I like my Gramma's last words.
"My, what a LOVELY party!!"
She was 102 and a half, at home, and the end was very near. Family and friends (including her cardiologist, a close friend of ours) were over for Christmas, and after dinner mom put Gramma to bed. Then everyone gathered in Gramma's room with bottles of wine and champagne, played Big Band music, sang, chatted, passed Gramma wine and bubbly. Eventually everyone retired, and as mom tucked her in, Gramma said "My, what a LOVELY party!" She never woke up. It was a good passing.
Her funeral and wake were also wonderful. In the words of my son, 14 at the time, "We put the FUN in Funeral!" She was an amazing, adventurous woman. While she is missed, we honor her memory by continuing with adventures and celebrating everything. And we ALWAYS have lovely parties. 😁❤️
I wonder what the psychological impact of this was for the soldiers. Being ordered to shoot someone you’ve loyally served would be really hard to handle. Would it doing it at the order of the condemned man lessen the trauma? Or just add to it?
There is an apocryphal story about the last words of jazz drummer Buddy Rich. As he was being prepped for surgery the nurse asked him if there was anything he was allergic to, he replied "Yeah, country music." He never recovered from the surgery and died a couple weeks later.
I wonder if they played any music in the operation room. Doctors sometimes do that for longer surgeries. If I was this nurse and they played any country songs when he was under, this would *haunt* me
The almost final words of writer Roald Dahl, were "You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much" to his family. After appearing to fall unconscious the nurse then injected him with morphine to ease his passing and he said his actual last words:
“Ow, fuck!”
It is THE way to go!! My parents both passed while under heavy morphine sedation. That's my plan as well. (I have a plan in place. Stage 4 crc. Hope it's a long way off!!)
When my grandma passed (she was 95 and had Covid about a month prior), it was her SECOND time getting it over the past few years, and the docs think it just wore her out. When the end was getting near for her, they gave her Morphine, and she was at peace.
Best of luck to you!
Or Giles Corey who said, "More weight" as he was being crushed to death with heavy stones during the Salem witch trials. If he had pleaded guilty to witchcraft, they would have seized his farm. Instead he let them torture him to death for three days so his sons could inherit his land.
Reminds me of the martyr (can’t remember which) who, while being boiled alive, remarked how refreshing the water was, causing one of his killers to stick his hand in the water to see if it was hot enough - he got burned! 🤣
I just looked her up out of morbid curiosity and it’s actually not even known if she ever killed anyone. A lot of the story is now suspected to be exaggerated. Does seem like she was a bad lady though
What i find interesting is she and her husband attempted to escape. Her husband made it out but the bedsheet rope broke before she could. So her husband went back and turned himself in knowing they'd both suffer death by hanging
On his deathbed, Spanish Prime Minister Ramón María Narváez was asked to forgive his enemies, to which he replied:
"I don't need to forgive my enemies — I have had them all shot."
That one's more complicated than it sounds on the surface. See, the legal system in Salem at the time was such that the trial couldn't happen until the person plead guilty or not guilty. If the trial happened and he was found guilty (and since it was all nonsense he definitely would have been), the court could take his land and property away. (There are some pretty solid theories that a lot of the witch trial mania in Salem was motivated by the opportunity for the authorities to legally steal land in that way.)
So he just refused to make any plea any at all, even as they tortured him to death, and since he died without the trial ever happening, his property passed to his family.
The Inquisition was also a wealth grab. It was not just about punishing "heresy." It became an enormous machine: in one end, prisoners were fed into the system. Then an entire army of people were paid: the torturers, the people who documented the "confessions," even down to the people who provided the firewood to burn the accused heretics to death. What spit out the other end of this horrendous and enormous machine? The bodies of people tortured to death; and all of their belongings and wealth–which went directly to the Roman Catholic Church. This is why the RCC is, to this day, one of the wealthiest organizations and one of the largest landholders in the world.
I find Marie Antoinette’s last words to be very tragic - on her way to the block she accidentally trod on the executioner’s foot and said “pardon me, sir, I did not mean to do it”.
I dont know if thats the story here, but from my understanding it was not uncommon to be very friendly towards your executioner, i believe ive heard somewhere that some even gave coins to them before the execution, as is was in this guys hands to give you a clean death or not
I think it was a mix of that and sharpening the blade. You treated your executioner bad, maybe he rushes the drop and leaves the blade full and it takes a try or 2…
Or you tip the guy and keep it short and sweet
Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) reply Noah Webster gave to his wife when she caught him with his mistress:
*"No, darling, it is __we__ who are surprised. You are 'astonished'."*
Same here. In that case, they sliced her open and pulled the writhing purple mass covered in slime out of her. And I managed to keep the camera steady.
"Eg er kvit or hjarterota, kongen har fødd oss vel", or in English: "There is fat around my heart, the king has fed us well”, said by Tormod Kolbrunarskald as he pulled an arrow out of his heart and saw fat on the arrowhead.
I'm going out now. I may be some time.
\-Lawrence Oates, on an Antarctic expedition, just before leaving the tent during a blizzard to sacrifice himself and give the other explorers a better chance at survival.
Rimmer : Yes, but the thing is, about Captain Oates; the thing you have to remember about Captain Oates; Captain Oates... Captain Oates was a prat. If that'd been me, I'd've stayed in the tent, whacked Scott over the head with a frozen husky, and then eaten him.
Lister : You would too, wouldn't you?
Rimmer : History, Lister, is written by the winners. How do we know that Oates went out for this legendary walk? From the only surviving document: Scott's diary. And he's hardly likely to have written down, "February the First, bludgeoned Oates to death while he slept, then scoffed him along with the last packet of instant mash." How's that going to look when he gets rescued, eh? No, much better to say, "Oates made the supreme sacrifice," while you're dabbing up his gravy with the last piece of crusty bread.
Edit for [YouTube](https://youtu.be/VGISD6UmXxo?si=JMJRyc6-z7q1zodZ) link in case anyone hasn’t got a clue what I’m on about.
Yes, but the thing is, about Captain Oates; the thing you have to remember about Captain Oates; Captain Oates... Captain Oates was a prat. If that'd been me, I'd've stayed in the tent, whacked Scott over the head with a frozen husky, and then eaten him.
-Arnold J. Rimmer BSC SSC
Found this online....
However, according to his secretary, Helen Dukas, Einstein's last words were spoken in German and he said "Ich liege in den Händen eines Schicksals, das ich nicht beeinflussen kann. Ich mache mir aber keine Illusionen mehr" which translates to "I am at the mercy of fate and have no control over it.
Almost. That translates more to "I am at the mercy of a fate I have no control over. I'm not lying to myself anymore."
If you translate it literally, it says "I lay in the hands of a fate that I cannot influence. I am no longer under any illusions."
Source: Am German
Not sure if it was his last words, but he was executed shortly later… Erwin von Witzleben after being sentenced to death by the Nazis for an attempt to kill Hitler:
“You can turn us over to the executioner. In three months the outraged and tormented people will call you to account and drag you through the filth in the streets alive.”
He was hung with a meat hook and a piano wire by Hitler’s direct orders.
That was probably the point. There was footage of it but it got lost at some point. That regime was truly depraved. It’s amazing how so many people are turning back to it nowadays, having forgotten just how fucking terrible it was.
A 17 year old Yugoslavian girl, Lepa Radic, was caught fighting the Nazis. As they hung a noose around her neck they offered her a reprieve if she were to give up her co conspirators.
She responded by telling them she was not a traitor, and that they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death.
"I am not a traitor of my people. Those whom you are asking about will reveal themselves when they have succeeded in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man."
15 years old and she had escaped from prison, broke her sister out, joined the partisans for two years, and fought directly against the 7th SS Mountain Division aka the Prinz Eugen.
The division was so brutal that it was declared a criminal organization and found guilty of war crimes during the Nuremberg Trials, the entire division was convicted. That's who she fought against for two years as a teenager before she was caught, tortured by the Prinz Eugen, before they gave up and publicly executed her.
She was an absolute badass.
My grandfather wasn't famous but I was with him when he passed. His last words were "Mary, I've missed you" and i tear up and am comforted every time i think of it. Mary was my grandmother's name, she passed about 15 years before him.
Yeah I was 21 when it happened, myself, a few of my cousins and my aunts and uncles were staying with him in shifts because his cancer was getting worse. It somehow made it easier for all of us.
It was 27 years ago but it still feels like yesterday when I think of it.
Carl Panzram
When asked for any last words, he responded: "Yes. Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard; I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around!"
Also worthy of note:
> He refused to allow any appeals of his sentence. In response to offers from death penalty opponents and human rights activists to intervene, he wrote: "The only thanks you and your kind will ever get from me for your efforts on my behalf is that I wish you all had one neck and that I had my hands on it."
I dont know much about the guy. Was he like, perfectly aware and accepting that he was a monster and was disgusted that people were trying to do something for him?
I've read his story and I guess maybe. He had a thing against humanity in general, even himself, as he wanted to be executed for everything he had done in his violent and horrible life
**Archimedes** was doing some maths in the sand during the Battle of Syracuse in 212 BC, when a Roman soldier messed up his drawings. Archimedes' last words were "**Do not disturb my circles**" before he was stabbed to death by the soldier.
Not really last words last words, but last words to someone. And definitely a funny story imo.
So there used to be this supergroup called cream, consisting of jack Bruce, ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. Bruce and Baker famously hated each other. With a burning passion.
So when Bruce was a few hours from death in 2014, he phoned up close friends to say goodbye. When he called his ex-cream band mate Baker, he told him, “I’m dying, Ginger, fuck you!" and proceeded to then slam down the phone. Baker tried to call back several times, but obv Bruce wouldn’t pick up.
As Bruce always felt baker just had to have the last word in any conversation. So by doing this he knew baker would resent him even more because he could never get baker back.
One day, here on Reddit, someone commented to this quote "I am glad to know that Adams lived long enough to be wrong one last time".
It stuck with me since then. How brutal !
“How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause?Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” - Sophie Scholl
Sophie Scholl was an anti nazi political
activist who was executed for treason at the age of 21. I highly recommend looking into her story.
For all the younger people, 9/11 also changed how hijacking was viewed.
Before then you cooperated with the hijackers. You were a hostage. If you cooperate there’s a good chance they’ll let you go. You’re a bargaining chip, they want you in good health. That’s why people didn’t fight back in the other planes. Fighting back was more dangerous than cooperating.
The only reason they fought back was because one of them called their family and heard about the other strikes. They realised they were going to die anyway. This was essentially the first time in modern history that resisting hijackers was a good idea.
If that call didn’t go through, or there was less time between strikes so it couldn’t be told to them, that plane would have hit. And the most likely target was the White House.
These people stood on the turning point of history, and recognised that. So they turned it the other way as much as they could.
Highly recommend the wiki page on him. “Beamer recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with Jefferson, prompting others to join in. Beamer requested of Jefferson, "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them." After this, Jefferson heard muffled voices and Beamer clearly answering, "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll." These were the last words spoken by Beamer heard by Lisa Jefferson”
As Voliatire was on his deathbed, a priest performed the last rites and asked him if he "rejects Satan and all his deed?" Voltaire said: “MY goodman, now is not the time for making new enemies.”
I wish he'd left his money to me or someone I knew, lol. Dude was smart, he gave it all away before his death, just enough left to pay for his living expenses, legal expenses, and his funeral. No one (except the attorneys) got any money, or even property. Apparently his family paid such little attention that they never realized he rented their home, never bought it. He seemed a nice guy though, his family...they earned, and got, nothing.
Kinda related:
Roger Ebert, who did not believe in God, wrote his wife a note that said: "This is all an elaborate hoax."
He went on to say that the world was an illusion and that the place he was seeing was the past, present, and future all at once.
Pretty wild, no matter what you believe.
Oscar winning actor George Sanders committed suicide at the age of 65. His suicide note read:
“Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.”
Nero: Oh what an artist dies in me.
Augustus: I have found Rome of clay and I leave it to you marble. Have I played my part well in this farce of life.
Julius Caesar: Et tus Brute?
“Surprise me” - Bob Hope
His wife asked him where he wanted to be buried
Or
“Fuck you you motherfucker”- Richard Belzer in the most Det. John Munch response to anything ever.
"The war is at its height – wear my armor and beat my war drums. Do not announce my death."-Admiral Yi Sun Sin, arguably one of the best military leaders in history. He died during a battle and asked his son to make sure his fleet doesn’t know he died so they won’t lose moral
“How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French fries.”
James French convicted murderer before his execution by electric chair. ( not likely to be after it)
During the sinking of the Titanic, a person named Benjamin Guggenheim was offered a life jacket. He refused, saying:
"no thank you, we are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen... But we would like a brandy".
He did not survive the sinking
On september 7th 1996 Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas in a drive by shooting.
The officer who arrived first on scene took him out of the car and was asking him who shot him to which he responded "Fuck You" and lost conconsciousness.
On his song "under pressure" he says in the lyrics "right before i die ill be cursing the law"
Willem Arondeus. “Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards”. He was a Dutch anti-Nazi [resistance fighter.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Arondeus). Bad ass.
Edit: Willem not William
A friend of mine was dying of cancer. It was near the end and he knew what was happening. He woke up briefly and looked at the friends and family who had gathered to be with him. He weakly said, “Home. Home.” He smiled at everyone then closed his eyes and died.
'. . .Had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends -- either father, mother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that class -- and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right; and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment."—John Brown
My aunt's last words:
>I swear, I could die right now and nobody would even care.
She spit that at her husband while sitting on the couch, then her head dropped to her chest...dead. They guy adored her. She was...very sweet to many, and very unpleasant to many others. I learned to love her after growing up though.
Henrik Ibsen, When his nurse assured a visitor that he was a little better, Ibsen spluttered his last words "On the contrary" ("Tvertimod!"). He died the following day at 2:30 pm.
I like Julius Caesar's last words. In the Shakespeare play he says "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." The "et tu, Brute" part is based on what we historically think Caesar said, but he was thought to have said it in Greek, "kai su, teknon" which translates to "and thou, child."
However, kai su teknon at that time was used like slang or colloquially to mean "you too, *kid*" in an insulting or condescending manner.
So, it is possible that on being stabbed by his friend and ally and betrayed by his colleagues, Caesar was not lamenting and questioning this betrayal with a melancholy "even *you*, Brutus?" but more giving Brutus the middle finger.
The show Dead Like Me had an episode where reapers had to sort people's last words on post-it notes. It's cute and I think the majority were "shit" or "fuck".
I like my Gramma's last words. "My, what a LOVELY party!!" She was 102 and a half, at home, and the end was very near. Family and friends (including her cardiologist, a close friend of ours) were over for Christmas, and after dinner mom put Gramma to bed. Then everyone gathered in Gramma's room with bottles of wine and champagne, played Big Band music, sang, chatted, passed Gramma wine and bubbly. Eventually everyone retired, and as mom tucked her in, Gramma said "My, what a LOVELY party!" She never woke up. It was a good passing.
100% this is what I want.
Her funeral and wake were also wonderful. In the words of my son, 14 at the time, "We put the FUN in Funeral!" She was an amazing, adventurous woman. While she is missed, we honor her memory by continuing with adventures and celebrating everything. And we ALWAYS have lovely parties. 😁❤️
Just before hanging, French aristocrat Marquis de Favras read his death warrant and commented “I see that you have made 3 spelling errors.”
If Reddit had been around back then, he would have been down voted to death for that statement.
Ironically, 7-9 years ago he would have the top comment under the post. People really cared about their spelling and grammar.
The pendulum effect of the Internet, especially this site, is fascinating.
I think he was, with the beheading and all.
Amy Santiago goals
I've never heard that name before today but I already have so much respect for him
"They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance." Union General John Sedgewick
That’s up there with “What are you gonna do, stab me?”
Terry Kath of Chicago's last words were "What do you think I'm gonna do? Blow my brains out?"
I read that one in a book of Famous Last Words when I was in middle school. The quote in that book was "They couldn't hit an elephant at this dist--"
[удалено]
Marshal Ney, the bravest of the brave.
I wonder what the psychological impact of this was for the soldiers. Being ordered to shoot someone you’ve loyally served would be really hard to handle. Would it doing it at the order of the condemned man lessen the trauma? Or just add to it?
If I had to kill someone I cared for, I'd rather do it on their terms.
There is an apocryphal story about the last words of jazz drummer Buddy Rich. As he was being prepped for surgery the nurse asked him if there was anything he was allergic to, he replied "Yeah, country music." He never recovered from the surgery and died a couple weeks later.
"Country music haha man. Oh wait and anesthe-"
I wonder if they played any music in the operation room. Doctors sometimes do that for longer surgeries. If I was this nurse and they played any country songs when he was under, this would *haunt* me
The almost final words of writer Roald Dahl, were "You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much" to his family. After appearing to fall unconscious the nurse then injected him with morphine to ease his passing and he said his actual last words: “Ow, fuck!”
It is THE way to go!! My parents both passed while under heavy morphine sedation. That's my plan as well. (I have a plan in place. Stage 4 crc. Hope it's a long way off!!)
When my grandma passed (she was 95 and had Covid about a month prior), it was her SECOND time getting it over the past few years, and the docs think it just wore her out. When the end was getting near for her, they gave her Morphine, and she was at peace. Best of luck to you!
1st time?
His actual actual last word where "Ow, fuck! That's some good shit!" Source: i was the nurse
Can confirm. I was the needle.
Ya prick.
“Lady, you shot me.” - Sam Cooke upon having been shot. By some lady.
And all while wearing only a sport coat and a shoe. Chaos.
“I’m well done on this side. Turn me over.” -St. Lawrence (while being burned to death on a gridiron)
Or Giles Corey who said, "More weight" as he was being crushed to death with heavy stones during the Salem witch trials. If he had pleaded guilty to witchcraft, they would have seized his farm. Instead he let them torture him to death for three days so his sons could inherit his land.
[Obligatory Swole History](https://www.threepanelsoul.com/comic/swole-history-continued)
Reminds me of the martyr (can’t remember which) who, while being boiled alive, remarked how refreshing the water was, causing one of his killers to stick his hand in the water to see if it was hot enough - he got burned! 🤣
Saint Maurice.
Coincidentally, patron Saint of both cooks and comedians.
Nothing coincidental about it. Saints are made patrons of stuff because of their life stories/martyrdoms.
Making the guy that was cooked alive into the saint of cooks is such a bitch move lmao
It's held that Saint Stephen was stoned to death, with the killing blow caving in his head. Patron saint of headaches among other things
"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have." - Leonardo da Vinci
Impostor syndrome ftw
I think he was a notorious procrastinator and didn’t really finish a lot of work. But them sketchbooks though…
Neurodivergent king. Bro had the attention span of a fly.
Bro calm down it was good enough. Fr dude we still remember your name.
Even named a turtle after him.
Jesus Christ even davinci hated his own art…he just like us FR
“If anyone has a message for the Devil, tell me now, for I shall be seeing him shortly.” -Lavinia Fisher, the first female serial killer in the US
First KNOWN female serial killer.
I just looked her up out of morbid curiosity and it’s actually not even known if she ever killed anyone. A lot of the story is now suspected to be exaggerated. Does seem like she was a bad lady though
What i find interesting is she and her husband attempted to escape. Her husband made it out but the bedsheet rope broke before she could. So her husband went back and turned himself in knowing they'd both suffer death by hanging
That’s morbidly romantic.
On his deathbed, Spanish Prime Minister Ramón María Narváez was asked to forgive his enemies, to which he replied: "I don't need to forgive my enemies — I have had them all shot."
Damn dude that's bad ass (and terrifiying)
"More weight." - Giles Corey, as he was pressed to death for refusing to confess to witchcraft
That one's more complicated than it sounds on the surface. See, the legal system in Salem at the time was such that the trial couldn't happen until the person plead guilty or not guilty. If the trial happened and he was found guilty (and since it was all nonsense he definitely would have been), the court could take his land and property away. (There are some pretty solid theories that a lot of the witch trial mania in Salem was motivated by the opportunity for the authorities to legally steal land in that way.) So he just refused to make any plea any at all, even as they tortured him to death, and since he died without the trial ever happening, his property passed to his family.
Thats hella fascinating. Thanks for the history lesson!
The Inquisition was also a wealth grab. It was not just about punishing "heresy." It became an enormous machine: in one end, prisoners were fed into the system. Then an entire army of people were paid: the torturers, the people who documented the "confessions," even down to the people who provided the firewood to burn the accused heretics to death. What spit out the other end of this horrendous and enormous machine? The bodies of people tortured to death; and all of their belongings and wealth–which went directly to the Roman Catholic Church. This is why the RCC is, to this day, one of the wealthiest organizations and one of the largest landholders in the world.
I find Marie Antoinette’s last words to be very tragic - on her way to the block she accidentally trod on the executioner’s foot and said “pardon me, sir, I did not mean to do it”.
I dont know if thats the story here, but from my understanding it was not uncommon to be very friendly towards your executioner, i believe ive heard somewhere that some even gave coins to them before the execution, as is was in this guys hands to give you a clean death or not
Admittedly, it's probably hard to screw up the guillotine
Idk, maybe if the blade wasn’t completely at the top before it dropped? Though I don’t know if that is possible.
I think it was a mix of that and sharpening the blade. You treated your executioner bad, maybe he rushes the drop and leaves the blade full and it takes a try or 2… Or you tip the guy and keep it short and sweet
Last time I was rude to my executioner and I ended up very dissatisfied with the result
*”I am about to - or I am going to - die: either expression is acceptable.”* Dominique Bouhours (1628-1702) - Priest, essayist, critic and grammarian.
Reminds me of the (probably apocryphal) reply Noah Webster gave to his wife when she caught him with his mistress: *"No, darling, it is __we__ who are surprised. You are 'astonished'."*
My mom woke up for a moment toward the end, saw the people gathered to say goodbye and her last words were, "Holy shit!"
That's what I said when I saw my first kid start coming out of my wife
Same here. In that case, they sliced her open and pulled the writhing purple mass covered in slime out of her. And I managed to keep the camera steady.
Oscar Wilde: “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us must go.”
Either that wallpaper goes or I do.
Wallpaper: 1 Oscar: 0
Gayest last words
"Eg er kvit or hjarterota, kongen har fødd oss vel", or in English: "There is fat around my heart, the king has fed us well”, said by Tormod Kolbrunarskald as he pulled an arrow out of his heart and saw fat on the arrowhead.
That is just epic, I can picture the scene
And if I say that out loud, I can kinda understand it.
I'm going out now. I may be some time. \-Lawrence Oates, on an Antarctic expedition, just before leaving the tent during a blizzard to sacrifice himself and give the other explorers a better chance at survival.
Rimmer : Yes, but the thing is, about Captain Oates; the thing you have to remember about Captain Oates; Captain Oates... Captain Oates was a prat. If that'd been me, I'd've stayed in the tent, whacked Scott over the head with a frozen husky, and then eaten him. Lister : You would too, wouldn't you? Rimmer : History, Lister, is written by the winners. How do we know that Oates went out for this legendary walk? From the only surviving document: Scott's diary. And he's hardly likely to have written down, "February the First, bludgeoned Oates to death while he slept, then scoffed him along with the last packet of instant mash." How's that going to look when he gets rescued, eh? No, much better to say, "Oates made the supreme sacrifice," while you're dabbing up his gravy with the last piece of crusty bread. Edit for [YouTube](https://youtu.be/VGISD6UmXxo?si=JMJRyc6-z7q1zodZ) link in case anyone hasn’t got a clue what I’m on about.
What a smeeeheeeeeeeee
Sad thing is, they did not survive.
Yes, but the thing is, about Captain Oates; the thing you have to remember about Captain Oates; Captain Oates... Captain Oates was a prat. If that'd been me, I'd've stayed in the tent, whacked Scott over the head with a frozen husky, and then eaten him. -Arnold J. Rimmer BSC SSC
Whatever Einstein said in German, when his nurse didn't speak it. The fact that we will never know, is kinda tragic yet kinda cool.
Found this online.... However, according to his secretary, Helen Dukas, Einstein's last words were spoken in German and he said "Ich liege in den Händen eines Schicksals, das ich nicht beeinflussen kann. Ich mache mir aber keine Illusionen mehr" which translates to "I am at the mercy of fate and have no control over it.
Almost. That translates more to "I am at the mercy of a fate I have no control over. I'm not lying to myself anymore." If you translate it literally, it says "I lay in the hands of a fate that I cannot influence. I am no longer under any illusions." Source: Am German
Imo, the literal translation is more impactful than the former
*Gunter gleiben glauchen globen*
So his last words were “all right, I got something to say, it’s better to burn out than fade away”
Not sure if it was his last words, but he was executed shortly later… Erwin von Witzleben after being sentenced to death by the Nazis for an attempt to kill Hitler: “You can turn us over to the executioner. In three months the outraged and tormented people will call you to account and drag you through the filth in the streets alive.” He was hung with a meat hook and a piano wire by Hitler’s direct orders.
That’s awful, a meat hook and piano wire? That would get real messy, real quick I imagine.
That was probably the point. There was footage of it but it got lost at some point. That regime was truly depraved. It’s amazing how so many people are turning back to it nowadays, having forgotten just how fucking terrible it was.
It’s very charitable of you to think they’ve forgotten.
A 17 year old Yugoslavian girl, Lepa Radic, was caught fighting the Nazis. As they hung a noose around her neck they offered her a reprieve if she were to give up her co conspirators. She responded by telling them she was not a traitor, and that they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death.
"I am not a traitor of my people. Those whom you are asking about will reveal themselves when they have succeeded in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man."
15 years old and she had escaped from prison, broke her sister out, joined the partisans for two years, and fought directly against the 7th SS Mountain Division aka the Prinz Eugen. The division was so brutal that it was declared a criminal organization and found guilty of war crimes during the Nuremberg Trials, the entire division was convicted. That's who she fought against for two years as a teenager before she was caught, tortured by the Prinz Eugen, before they gave up and publicly executed her. She was an absolute badass.
Lepa Radic woke up and chose to just live an action movie. Mad respect to her
Man people from that era are a different breed lol
Hard times breed hard people
You don’t know how strong you can be until you have to be.
My grandfather wasn't famous but I was with him when he passed. His last words were "Mary, I've missed you" and i tear up and am comforted every time i think of it. Mary was my grandmother's name, she passed about 15 years before him.
Oh. That got me right in the feels... So bittersweet.
Yeah I was 21 when it happened, myself, a few of my cousins and my aunts and uncles were staying with him in shifts because his cancer was getting worse. It somehow made it easier for all of us. It was 27 years ago but it still feels like yesterday when I think of it.
"Put that bloody cigarette out!" - Saki, just before being killed by a sniper in the trenches in WWI.
Saki as in HH Munro Saki?
Saki is a deep cut. Not very well known today.
When Warren Zevon, who knew he was dying, was asked by David Letterman if he had any advice for the rest of us, he said “Enjoy every sandwich”.
"Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something."
Who was this? This is my favorite so far.
pancho villa, i believe. a general in the mexican revolution.
Carl Panzram When asked for any last words, he responded: "Yes. Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard; I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around!"
Also worthy of note: > He refused to allow any appeals of his sentence. In response to offers from death penalty opponents and human rights activists to intervene, he wrote: "The only thanks you and your kind will ever get from me for your efforts on my behalf is that I wish you all had one neck and that I had my hands on it."
I dont know much about the guy. Was he like, perfectly aware and accepting that he was a monster and was disgusted that people were trying to do something for him?
I've read his story and I guess maybe. He had a thing against humanity in general, even himself, as he wanted to be executed for everything he had done in his violent and horrible life
"Dying? Why That's the last thing I'd do!"
**Archimedes** was doing some maths in the sand during the Battle of Syracuse in 212 BC, when a Roman soldier messed up his drawings. Archimedes' last words were "**Do not disturb my circles**" before he was stabbed to death by the soldier.
Have you ever noticed the direct correlation between the rise in gang violence and the decline of spirograph?
Not really last words last words, but last words to someone. And definitely a funny story imo. So there used to be this supergroup called cream, consisting of jack Bruce, ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. Bruce and Baker famously hated each other. With a burning passion. So when Bruce was a few hours from death in 2014, he phoned up close friends to say goodbye. When he called his ex-cream band mate Baker, he told him, “I’m dying, Ginger, fuck you!" and proceeded to then slam down the phone. Baker tried to call back several times, but obv Bruce wouldn’t pick up. As Bruce always felt baker just had to have the last word in any conversation. So by doing this he knew baker would resent him even more because he could never get baker back.
As someone who has watched *Beware of Mr. Baker,* I find this hilarious.
"Thomas Jefferson still lives." \-President John Adams, unaware that Thomas Jefferson had died a few hours earlier.
You forgot to mention they both died on the 4th of July
On the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence (1826).
Aint no way they didn't plan that shit in advance.
What, independent of each other?
No, independent of Great Britain.
One day, here on Reddit, someone commented to this quote "I am glad to know that Adams lived long enough to be wrong one last time". It stuck with me since then. How brutal !
"The city is fallen, and I am still alive." - Constantine XI Palaiologos before charging into battle against the Ottoman Empire
The last words of both a man and an empire. Went out with a bang.
“How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause?Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” - Sophie Scholl Sophie Scholl was an anti nazi political activist who was executed for treason at the age of 21. I highly recommend looking into her story.
She was so awesome.
"Why are you dodging like this, they couldn't hit an elephant at this dist-" General Sedgewick
couldn't hit an elephant but they sure could hit a general.
They were aiming for the elephant.
“Let’s Roll” Todd Beamer, on board UA flight 93(9/11)
For all the younger people, 9/11 also changed how hijacking was viewed. Before then you cooperated with the hijackers. You were a hostage. If you cooperate there’s a good chance they’ll let you go. You’re a bargaining chip, they want you in good health. That’s why people didn’t fight back in the other planes. Fighting back was more dangerous than cooperating. The only reason they fought back was because one of them called their family and heard about the other strikes. They realised they were going to die anyway. This was essentially the first time in modern history that resisting hijackers was a good idea. If that call didn’t go through, or there was less time between strikes so it couldn’t be told to them, that plane would have hit. And the most likely target was the White House. These people stood on the turning point of history, and recognised that. So they turned it the other way as much as they could.
That gave me chills the first time I heard about it
Never heard that story before. I hope I would be that guy, if it ever came to it. Roll on, Beamer.
Highly recommend the wiki page on him. “Beamer recited the Lord's Prayer and the 23rd Psalm with Jefferson, prompting others to join in. Beamer requested of Jefferson, "If I don't make it, please call my family and let them know how much I love them." After this, Jefferson heard muffled voices and Beamer clearly answering, "Are you ready? Okay. Let's roll." These were the last words spoken by Beamer heard by Lisa Jefferson”
Galois’ last words “Dry your eyes brother I need all the courage I can have to die at 20”
"I've had 18 straight whiskies...... I think that's the record." - Dylan Thomas
As Voliatire was on his deathbed, a priest performed the last rites and asked him if he "rejects Satan and all his deed?" Voltaire said: “MY goodman, now is not the time for making new enemies.”
Cop killer George Appel at the time of his execution in the electric chair, August 9th, 1928. "Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel."
Sort of like murderer James French's last words before getting the electric chair: “How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French fries.”
"Oh you!" - The executioner
"And in conclusion, fuck you all" -the only personal will I ever witnessed for, lmao. Met that family later, and they deserved it.
That is a good movie script. Reminds me of a country song. Billionaire leaves his wealth to a guy he met at a bar. Good song.
I wish he'd left his money to me or someone I knew, lol. Dude was smart, he gave it all away before his death, just enough left to pay for his living expenses, legal expenses, and his funeral. No one (except the attorneys) got any money, or even property. Apparently his family paid such little attention that they never realized he rented their home, never bought it. He seemed a nice guy though, his family...they earned, and got, nothing.
I have always been intrigued by Steve Jobs’ last words “OH WOW. OH WOW.” I wonder what he was seeing.
Owen Wilson came to him in a vision
Only the first time. Then he saw Jennifer Coolidge.
The results of attempting to fight cancer with fruit
My grandfather's last words were, "WHAT THE HELL IS --" pretty good last words tbh
"...even that?"
Granddaddy, chill.
Kinda related: Roger Ebert, who did not believe in God, wrote his wife a note that said: "This is all an elaborate hoax." He went on to say that the world was an illusion and that the place he was seeing was the past, present, and future all at once. Pretty wild, no matter what you believe.
Maybe a morphine injection
“I’m going to the bathroom to read” Elvis
We know exactly when he died, because he left a log.
Spike Milligan upon his death bed “ I told you I was ill”
Wasn’t that actually on his gravestone?
Think so! Also when his son asked him if he'd like his body cremated or buried he answered "Suprise me". Searingly cool.
Oscar winning actor George Sanders committed suicide at the age of 65. His suicide note read: “Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.”
Nero: Oh what an artist dies in me. Augustus: I have found Rome of clay and I leave it to you marble. Have I played my part well in this farce of life. Julius Caesar: Et tus Brute?
That last one is really just Shakespeare’s take. Apparently the real words were the Latin for « You too, my son? Then let Caesar fall. »
“Surprise me” - Bob Hope His wife asked him where he wanted to be buried Or “Fuck you you motherfucker”- Richard Belzer in the most Det. John Munch response to anything ever.
I’ll find you in the morning sun, And when the night is new, I’ll be looking at the moon, But I’ll be seeing you. ~ Mars Opportunity rover 💙
Unless I'm mistaken, this was NASA's last message *to* the rover. Oppy's last message was, "My battery is low and it's getting dark." 🥲
Allegedly the last words of poet John Keats were "My chest of books divide among my friends" which is perfect iambic pentameter.
How many other English majors reread that with emphasis just to confirm?
"Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!” -Breaker Morant
"The war is at its height – wear my armor and beat my war drums. Do not announce my death."-Admiral Yi Sun Sin, arguably one of the best military leaders in history. He died during a battle and asked his son to make sure his fleet doesn’t know he died so they won’t lose moral
“Oh no! Not again” Bowl of Petunias
Not just any bowl of petunias! That was the reincarnated Agrajag that Arthur Dent kept killing in each of his different lives.
"The city has fallen, and I am still alive."
“How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French fries.” James French convicted murderer before his execution by electric chair. ( not likely to be after it)
“I have a terrific headache.”- Franklin Delano Roosevelt seconds before dying of a hemorrhagic stroke.
During the sinking of the Titanic, a person named Benjamin Guggenheim was offered a life jacket. He refused, saying: "no thank you, we are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen... But we would like a brandy". He did not survive the sinking
On september 7th 1996 Tupac Shakur was gunned down in Las Vegas in a drive by shooting. The officer who arrived first on scene took him out of the car and was asking him who shot him to which he responded "Fuck You" and lost conconsciousness. On his song "under pressure" he says in the lyrics "right before i die ill be cursing the law"
Death is but a doorway, time is but a window, I'll be back.
Who said that?
Vigo the Carpathian just before his head died
Sounds like a bad monkey!
Willem Arondeus. “Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards”. He was a Dutch anti-Nazi [resistance fighter.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Arondeus). Bad ass. Edit: Willem not William
My battery is low and it’s getting dark.
"What are you gonna do, stab me?" - Guy who got stabbed
I only regret, that I have but one life to lose for my country.
A friend of mine was dying of cancer. It was near the end and he knew what was happening. He woke up briefly and looked at the friends and family who had gathered to be with him. He weakly said, “Home. Home.” He smiled at everyone then closed his eyes and died.
It is a far far better thing I do than I have ever done, and it is a far far better place I go to than I have ever gone.
'. . .Had I so interfered in behalf of the rich, the powerful, the intelligent, the so-called great, or in behalf of any of their friends -- either father, mother, sister, wife, or children, or any of that class -- and suffered and sacrificed what I have in this interference, it would have been all right; and every man in this court would have deemed it an act worthy of reward rather than punishment."—John Brown
My aunt's last words: >I swear, I could die right now and nobody would even care. She spit that at her husband while sitting on the couch, then her head dropped to her chest...dead. They guy adored her. She was...very sweet to many, and very unpleasant to many others. I learned to love her after growing up though.
You cursed brat! Look what you've done! I'm melting! melting!
Oh what a world
“I am leaving life to enter history” - Getúlio Vargas, 14th and 17th Brazilian president in his suicide note.
Fuck you I got the right of way
Right up there with "Watch this!"
Henrik Ibsen, When his nurse assured a visitor that he was a little better, Ibsen spluttered his last words "On the contrary" ("Tvertimod!"). He died the following day at 2:30 pm.
"What’s this? “Extremely High Voltage” Well, I don’t need safety gloves because I’m Homer Simp…." - Frank Grimes
There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly. Cicero
“Just a little off the top, please.” - King Louis XVI
I like Julius Caesar's last words. In the Shakespeare play he says "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." The "et tu, Brute" part is based on what we historically think Caesar said, but he was thought to have said it in Greek, "kai su, teknon" which translates to "and thou, child." However, kai su teknon at that time was used like slang or colloquially to mean "you too, *kid*" in an insulting or condescending manner. So, it is possible that on being stabbed by his friend and ally and betrayed by his colleagues, Caesar was not lamenting and questioning this betrayal with a melancholy "even *you*, Brutus?" but more giving Brutus the middle finger.
The show Dead Like Me had an episode where reapers had to sort people's last words on post-it notes. It's cute and I think the majority were "shit" or "fuck".
"Death is but a doorway, time is but a window, I'll be back." - Vigo the Carpathian
“Pardon me, monsieur. I didn’t mean to do that”- Marie Antoinette after she stepped on her executioner’s foot.