The 23 Lawgivers of the House Chamber

Twenty-three marble relief portrait plaques of historical lawgivers line the upper walls of the U.S. House of Representatives chamber. Installed during the 1950 remodeling, they span more than three thousand years of legal history — from Hammurabi of Babylon to Napoleon Bonaparte — representing the major traditions that shaped American constitutional government.

Twenty-two figures are shown in profile, each facing toward the center of the chamber. One exception: Moses, positioned directly above and behind the Speaker’s rostrum, gazes outward in full face — the only lawgiver to do so, and the central figure among all 23.