Last Words, Death Bed Statements . . .

“Thomas Jefferson--still survives...”
~~ John Adams, US President, d. July 4, 1826
(Actually, Jefferson had died earlier that same day.)

“This is the last of earth! I am content.”
~~ John Quincy Adams, US President, d. February 21, 1848

“See in what peace a Christian can die.”
~~ Joseph Addison, Writer, d. June 17, 1719

“Is it not meningitis?”
~~ Louisa M. Alcott, Writer, d. 1888

“Waiting are they? Waiting are they? Well--let 'em wait.”
In response to an attending doctor who attempted to comfort him by saying, "General, I fear the angels are waiting for you."
~~ Ethan Allen, American Revolutionary General, d. 1789
 
“Am I dying or is this my birthday?”
When she woke briefly during her last illness and found all her family around her bedside.
~~ Lady Nancy Astor, d. 1964

“Nothing, but death.”
When asked by her sister, Cassandra, if there was anything she wanted.
~~ Jane Austen, Writer, d. July 18, 1817

 “Codeine . . . bourbon.”
~~ Tallulah Bankhead, Actress, d. December 12, 1968
 
“How were the receipts today at Madison Square Garden?”
~~ P. T. Barnum, Entrepreneur, d. 1891
 
“I can't sleep.”
~~ James M. Barrie, Author, d. 1937

“Is everybody happy? I want everybody to be happy. I know I'm happy.”
~~ Ethel Barrymore, Actress, d. June 18, 1959

“Die? I should say not, dear fellow. No Barrymore would allow such a conventional thing to happen to him.”
~~ John Barrymore, Actor, d. May 29, 1942

“I am ready to die for my Lord, that in my blood the Church may obtain liberty and peace.”
~~ Thomas N Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, d.1170
 
“Now comes the mystery.”
~~ Henry Ward Beecher, Evangelist, d. March 8, 1887
 
“Friends applaud, the comedy is finished.”
~~ Ludwig van Beethoven, Composer, d. March 26, 1827

“I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis.”
~~ Humphrey Bogart, Actor, d. January 14, 1957
 
“Josephine...”
~~ Napoleon Bonaparte, French Emperor, May 5, 1821
 
“I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct.”
~~ Dominique Bouhours, French Grammarian, d. 1702
 
“Ah, that tastes nice. Thank you.”
~~ Johannes Brahms, Composer, d. April 3, 1897

“Oh, I am not going to die, am I? He will not separate us, we have been so happy.”
Spoken to her husband of 9 months, Rev. Arthur Nicholls.
~~ Charlotte Bronte, Writer, d. March 31, 1855

“Beautiful.”
In reply to her husband who had asked how she felt.
~~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Writer, d. June 28, 1861
 
“Now I shall go to sleep. Goodnight.”
~~ Lord George Byron, Writer, d. 1824
 
“Et tu, Brute?”
Assassinated.
~~ Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman Emperor, d. 44 BC
 
“I am still alive!”
Stabbed to death by his own guards - (as reported by Roman historian Tacitus)
~~ Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor, d.41 AD
 
“Don't let poor Nelly (his mistress, Nell Gwynne) starve.”
~~ Charles II, King of England and Scotland, d. 1685
 
“Ay Jesus.”
~~ Charles V, King of France, d. 1380
 
“I am dying. I haven't drunk champagne for a long time.”
~~ Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, Writer, d. July 1, 1904
 
“The earth is suffocating . . . Swear to make them cut me open, so that I won't be buried alive.”
Dying of tuberculosis.
~~ Frederic Chopin, Composer, d. October 16, 1849
 
“I'm bored with it all.”
Before slipping into a coma. He died 9 days later.
~~ Winston Churchill, Statesman, d. January 24, 1965

“This time it will be a long one.”
~~ Georges Clemenceau, French Premier, d. 1929

 “I have tried so hard to do right.”
~~ Grover Cleveland, US President, d. 1908

“That was the best ice-cream soda I ever tasted.”
~~ Lou Costello, Comedian, d. March 3, 1959
 
“Goodnight my darlings, I'll see you tomorrow.”
~~ Noel Coward, Writer, d. 1973

 “D--- it . . . Don't you dare ask God to help me.”
To her housekeeper, who had begun to pray aloud.
~~ Joan Crawford, Actress, d. May 10, 1977

“That was a great game of golf, fellers.”
~~ Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby, Singer/Actor, d. October 14, 1977

 “I am not the least afraid to die.”
~~ Charles Darwin, d. April 19, 1882

“My God. What's happened?”
~~ Diana (Spencer), Princess of Wales, d. August 31, 1997

 “I must go in, the fog is rising.”
~~ Emily Dickinson, Poet, d. 1886

“Do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?”
Minutes before her plane crashed.
~~ Jessica Dubroff, seven-year-old pilot, d. 1996

 “Adieu, mes amis. Je vais la gloire.”
(Farewell, my friends! I go to glory!)
~~ Isadora Duncan, Dancer, d. 1927

“Please know that I am quite aware of the hazards. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
Last letter to her husband before her last flight.

“KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be on you, but cannot see you. Gas is running low.”

Last radio communication before her disappearance.
~~ Amelia Earhart, d. 1937
 
“It is very beautiful over there.”
~~ Thomas Alva Edison, Inventor, d. October 18, 1931

“No, I shall not give in. I shall go on. I shall work to the end.”
~~ Edward VII, King of Britain, d. 1910
 
“All my possessions for a moment of time.”
~~ Elizabeth I, Queen of England, d. 1603

“I've never felt better.”
~~ Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., Actor, d. December 12, 1939

“I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.”
~~ Richard Feynman, Physicist, d. 1988

“I've had a hell of a lot of fun and I've enjoyed every minute of it.”
~~ Errol Flynn, Actor, d. October 14, 1959
 
“A dying man can do nothing easy.”
~~ Benjamin Franklin, Statesman, d. April 17, 1790
 
“Come my little one, and give me your hand.”
Spoken to his daughter, Ottilie.
~~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Writer, d. March 22, 1832
 
“I know you have come to kill me. Shoot coward, you are only going to kill a man.”
Facing his assassin, Mario Teran, a Bolivian soldier.
~~ Ernesto "Che" Guevara, d. October 9, 1967
 
“Yes, it's tough, but not as tough as doing comedy.”
When asked if he thought dying was tough.
~~ Edmund Gwenn, Actor, d. September 6, 1959
 
“God will pardon me, that's his line of work.”
~~ Heinrich Heine, Poet, d. February 15, 1856
 
“Turn up the lights, I don't want to go home in the dark.”
~~ O. Henry (William Sidney Porter), Writer, d. June 4, 1910

“All is lost. Monks, monks, monks!”
~~ Henry VIII, King of England, d. 1547
 
“I am about to take my last voyage, a great leap in the dark.”
~~ Thomas Hobbes, Writer, d. 1679
 
“I see black light.”
~~ Victor Hugo, writer, d. May 22, 1885
 
“Oh, do not cry - be good children and we will all meet in heaven.”
~~ Andrew Jackson, US President, d. 1845
 
“Let us cross over the river and sit in the shade of the trees.”
Killed in error by his own troops at the battle of Chancellorsville during the US Civil War.
~~ General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, d. 1863
 
“Is it the Fourth?”
~~ Thomas Jefferson, US President, d. July 4, 1826
 
“Does nobody understand?”
~~ James Joyce, Writer, d. 1941
 
“Why not? Yeah.”
~~ Timothy Leary, d. May 31, 1996
 
“Now I have finished with all earthly business, and high time too. Yes, yes, my dear child, now comes death.”
~~ Franz Leher, Composer, d. October 24, 1948
 
“A King should die standing.&rdq uo;
~~ Louis XVIII, King of France, d. 1824
 
“Why do you weep? Did you think I was immortal?”
~~ Louis XIV, King of France, d. 1715
 
“I am a Queen, but I have not the power to move my arms.”
~~ Louise, Queen of Prussia, d. 1820
 
“Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers.”
~~ Walter De La Mare, Writer, d. 1956
 
“Let's cool it brothers . . .”
Spoken to his assassins, 3 men who shot him 16 times.
~~ Malcolm X, Black Leader, d. 1966
 
“Go on, get out - last words are for fools who haven't said enough.”
To his housekeeper, who urged him to tell her his last words so she could write them down for posterity.
~~ Karl Marx, Revolutionary, d. 1883
 
“Nothing matters. Nothing matters.”
~~ Louis B. Mayer, Film Producer, d. October 29, 1957

“It's all been very interesting.”
~~ Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Writer, d. 1762
 
“I knew it. I knew it. Born in a hotel room - and God d--- it - died in a hotel room.”
~~ Eugene O'Neill, Writer, d. November 27, 1953
 
“Good-bye . . . why am I hemorrhaging?”
~~ Boris Pasternak, Writer, d. 1959
 
“Get my swan costume ready. Play that last measure softly.”
~~ Anna Pavlova, Ballerina, d. 1931
 
“I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies unshriven.”
Giving his reasons for refusing to see a priest as he lay dying.
~~ Pietro Perugino, Italian Painter, d. 1523
 
“Lord help my poor soul.”
~~ Edgar Allan Poe, Writer, d. October 7, 1849
 
“I love you Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.”
Spoken to his wife.
~~ James K. Polk, US President, d. 1849
 
“Here am I, dying of a hundred good symptoms.”
~~ Alexander Pope, Writer, d. May 30, 1744
 
“I owe much; I have nothing; the rest I leave to the poor.”
~~ François Rabelais, Writer, d. 1553
 
“I have a terrific headache.”
He died of a cerebral hemorrhage.
~~ Franklin Delano Roosevelt, US President, d. 1945
 
“Put out the light.”
~~ Theodore Roosevelt, US President, d. 1919
 
“They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist. . . .”
Killed in battle during US Civil War.
~~ General John Sedgwick, Union Commander, d. 1864
 
“Sister, you're trying to keep me alive as an old curiosity, but I'm done, I'm finished, I'm going to die.”
Spoken to his nurse.
~~ George Bernard Shaw, Playwright, d. November 2, 1950
 
“I've had eighteen straight whiskies, I think that's the record . . .”
~~ Dylan Thomas, Poet, d. 1953
 
“Moose . . . Indian . . .”
~~ Henry David Thoreau, Writer, d. May 6, 1862
 
“God bless... God d---.”
~~ James Thurber, Humorist, d. 1961

“I feel here that this time they have succeeded.”
~~ Leon Trotsky, Russian Revolutionary, d. 1940
 
“Don't worry chief, it will be alright.”
~~ Rudolph Valentino, Actor, d. August 23, 1926
 
“Woe is me. Me thinks I'm turning into a god.”
~~ Vespasian, Roman Emperor, d. 79 AD
 
“Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something.”
~~ Pancho Villa, Mexican Revolutionary, d. 1923
 
“I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.”
~~ Leonardo da Vinci, Artist, d. 1519
 
“Go away. I'm all right.”
~~ H. G. Wells, Novelist, d. 1946
 
“Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.”
~~ Oscar Wilde, Writer, d. November 30, 1900
 
“I am ready.”
~~ Woodrow Wilson, US President, d. 1924
 
“Curtain! Fast music! Light! Ready for the last finale! Great! The show looks good, the show looks good!”
~~ Florenz Ziegfeld, Showman, d. July 22, 1932
 
“Earth recedes, heaven opens. I've been through the gates!  Don't call me back. If this is death, it's sweet.
Dwight! Irene! I see the children's faces.”
[Dwight and Irene were his dead grandchildren.]
~~ D.L. Moody, Preacher, d. December 22, 1899
 
"Now, God be with you, my dear children.  I have breakfasted with you and shall sup with my Lord Jesus Christ."
~~ Bruce, Robert, King of Scotland (1274-1329)
 
"Why not?  After all, it belongs to him."
When the priest, who was attending him on his deathbed, said "May the Lord have mercy on your soul."
~~ Chaplin, Charles (1889-1977)

"I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country.  I want to go.  God, take me."
~~ Eisenhower, Dwight D. (1890-1969)

"Let not my end disarm you, and on no account weep or keen for me, let the enemy be warned of my death."
~~ Genghis, Khan of the Mongols (1155?-1227)
 
"This is funny."
~~ Holliday, John Henry (Doc)  (1851-1887)

"O, holy simplicity!"
~~ Huss, John (1372-1415)

Nazi War Criminals (various-16 October 1946)

01:11 a.m. Joachim von Ribbentrop - "My last wish is that Germany realize its entity and that an understanding be reached between East and West.  I wish peace to the world."

01:?? a.m. Field Marshal Keitel - "I call on God Almighty to have mercy on the German people.  More than two million German soldiers went to their death for the fatherland before me.  I follow now my sons--all for Germany."

01:36 a.m. Ernest Kaltenbrunner - "I have loved my German people and my fatherland with a warm heart.  I have done my duty by the laws of my people and I am sorry this time my people were lead by men who were not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge.  Germany, good luck."

01:47 a.m. Alfred Rosenberg - "No." (when asked if he had any last words)

01:?? a.m. Hans Frank - "I am thankful for the kind treatment during my captivity and I ask God to accept me with mercy."

02:05 a.m. Wilhelm Frick - "Long live eternal Germany."

02:12 a.m. Julius Streicher - "Heil Hitler!" ("Ask the man his name.")  "You know my name well.  Julius Streicher! . . . Now it goes with God. . . . Purim Fest 1946! . . . The Bolsheviks will hang you one day! . . .  I am with God.  Adele, my dear wife."

02:20 a.m. Fritz Sauckel - "I am dying innocent.  The sentence is wrong.  God protect Germany and make Germany great again.  Long live Germany!  God protect my family!"

02:?? a.m. Alfred Jodl - "My greetings to you, my Germany."

02:38 a.m. Artur Seyss-Inquart - "I hope that this execution is the last act of tragedy of the Second World War and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples.  I believe in Germany."
 
"Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here."
~~ Nostradamus (Michel de Notre Dame) 1503-1566
 
"So little done, so much to do."
~~ Rhodes, Cecil John (1853-1902)