (1848–1918), American newspaper publisher, sportsmanTristan Bernard (1866–1947), playwright and novelistHenri Bernstein (1876–1953), actorPrincess Brasova (Natalia Sheremetyev-Romanov) (1880–1952), wife of Grand Duke Mikhail RomanovGeorge, Count Brasov (1910–1931), son of Grand Duke Mikhail Romanov and Princess Brasova (Natalia Sheremetyev-Romanov)Emmanuel de Las Cases (1766–1842), historianDieudonné Costes (1896–1973), pioneering aviator, as is his flight companion Maurice BellonteEmmanuelle de Dampierre (1913–2012), first wife of Infante Jaime, Duke of SegoviaMarcel Dassault (1892–1986), engineer, founder of Dassault AviationClaude Debussy (1862–1918), composerMaxime Dethomas (1867–1929), artistFarideh Diba (born Farideh Ghotbi) (1921–2000), mother of the former queen of Iran, Farah DibaGhislaine Dommanget (1900–1991), Princess of MonacoMichel Droit (1923–2000), novelist, member of the Académie françaiseHenry Farman (1874–1958), champion cyclist and aviatorEdgar Faure (1908–1988), statesman and World War II resistance fighterGabriel Fauré (1845–1924), composerFernandel (Fernand Joseph Désiré Contandin) (1903–1971), comedy actorMaurice Gamelin (1872–1958), supreme commander of French armed forces 1939–1940Maurice Genevoix (1890–1980), novelistRosemonde Gérard (1871–1953), poet and playwrightVirgil Gheorghiu, (1916–1992), novelistJean Giraudoux (1882–1944), playwright, soldier, and statesmanAnna Gould (1878–1961), socialite, daughter of financier Jay GouldAntonio Guzmán Blanco (1829–1899), Venezuelan politician and presidentGabriel Hanotaux (1853–1944), statesman and historianPaul Hervieu (1857–1915), dramatist and novelistGholam Hossein Jahanshahi (1920–2005), economist, Iranian statesmanJacques Ibert (1890–1962), composerPaul Landowski (1875–1961), architect and sculptorHector Lefuel (1810–1880), architect of significant portions of the LouvreJoseph Florimond Loubat, bibliophile, antiquarian, sportsman, and philanthropistGeorges Mandel (1885–1944), statesman, French Resistance during World War IIÉdouard Manet (1832–1883), realist and impressionist painterAndré Messager (1853–1929), composer and conductorAlexandre Millerand (1859–1943), President of FranceOctave Mirbeau (1848–1917), anarchist, art critic, and novelistBerthe Morisot (1841–1895), impressionist painterTogrul Narimanbekov (1930-2013), Azerbaijani painterJoseph O'Kelly (1828–1885), Henri O'Kelly sr. (1859–1938), and Henri O'Kelly jr. (1881–1922), Franco-Irish composers and musiciansLeila Pahlavi (1970–2001), Princess Leila of Iran, daughter of the last Shah of Iran and Farah DibaGabrielle Réjane (1856–1920), actressMadeleine Renaud (1900–1994), actress; buried with her husband, the actor and director Jean-Louis BarraultMarcel Renault (1872–1903), industrialist, racing driver, co-founder of Renault motor companyMaurice Rostand (1891–1968), playwrightConstantin Rozanoff (1905–1954), colonel, test pilotHaroun Tazieff (1914–1998), vulcanologistRenée Vivien (1877–1909), writer, poetPearl White (1889–1938), American silent film star, famous for doing her own stunts in her serials The Perils of PaulineJean-Pierre Wimille (1908–1949), Grand Prix race driverJacques Guerlain (1874-1963), Certainly the greatest perfume creator from the famous House "Guerlain" in Paris.Natalie Clifford Barney (1876-1972), Notable author, salonist and lesbian socialite of the Belle Époque.The entrance of the cemetery is located at 2, Rue du Commandant Schlœsing. The street in which it is situated is named for a Free French pilot, Squadron Leader Jacques-Henri Schlœsing (1919–1944), who flew with the wartime RAF until killed in action, the day that Paris was liberated.
The cemetery is behind the Trocadéro.
