50 Fun Facts About Famous Last Words

Which French queen apologized to her executioner for treading on his foot at the scaffold?

Her words, 'Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l'ai pas fait exprès' ('Pardon me, sir. I did not mean to do it'), came after she trod on the executioner's foot on the scaffold on 16 October 1793.

Which wartime British Prime Minister is said to have declared 'I'm bored with it all' shortly before his death?

Winston Churchill, a towering figure of the 20th century, reportedly uttered these words in January 1965, expressing his weariness in his final moments.

Which Irish wit reportedly said near death, 'My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death'?

He said it during one of his last trips outside the cheap Paris hotel where he died in November 1900; the popular short version is 'Either this wallpaper goes, or I do.'

Which Communist Manifesto author said 'Last words are for fools who haven't said enough'?

He said it to his housekeeper on 14 March 1883, prefaced with 'Go on, get out!'

Which Spanish surrealist reportedly asked 'Where is my clock?' just before his death?

While the precise authenticity of Salvador Dalí's last words is debated, 'Where is my clock?' is a widely attributed and fitting anecdote for the artist known for 'The Persistence of Memory.'

Which playwright reportedly said 'Born in a hotel room and, goddamn it, dying in a hotel room'?

He said it to his wife Carlotta Monterey in a Boston hotel in 1953; he had been born in a Broadway hotel in 1888.

Which Casablanca star said 'Goodbye, kid. Hurry back' to Lauren Bacall before slipping into a fatal coma in 1957?

The oft-quoted 'I should never have switched from Scotch to martinis' is apocryphal; his real parting words were to Bacall as she left to collect their children.

Which tech co-founder reportedly said 'Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow' in his final moments?

His sister Mona Simpson said in her eulogy that he looked past his family before saying them, on 5 October 2011.

Which author of Faust is said to have asked for 'more light' ('Mehr Licht') as he neared death in 1832?

The full request was reportedly to open the bedroom shutter so more light could come in, later compressed into the famous two-word version.

Which reclusive poet's last words in 1886 were 'I must go in, for the fog is rising'?

The line echoes the mist-and-twilight imagery of her verse; she died in Amherst, Massachusetts, having published only a handful of poems in her lifetime.

Which 'Master of Suspense' reportedly said 'One never knows the ending' in his final days?

Alfred Hitchcock's philosophical last words are often remembered as 'One never knows the ending,' a fitting thought from a filmmaker who meticulously crafted suspenseful narratives.

Which US president, who died in 1799, left ''Tis well' as his last recorded words?

His secretary Tobias Lear recorded them on 14 December 1799, spoken to Dr. James Craik.

Which French emperor's last words reportedly included 'France, the army, head of the army, Josephine'?

Napoleon Bonaparte's final words, though reported with slight variations, consistently mention France, his army, and his beloved first wife, Josephine, reflecting his life's central passions.

Which animation pioneer's last notes in 1966 included young actor Kurt Russell's name?

The note, misspelled 'Kirt Russell', appeared alongside 'Ron Miller' and 'Way Down Cellar' on a page; Russell has said he never learned why.

Dying, asked to renounce Satan, who replied 'Now is not the time for making new enemies'?

The priest at his bedside on 30 May 1778 got no renunciation out of him.

'They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance': which Union general was shot in 1864?

He was chiding his men for dodging bullets at Spotsylvania Court House.

Which American spy, hanged in 1776, said 'I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country'?

He was 21 when executed for spying during the Revolutionary War.

Which Roman emperor is said to have joked as he died, 'Woe, I think I'm turning into a god'?

He was mocking Rome's habit of deifying dead emperors, then insisted an emperor should die standing and collapsed trying to rise.

Per Plato, Socrates' last words asked Crito to pay Asclepius a debt of what?

He was dying from the hemlock he had been sentenced to drink in 399 BC.

Which composer's reported last words, 'Pity, pity - too late!', greeted a gift of twelve bottles of wine?

He died in Vienna on 26 March 1827.

Which president died on 4 July 1826 saying 'Thomas Jefferson survives', unaware Jefferson had died hours earlier?

Jefferson's own last recorded words that day were 'No, doctor, nothing more.'

'Such is life' were the last words of which Australian bushranger before his hanging in 1880?

He first sighed, 'I suppose it had to come to this.'

Which naturalist declared on his deathbed in 1882, 'I am not in the least afraid to die'?

He died at Down House and was buried in Westminster Abbey.

Which Siksika chief's dying words in 1890 described life as 'a flash of a firefly in the night'?

He also called it 'the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime' and 'the little shadow which runs across the grass'.

'It's a long time since I drank champagne' were the last words of which Russian playwright in 1904?

He said it to his wife Olga; he was dying of tuberculosis at a German spa.

'It's very beautiful over there' were the enigmatic last words of which American inventor in 1931?

He died at his home in West Orange, New Jersey, at 84.

Which novelist and lepidopterist reportedly said before dying in 1977, 'A certain butterfly is already on the wing'?

He was a serious lepidopterist and even curated butterflies at Harvard.

'Money can't buy life' were the final words of which musician, who died in 1981?

He died of cancer in Miami at 36.

Facing execution in Bolivia in 1967, who said 'Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man'?

He began, 'I know you are here to kill me.'

Which crooner said 'That was a great game of golf, fellas' moments before a fatal heart attack in 1977?

He suggested they go and have a Coca-Cola; he collapsed on a course near Madrid.

'This is no way to live!' were the last words of which comedian in August 1977?

He died three days after Elvis Presley.

Which singer's reported final words in 1998 were 'I'm losing it'?

He died of a heart attack in Los Angeles at 82.

Which entertainer, asked where he wanted to be buried, said 'Surprise me' before dying in 2003?

He was 100 years old.

Todd Beamer's 'Let's roll' were the last recorded words aboard which hijacked plane on 9/11?

They signalled the passengers' revolt; the plane crashed in Pennsylvania killing all 44 aboard.

Which queen of England is said to have died in 1603 lamenting, 'All my possessions for a moment of time'?

Anne Boleyn's reported last words before her 1536 beheading were 'Oh God, have pity on my soul.'

Which French revolutionary's last words at the 1794 guillotine were 'Show my head to the people. It is worth seeing'?

Robespierre, blamed months later for Danton's death, reportedly cried 'Cowards! Why did you not defend him?'

Which American statesman grumbled on his deathbed in 1790, 'A dying man can do nothing easy'?

He was complaining about how hard it was to shift into a more comfortable position.

Which composer's reported last words in 1791 were 'The taste of death is upon my lips'?

He died in Vienna aged 35, leaving his Requiem unfinished.

Which Romantic poet, dying in Rome in 1821, said 'I can feel the daisies growing over me'?

Byron's own last words three years later were simply 'I must sleep now.'

Which American novelist's last words in 1910 were a request to his daughter Clara: 'Give me my glasses'?

He died the day after Halley's Comet reached perihelion, as he had predicted he would.

Which Russian novelist, dying at a railway station in 1910, asked how the peasants die?

He had fled his estate days earlier at 82 and fell ill at Astapovo station.

Which philosopher's last words in 1951 were 'Tell them I've had a wonderful life'?

He died of cancer in Cambridge the day after his 62nd birthday.

'Goodnight my kitten' were the last words of which American author before he took his own life in 1961?

He said them to his wife Mary at their home in Ketchum, Idaho.

Which Beatle's last words to his wife and son in 2001 were 'Love one another'?

He died of cancer in Los Angeles at 58.

Whose 2016 last words, per Gary Oldman, were 'Music has been my doorway of perception and the house that I live in'?

He died two days after releasing his final album, Blackstar, on his 69th birthday.

Which Greek mathematician reportedly told a Roman soldier 'Do not disturb my circles!'?

He was said to be absorbed in a geometric diagram during the capture of Syracuse around 212 BC when the soldier cut him down.

Which English king is said to have died in 1547 crying 'All is lost! Monks, monks, monks!'?

The words are a grim irony for the monarch who dissolved England's monasteries only a decade earlier.

Which French seer reportedly said 'Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here' in 1566?

For a man famous for cryptic prophecies, his last prediction was unusually precise and, by the account, correct.

Which hotelier's final wisdom in 1979 was 'Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub'?

Practical to the end, the founder of the Hilton chain left housekeeping advice rather than a philosophy of life.

Which dancer cried 'Farewell, my friends. I go to glory!' before a fatal car accident in 1927?

Her long scarf caught in the wheel of the open car she was riding in on the French Riviera.