HOUSTON -- World-renowned heart surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey made history in death Tuesday by becoming the first person to lie in repose at Houston's City Hall, KPRC Local 2 reported.

DeBakey died from natural causes Friday night at The Methodist Hospital in Houston. He was 99.

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Slideshow: Remembering Dr. Michael DeBakey
Video: Dr. Michael DeBakey Dies At 99
Video: Colleagues Reflect On DeBakey's Legacy

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His family wanted a public viewing to allow Houstonians to say goodbye.

"We think this could be very large," city spokeswoman Susan Christian said. "It could be several thousand people. I don't know any better honor for a city to honor a hero than right here in City Hall."

The hearse carrying his body was escorted by two Houston police officers. Mourners lined up to sign a condolence book and pay their respects.

"When you're the best at what you do in a field that's so profound and when you help build a medical center that's arguably the best in the world, how could you not come?" Councilwoman Jolanda Jones said.

"I heard so much about him and I read about him and I had friends that had surgery done by him," Elisia Perez said. "They lived for 24 years and maybe more."

DeBakey's casket is centered in the City Hall rotunda with two Marines standing guard along with a doctor representing the medical community. A screen above his casket shows images of his accomplishments.

"He could lie in state anywhere in the world and be revered by millions of people," Councilman Peter Brown said. "Here we are in Houston, Texas, and he's right here in our wonderful rotunda."

In a career spanning more than 70 years, DeBakey performed more than 60,000 heart surgeries. Other surgeons have used his innovations in cardiovascular surgery worldwide to save the lives of millions.

"The world has truly lost a great man," said Dr. Marc Boom, vice president of The Methodist Hospital. "Millions of people, literally millions of people around the world, are alive today because of the pioneering work of Dr. DeBakey over the last 60 years."

Hospital employees paid tribute to DeBakey on Monday during a service in the hospital's chapel. Candles were lit in his memory.

DeBakey underwent surgery in February 2006 for a damaged aorta -- a procedure he had developed.

While still in medical school in 1932, DeBakey invented the roller pump, which became the major component of the heart-lung machine, beginning the era of open-heart surgery. The machine takes over the function of the heart and lungs during surgery.

It was only a start of a lifetime of innovation. The surgical procedures that DeBakey developed once were the wonders of the medical world. Today, they are commonplace procedures in most hospitals.

He also was a pioneer in the effort to develop artificial hearts and heart pumps to assist patients waiting for transplants, and helped create more than 70 surgical instruments.

DeBakey was the first to perform replacement of arterial aneurysms and obstructive lesions in the mid-1950s. He later developed bypass pumps and connections to replace excised segments of diseased arteries.

DeBakey was born Sept. 7, 1908, in Lake Charles, La., the son of Lebanese immigrants. He got interested in medicine while listening to physicians chat at his father's pharmacy.

"I always knew I wanted to be a doctor. I just didn't know what kind," DeBakey once said.

He received his bachelor's and medical degrees from Tulane University in New Orleans.

DeBakey received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award, in 1969 and a Congressional Gold Medal in April.

DeBakey's body lied in repose in the city hall rotunda until 3 p.m. His family will meet with mourners from 3 to 7 p.m.

The funeral is set for 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart at 1111 St. Joseph Parkway.