List of last words (18th century)

Last updated

Contents

Marie Antoinette's most commonly reported last words were addressed to her executioner. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, kneeling before the guill Wellcome L0019312.jpg
Marie Antoinette's most commonly reported last words were addressed to her executioner.

1701–1709

"I wish I could enjoy / the rest of Spring / as the cherry blossoms are yet in bloom / in spite of the spring breeze / which is attempting to blow off all their petals." [4]
(「風さそう花よりも / なお我はまた / 春の名残を / いかにとやせん」)
Asano Naganori, daimyō of the Akō Domain in Japan (21 April 1701); death poem for his seppuku
"Grateful — in peace!" [5] :89
James II of England (16 September 1701), in reply to Louis XIV telling him that he would acknowledge James' son, James Francis Edward Stuart, as King of England, Scotland and Ireland
"Can this last long?" [1] :18 [5] :184 [6]
William III of England (8 March 1702), dying of pneumonia after breaking his collarbone, to his physician
"I am about to—or I am going to—die; either expression is correct." [7] [8] :198
("Je vais ou je vas mourir, l'un et l'autre se dit ou se disent.")
Dominique Bouhours, French priest and grammarian (27 May 1702)
"With all my heart: I would fain be reconciled to my stomach, which no longer performs its usual functions." [5] :57
Charles de Saint-Évremond, French soldier, author and hedonist (29 September 1703), when a clergyman asked if he would be reconciled
"Thy will be done." [1] :95 [lower-alpha 1]
("Fiat voluntas tua.")
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet, French bishop and theologian (12 April 1704)
"...in perfect charity with all men and in sincere communion with the whole church of Christ, by whatever name Christ's followers call themselves." [1] :87–88 [lower-alpha 2]
John Locke, English philosopher and physician (28 October 1704) [lower-alpha 3]
"Let me die to the sound of sweet music." [6]
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (5 May 1705)
"It is all the same in the end." [5] :124–125
Titus Oates, English priest and perjurer, fabricator of the "Popish Plot" (12/13 July 1705)
"Wherever I look I see nothing but the Divinity.—I have committed numerous crimes and I know not with what punishments I may be seized.—The agonies of death come upon me fast.—I am going. Whatever good or evil I have done, it was for you. No one has seen the departure of his own soul; but I know that mine is departing." [4]
Aurangzeb, seventh Mughal emperor (3 March 1707), in a letter to his youngest son, Muhammad Kam Bakhsh
"Dear Bob, I have nothing to leave thee to perpetuate my memory but two helpless girls. Look upon them sometimes, and think of him who was to the last moment of his life thine, George Farquhar." [1] :79
George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (29 April 1707), to his friend Robert Wilks
"I wish to die sitting, in tribute to the most worshipful will of my good and precious Jesus." [4]
Marcello d'Aste, Italian Roman Catholic cardinal (11 June 1709)

1710–1719

"Do you wish to hasten my last hour?" [8] :197 [lower-alpha 4]
Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (13 March 1711), to a playwright who asked him to read his new play
"God's will be done." [6]
Thomas Ken, English bishop (19 March 1711)
"Pray, pray!" [5] :72–73
Thomas Halyburton, Scottish divine (23 September 1712)
"If you have baked me so you also should eat me!" [10] [lower-alpha 5]
Juraj Jánošík, Slovak highwayman known as "the Slovak Robin Hood" (17 March 1713), refusing to name fellow robbers prior to jumping onto the hook on which he was to be hung
"A life spent in the service of God, and communion with Him, is the most comfortable and pleasant life that any one can live in this present world." [5] :78
Matthew Henry, British Nonconformist minister and author (22 June 1714)
"Use it for the good of my people." [4] [lower-alpha 6]
Anne, Queen of Great Britain (1 August 1714), handing the Lord High Treasurer's staff of office to Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury
"Not my will, but thine be done." [1] :73
François Fénelon, French Roman Catholic archbishop, theologian and writer (7 January 1715), quoting Jesus
"I'm going, but the State will always remain." [12] [lower-alpha 7]
("Je m'en vais, mais l'État demeurera toujours.")
Louis XIV, king of France (1 September 1715)
"Promise me you will never again marry an old man." [5] :187
William Wycherley, English dramatist (1 January 1716), to his wife. He had married a much younger woman less than twelve days before his death.
"Had I known—" [13]
("Ankah me nim ah...")
Osei Kofi Tutu I, one of the founders of the Ashanti Empire (c.1717), shot to death during war against the Akyem
"To be like Christ is to be a Christian." [14] :52
William Penn, English writer and religious thinker, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania (30 July 1718)
Charles XII of Sweden, his body here pictured on its journey to Stockholm, was shot dead while inspecting his army's trenches. Gustaf Cederstrom - Bringing Home the Body of King Karl XII of Sweden - Google Art Project.jpg
Charles XII of Sweden, his body here pictured on its journey to Stockholm, was shot dead while inspecting his army's trenches.
"I am coming down now."
("Jag går ned nu.") [15]
Charles XII, King of Sweden (30 November 1718) when stepping down from his perch into an entrenchment just as he was shot in the head
"See in what peace a Christian can die." [4] [5] :2 [6] [14] :33 [16] [17] [lower-alpha 8]
Joseph Addison, English writer and politician (17 June 1719), to his stepson, Edward Rich, 7th Earl of Warwick
"God be thanked, I have had a very good night." [5] :151
George Smalridge, Bishop of Bristol (27 September 1719)

1720–1729

"Be fruitful." [5] :109
Increase Mather, New England Puritan clergyman, president of Harvard College (23 August 1723)
"I have ever cherished an honest pride; never have I stooped to friendship with Jonathan Wild, or with any of his detestable thief-takers; and though an undutiful son, I never damned my mother's eyes." [5] :149–150
Jack Sheppard, English thief and prison escapee (16 November 1724), prior to execution by hanging
"Lord Jesus, receive my soul!" [5] :183
Jonathan Wild, London organized crime figure (24 May 1725), prior to execution by hanging [lower-alpha 9]
"I don’t know what I may seem to the world. But as to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore and diverting myself now and then in finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than the ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me." [4] [18]
Isaac Newton, English physicist (31 March [ O.S. 20 March] 1727)
"Yes." [5] :59
August Hermann Francke, German Lutheran clergyman and theologian (8 June 1727), when his wife asked if his Savior was still with him
"Is this dying? Is this all? Is this all that I feared when I prayed against a hard death? Oh! I can bear this! [5] :109 [19] I can bear it! I can bear it! I am going where all tears will be wiped from my eyes." [5] :109
Cotton Mather, New England Puritan minister and author (13 February 1728). His wife wiped his eyes with her handkerchief as he said the last words, alluding to Revelation 21:4. [20]
"I have always endeavored, to the best of my ability, to serve God, my king and my country. I go to the place God has designed for those who love him." [5] :37 [lower-alpha 10]
Anthony Collins, English philosopher and deist (13 December 1729)

1730–1739

"Ain't they darlin'?" [21]
Sally Basset, enslaved woman from Bermuda (6 or 21 June 1730), looking at the logs prepared to fuel her burning at the stake for poisoning
"This is a struggle which all men must go through, and which I bear not only with patience, but with willingness." [5] :186
Thomas Woolston, English theologian (27 January 1733), dying while imprisoned for blasphemy
"O God—if there be a God—I desire Thee to have mercy on me." [5] :169
Matthew Tindal, English deist author (16 August 1733)
"One hundred and forty-four." [5] :42 [18] [22]
Thomas Fantet de Lagny, French mathematician (11 April 1734), responding to the question “What is the square of 12?” on his deathbed
"Now all is over—let the piper play 'Ha til mi tulidh' [we return no more]." [5] :139–140
Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish outlaw and folk hero (28 December 1734) [lower-alpha 11]
"What Cato did, and Addison approved, cannot be wrong." [1] :74 [23]
Eustace Budgell, English writer and politician (4 May 1737); his suicide note, written before drowning himself in the Thames. Joseph Addison was Budgell's cousin.
"It would be hard indeed if we two dear friends should part after so many years, without one sweet kiss." [5] :125
Turlough O'Carolan, Irish Celtic harper, composer and singer (25 March 1738), to a bowl of wine he was no longer able to drink

1740–1749

"No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on." [24] [lower-alpha 12]
Frederick William I of Prussia, King in Prussia and Elector of Brandenburg (31 May 1740), in response to priest or family members quoting Job 1:21 [25]
"Oh Lord! Forgive the errata!" [5] :20 [8] :198 [14] :18
Andrew Bradford, American newspaper printer and publisher (24 November 1742) [lower-alpha 13]
"I have something to say to you, sir... 'Tis gone." [1] :76
Richard Savage, English poet (1 August 1743), unable to remember what he wanted to say to his keeper at Bristol Newgate Prison. The keeper found Savage dead the next morning.
"I am dying, sir, of a hundred good symptoms." [5] :131 [9] [14] :21 [lower-alpha 14]
Alexander Pope, English poet (30 May 1744)
"You are fighting for an earthly crown; I am going to receive a heavenly one." [5] :63 [lower-alpha 15]
James Gardiner, British Army officer (21 September 1745), to a Jacobite officer after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Prestonpans
"Ah! A German and a genius! A prodigy—admit him!" [14] :33 [26]
Jonathan Swift, Anglo-Irish author and cleric (19 October 1745), referring to George Frideric Handel, who had come to visit him
" Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." [1] :40 [27] [lower-alpha 16]
Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat (9 April 1747), quoting a line of Horace when executed by beheading as a Jacobite rebel
"Thou dog!" [5] :121
Nader Shah, Shah of Iran (Persia) (19 June 1747), to one of his assassins
"Lord, now let thy servant depart in peace." [5] :21
David Brainerd, American missionary to the Native Americans (9 October 1747), quoting Luke 2:29 [28]
"Waiting God's leave to die." [1] :92 [lower-alpha 17]
Isaac Watts, English Christian minister, hymn writer and theologian (25 November 1748)

1750–1759

"Don't cry for me, for I go where music is born." [30]
Johann Sebastian Bach, German composer (28 July 1750)
"God, who pleased me here, will do what he pleases with me hereafter, and he knows best what to do. May he bless you." [5] :19
Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke, English politician (12 December 1751), to Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield. Bolingbroke also reaffirmed his Deist convictions. [5] :19
"For the sake of decency, gentlemen, don't hang me high." [31]
Mary Blandy, English convicted murderer (6 April 1752), prior to execution by hanging
"I have often read and thought of that scripture, but never till this moment did I feel its full power, and now I die happy." [5] :27
Joseph Butler, English Anglican bishop and theologian (16 June 1752), referring to John 6:37 [32]
"Christ Jesus the Saviour of sinners and life of the dead. I am going, going to Glory! Farewell sin! Farewell death! Praise the Lord!" [5] :124
Richard Newton, English educator and clergyman (21 April 1753)
"I do not suffer, my friends; I only feel a certain difficulty of living." [1] :71
Bernard Le Bovier de Fontenelle, French author (9 January 1757), dying at the age of 99
"O death, why art thou so long in coming?" [5] :41
Robert-François Damiens, French domestic servant, attempted assassin of Louis XV (28 March 1757), during execution by dismemberment
"Let all brave Prussians follow me!" [33] [34]
Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian Generalfeldmarschall (6 May 1757), just before being fatally struck by enemy fire at the Battle of Prague (1757)
"Trust in God and you need not fear." [5] :51 [6] [lower-alpha 18]
Jonathan Edwards, American revivalist preacher and theologian (22 March 1758), when someone lamented what his loss would mean to the church and to the College of New Jersey
" Sic transit gloria mundi." [4]
Pope Benedict XIV (3 May 1758)
"Peace." [5] :178
William Webster, British priest in the Church of England and theological writer (4 December 1758)
"Precious salvation!" [5] :80
James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (25 December 1758)
"No." [4]
Eugene Aram, English philologist and murderer (16 August 1759), when asked if he had anything to say before hanging
The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West. Benjamin West 005.jpg
The Death of General Wolfe by Benjamin West.
"Go, one of you, to Colonel Burton; tell him to march Webb's regiment down to Charles River, to cut off their retreat from the bridge. Now, God be praised, I will die in peace!" [35] [lower-alpha 19]
James Wolfe, British Army general (13 September 1759), mortally wounded at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, on learning that the French forces were fleeing
"So much the better. I am happy that I shall not live to see the surrender of Quebec. [1] :116 [5] :115 [37] I have much business that must be attended to of greater moment than your ruined garrison and this wretched country." [37]
Louis-Joseph de Montcalm, French general (14 September 1759), on being told the wound he had received at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham was mortal

1760–1769

"Now, my dear son, I am going to the Saviour. I am ready; I am quite resigned to the will of my Lord. If He is no longer willing to make use of me here I am quite ready to go to Him, for there is nothing more in my way." [5] :189
Nicolaus Zinzendorf, German religious and social reformer and bishop of the Moravian Church (9 May 1760), to his son-in-law
"It has all been most interesting." [19] [38]
Mary Wortley Montagu, English traveler (21 August 1762)
"Wait a second." [39] [lower-alpha 20]
Madame de Pompadour, chief mistress of Louis XV of France (15 April 1764), applying rouge to her cheeks before her death
"What the devil do you mean to sing to me, priest? You are out of tune." [14] :39 [18] [30]
Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer (12 September 1764), to his confessor
"It is a great consolation to me, in my last hour, that I have never wilfully offended anyone, and that [5] :62 there is not a drop of blood on my hands." [1] :21 [5] :62 [6]
Frederick V of Denmark (14 January 1766)
"I could wish this tragic scene were over, but I hope to go through it with becoming dignity." [5] :133 [8] :196
James Quin (21 January 1766), English actor
"I did not think that they would put a young gentleman to death for such a trifle." [5] :8–9
François-Jean de la Barre, French nobleman (1 July 1766), prior to execution by beheading for blasphemy and sacrilege
"Now it has come." [14] :21
Laurence Sterne, Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric (18 March 1768)
"Now, God be praised, only one hour!" [5] :65
Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, German poet (13 December 1769), on being told he had only an hour to live

1770–1779

"I am dying." [1] :173 [5] :180
George Whitefield, Anglican cleric and evangelist (30 September 1770), to a servant
"The priest could never draw another thing from dying but 'Dear Sir, you are so kind.'" [4]
("Le prêtre ne put jamais tirer autre chose du mourant que: 'Monsieur, vous avez bien de la bonté.'")
Louis Petit de Bachaumont, French writer (29 April 1771)
"Molly, I shall die!" [5] :68 [9]
Thomas Gray, English poet (30 July 1771)
"He has indeed been a precious Christ to me; and now I feel him to be my rock, my strength, my rest, my hope, my joy, my all in all." [5] :141
Thomas Rutherforth, English churchman and academic (5 October 1771)
"What o'clock is it?" [6] (On being told) "It is well; I [5] :161 thank you; God bless you." [5] :161 [6]
Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish theologian, scientist, philosopher and mystic (29 March 1772)
"Give Dayrolles a chair." [5] :36 [6] [26] [40]
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield, British statesman and diplomat (24 March 1773), asking a servant to seat his godson, Solomon Dayrolles
"No, it is not." [1] :70 [5] :67 [6] [14] :24 [26]
Oliver Goldsmith, Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright and poet (4 April 1774), in response to his physician asking if his mind was at ease
The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 by John Trumbull. The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill.jpg
The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 by John Trumbull.
"I am a dead man: fight on, my brave fellows, for the salvation of your country." [41]
Joseph Warren, American physician and Patriot (17 June 1775), mortally wounded at the Battle of Bunker Hill
"What news from Boston?" [41]
Richard Montgomery, Irish soldier, major general in the Continental Army (31 December 1775), killed at the Battle of Quebec (1775)
"Young man, you have heard, no doubt, how great are the terrors of death. This night will probably afford you some experience; but you may learn, and may you profit by the example, that a conscientious endeavor to perform his duty through life will ever close a Christian's eyes with comfort and tranquility!" [4] [5] :9 [lower-alpha 21]
William Battie, English psychiatrist (13 June 1776), to his caretaker
"I am very ill. Send for Zimmermann. In fact, I think I'll die today." [14] :20
Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty, German poet (1 September 1776)
Last Words of Nathan Hale by Alexander Hay Ritchie. Last Words of Nathan Hale by Alexander Hay Ritchie.jpeg
Last Words of Nathan Hale by Alexander Hay Ritchie.
"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country." [5] :72 [42] [lower-alpha 22]
Nathan Hale, American soldier and spy (22 September 1776), before being hanged by the British for his involvement in the American Revolutionary War
"Come to me." [5] :48
William Dodd, English Anglican clergyman and man of letters (27 June 1777), to his executioner prior to hanging for forgery. He then whispered something unknown to the executioner.
"My friend, [43] the artery ceases to beat." [5] :72 [43] [lower-alpha 23]
Albrecht von Haller, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (12 December 1777), to his friend Dr. Rosselet
"Bring me a chair; carry me forward; and there the surgeon will dress my wound." [1] :61
Nicholas Biddle, Continental Navy captain (7 March 1778), wounded in battle between USS Randolph and HMS Yarmouth. While the surgeon was treating Biddle, the Randolph exploded, killing all but four crewmembers.
"Now is not the time for making new enemies." [44] [lower-alpha 24]
Voltaire, French writer (30 May 1778), when asked by a priest to renounce Satan before his death
"Throw up the window that I may see once more the magnificent scene of nature." [5] :141
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Genevan philosopher, writer and composer (2 July 1778)
"No mortal man can live after the glories which God has manifested to my soul." [5] :169–170
Augustus Toplady, Anglican cleric and hymn writer, author of "Rock of Ages" (11 August 1778)
"I know that my Redeemer liveth." [5] :158
Anne Steele, English Baptist hymn writer and essayist (11 November 1778), quoting Job 19:25 [46]
"Oh, dear!" [6] [lower-alpha 25]
David Garrick, English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer (20 January 1779)
Death of James Cook in battle with Hawaiians. John Cleveley the Younger, The Death of Cook (1784).jpg
Death of James Cook in battle with Hawaiians.
"Take me to the boats." [16]
James Cook, British explorer and Royal Navy captain (14 February 1779), after being mortally wounded by a native Hawaiian
"Never fear; if you will but have patience I don't doubt we shall get through; but take care how you ever get in such a scrape again." [4]
Sir Francis Bernard, 1st Baronet, British colonial administrator (16 June 1779), dying after epileptic seizure

1780–1789

"I thank you, sir, for your generous sympathy, but I die the death I always prayed for, the death of a soldier fighting for the rights of man." [47]
— Baron Johann de Kalb, officer in the American War of Independence (16 August 1780), speaking to a British officer after being mortally wounded and captured at the Battle of Camden
"I pray you to bear me witness that I meet my fate like a brave man. [4] [48] It will be but a momentary pang." [1] :66 [4] [lower-alpha 26]
John André, British Army officer (2 October 1780), prior to being hanged as a spy by the Continental Army
"No, but comfortable enough to die." [19] [lower-alpha 27]
Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Croatia (29 November 1780), when her son said, "Your Majesty cannot be comfortable like that"
"I did, sir, but you do now." [49] [50]
William Ledyard, American soldier, lieutenant colonel in the Connecticut militia (6 September 1781), surrendering Fort Griswold during the Battle of Groton Heights. The British officer to whom Ledyard gave his sword in surrender immediately killed him with it.
"We will endeavor to crawl to this line; we will completely wet the powder with our blood: thus will we, with the life that remains in us, save the fort and the magazine, and perhaps a few of our comrades who are only wounded!" [5] :82–83
— William Hotman, American soldier (6 September 1781), wounded at the Battle of Groton Heights, explaining to a friend how he would prevent the British from igniting a line of powder from the magazine of Fort Griswold [lower-alpha 28]
"I die but will return tomorrow as thousand thousands" [51]
("Nayawa jiwtxa nayjarusti waranqa waranqanakawa kutanipxa.")
Túpac Katari, Aymara revolutionary (15 April 1781), prior to his execution by quartering.
"I offer to Thee, O Lord, Thy own Son, who already has given the pledge of love, inclosed in this thin emblem; turn on Him thine eyes; oh! behold whom I offer to Thee and then desist, O Lord! if thou canst desist from mercy." [5] :112
("T'offro il tuo proprio Figlio, / Che già d'amore in pegno, / Racchiuso in picciol segno / Si volle a noi donar. / A lui rivolgi il ciglio. / Guardo chi t'offro, e poi / Lasci, Signor, se vuoi, / Lascia di perdonar.")
Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and librettist (12 April 1782), after receiving Viaticum.
"Pray [to] God for me!"
("Bed Gud för mig!") [52]
Louise Ulrica, Queen of Sweden (16 July 1782)
"Charge!" [41]
John Laurens, American soldier, statesman and abolitionist (27 August 1782), prior to death at the Battle of the Combahee River
"Stand by me, my brave grenadiers." [41] [53]
Charles Lee, Continental Army general (2 October 1782), dying of fever in a Philadelphia tavern
"If I had strength to hold a pen, I would write down how easy and pleasant a thing it is to die." [5] :87 [6]
William Hunter, Scottish anatomist and physician (30 March 1783)
"I die." [24] [54]
Leonhard Euler, Swiss mathematician and scientist (18 September 1783)
"We have lived long, in love and peace." [4]
Anthony Benezet, French-American abolitionist and educator (3 May 1784), to his wife
"The first step towards philosophy is incredulity." [1] :93 [6] [lower-alpha 29]
Denis Diderot, French philosopher (31 July 1784)
"God bless you, my dear." [1] :79 [5] :92 [6] [9] [14] :28 [lower-alpha 30]
Samuel Johnson, English writer (13 December 1784), to Miss Morris, a young woman
"I am tired of ruling over slaves." [8] :195 [55] [lower-alpha 31]
("Ich bin es müde, über Sklaven zu herrschen.")
Frederick the Great, king of Prussia (17 August 1786)
"Je craîndrais de ne pas mépriser assez la vie — some dreams of humanity qui me déchirent plutôt qu'ils me consolent..." [56] [lower-alpha 32]
José Anastácio da Cunha, Portuguese mathematician and poet (1 January 1787), recorded by Domingos de Sousa Coutinho
"My Christ." [5] :22
John Brown of Haddington, Scottish minister and author (19 June 1787)
"If you wait a little, I shall be able to tell you from personal experience." [14] :39
Christoph Willibald Gluck, composer of Italian and French opera (15 November 1787), when asked whether a tenor or a bass should sing the role of Christ in The Last Judgement
"I shall be satisfied with Thy likeness— satisfied, satisfied!" [57]
Charles Wesley, English Methodist leader and hymn writer (29 March 1788)
"We are all going to Heaven, and van Dyke is of the company." [5] :63 [6] [16]
Thomas Gainsborough, English painter (2 August 1788)
"I will lie down on the couch; I can sleep, and after that I shall be entirely recovered." [5] :36
Elizabeth Pierrepont, Duchess of Kingston-upon-Hull, English noble and courtier (26 August 1788)
"Waiting, are they? Waiting, are they? Well, God damn 'em, let 'em wait!" [4] [16] [17] [41]
Ethan Allen, American patriot and militia general (12 February 1789), on being told the angels were waiting for him

1790–1800

Memorial to John Howard in Kherson. John Govard memorial in Kherson-11102010(019).jpg
Memorial to John Howard in Kherson.
"Suffer no pomp at my funeral, nor monumental inscription where I am laid. Lay me quietly in the earth and put a sun-dial over my grave, and let me be forgotten." [5] :84 [lower-alpha 33]
John Howard, English philanthropist and prison reformer (20 January 1790), dying of typhus contracted on a prison visit in Kherson
"I wish I had the power of writing, for then I would describe to you how pleasant a thing it is to die." [5] :40
William Cullen, Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist (5 February 1790)
"I see that you have made three spelling mistakes." [24] [26]
Thomas de Mahy, Marquis de Favras (19 February 1790), upon reading his death warrant
"Let my epitaph be, 'Here lies Joseph, who was unsuccessful in all his undertakings.'" [5] :92 [8] :197
Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor (20 February 1790)
"I will tell them for ever that Jesus is precious." [4]
Joseph Bellamy, American Congregationalist pastor, author, educator and theologian (6 March 1790), when asked what he would do in Hell if God sent him there
"A dying man can do nothing easy." [4] [5] :59 [6] [16] [18] [29] [41] [54] [58]
Benjamin Franklin, American statesman and scientist (17 April 1790), complaining about the difficulty of assuming a more comfortable position on his deathbed
"I believe we shall adjourn this meeting to another place." [58]
Adam Smith, Scottish economist (17 July 1790)
"I desire to be dissected for the benefit of my fellow men." [4]
("Ich will seciret sein zum Besten meiner Mitmenschen.")
Johann Bernhard Basedow, German educational reformer, teacher and writer (25 July 1790)
"The best of all is, God is with us." [5] :179 [6] [57]
John Wesley, English cleric and theologian, founder of Methodism (2 March 1791)
"Let me die to the sound of delicious music." [1] :36 [lower-alpha 34]
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau (2 April 1791)
"My work is done; I have nothing to do but to go to my Father." [5] :87
Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon, English religious leader (17 June 1791)
"The taste of death is upon my lips... I feel something, that is not of this earth." [3] [30] [lower-alpha 35]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (5 December 1791)
"I have been fortunate in long good health and constant success, and I ought not to complain. I know that all things on earth must have an end, and now I am come to mine." [1] :94 [5] :137
Joshua Reynolds, English painter (23 February 1792)
The costume Gustav III wore to the masquerade ball. Gustav IIIs maskeraddrakt - Livrustkammaren - 24373.tif
The costume Gustav III wore to the masquerade ball.
"I feel sleepy, and a moment of rest would do me good."
("Jag känner mig sömnig, och ett ögonblicks vila skulle göra mig gott.") [59]
Gustav III, King of Sweden (29 March 1792) 13 days after being shot in the back at a masquerade
"Fi horreur!" [60] [lower-alpha 36]
(Roughly "To hell with fear!").
Marie Thérèse Louise of Savoy, Princesse de Lamballe, confidante of Marie Antoinette (3 September 1792), upon seeing bloody corpses in the courtyard where she was then murdered
"I am cold." [61]
("J'ai froid.")
Louis-Michel le Peletier, marquis de Saint-Fargeau, French politician (20 January 1793), assassinated because he voted in favor of Louis XVI's execution the following day
"Frenchmen, I die guiltless of the crimes imputed to me. Pray God my blood fall not on France!" [6] [lower-alpha 37]
("Messieurs, je suis innocent de tout ce dont on m'inculpe. Je souhaite que mon sang que vous allez répandre ne retombe jamais sur la France.")
Louis XVI, king of France (21 January 1793), speaking to his executioners prior to his execution by guillotine
"Help! help me, my dear!" [6] [62]
("Aidez-moi, ma chère amie!")
Jean-Paul Marat (13 July 1793), to his wife, after being stabbed by Charlotte Corday
"One man have I slain to save a hundred thousand." [6] [lower-alpha 38]
Charlotte Corday (17 July 1793), prior to execution by guillotine
"I shall look forward to a pleasant time." [41]
John Hancock, American merchant, statesman and Patriot (8 October 1793)
"Pardon me, sir. [1] :11 [2] [18] [3] I did not do it on purpose." [1] :11 [2] [3] [lower-alpha 39]
("Pardonnez-moi, monsieur. Je ne l'ai pas fait exprès.")
Marie Antoinette, queen of France (16 October 1793), apologizing to her executioner for stepping on his foot prior to her execution by guillotine
"Pardon for the prisoners, Bonchamps commands it!" [61]
("Grâce aux, prisonniers, Bonchamps l'ordonne!")
Charles de Bonchamps, French politician and leader of the Royalist Vendéan insurrection (18 October 1793), mortally wounded at the Second Battle of Cholet. He was ordering the pardon of five thousand Republican prisoners whom his troops intended to kill.
"Rather death than slavery, is the motto of the French." [61]
("Plûtot la mort que l'esclavage, C'est la devise des Français.")
Jacques Pierre Brissot, French abolitionist and leading member of the Girondins (31 October 1793), singing these words along with 21 other Girondins before their execution
"They applauded me!" [61]
("Ils m'applaudirent!")
Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (6 November 1793), remembering his former acclaim on the way to the guillotine
"Oh Liberty, what crimes are committed in thy name!" [1] :87 [4] [5] :140 [6] [61] [63] [64] [lower-alpha 40]
("O Liberté, que de crimes on commet en ton nom!")
Madame Roland, French revolutionary and writer (8 November 1793), prior to execution by guillotine
"Yes my friend, but it's from the cold." [65] [lower-alpha 41]
("Oui mon ami, mais c'est de froid.")
Jean Sylvain Bailly, French astronomer, mathematician and politician (12 November 1793), to a heckler who asked if he was trembling as he approached the guillotine
"Better to suffer and to die than to lose one shade of my moral and political character." [1] :39–40 [lower-alpha 42]
Antoine Barnave, French politician (29 November 1793), prior to execution by guillotine
"I have been unfaithful to God, to my Order, to my King; I die full of faith and repentance." [61]
("J'ai été infidèle à mon Dieu, à mon Ordre, et à mon Roi; je meurs plein de foi et de repentir.")
Armand Louis de Gontaut, French soldier and politician (31 December 1793), prior to execution by guillotine
"My God! My God!" [5] :66 [6] [lower-alpha 43]
("Mon Dieu! Mon Dieu!")
Edward Gibbon, English historian and Member of Parliament (16 January 1794)
"Behold, then, the recompense reserved for the first apostle of liberty." [5] :44–45
Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (5 April 1794), looking at the axe prior to execution by guillotine
"Show my head to the people. It is worth seeing." [16] [24] [26] [61] [lower-alpha 44]
("Tu montreras ma tête au peuple. Elle en vaut la peine.")
Georges Danton, leading figure in the French Revolution (5 April 1794), prior to execution by guillotine
"Hold your tongue! your wretched chatter disgusts me." [6] [lower-alpha 45]
Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman and government minister, defense counsel of Louis XVI (22 April 1794), to the priest prior to his execution by guillotine
"I pray you, gentlemen, in the name of modesty, suffer me to cover my bosom." [5] :54 [6] [66] [lower-alpha 46]
("Au nom de votre mère, monsieur, couvrez-moi.")
Élisabeth of France, sister of Louis XVI (10 May 1794), when her fichu fell from her neck prior to her execution by guillotine
"When I was sixty years of age, I mounted the breach for my king; and now that I am eighty-four[ sic ] I shall not want courage to mount the scaffold for my God." [1] :120
Philippe de Noailles, duc de Mouchy (27 June 1794), prior to execution by guillotine
"Yet I had something there!" [61] [lower-alpha 47]
("Pourtant, j'avais quelque chose là!")
André Chénier, French poet (25 July 1794), to his friend and fellow poet Jean-Antoine Roucher prior to their executions by guillotine
"Cowards! Why did you not defend him?" [6]
Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and statesman (28 July 1794), when blamed for the death of Georges Danton
"His praise, ye winds, that from four quarters blow, / Blow soft or loud; and wave your tops, ye pines, / With every plant, in sign of worship, wave." [1] :93
Richard Burke Jr., English barrister and Member of Parliament (2 August 1794), quoting the Morning Hymn from Paradise Lost to his father, Edmund Burke; he then died in his father's arms
"Don't be alarmed, my son." [41]
Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, Prussian and American military officer (28 November 1794)
"Thank God since I came to man's estate, I have never intentionally done wrong to anyone." [41]
Francis Marion, American military officer (27 February 1795). Marion was an enslaver who committed wartime atrocities. [67]
"I have something to tell you..." [29]
Louis XVII, pretender to the French throne (8 June 1795), dying in prison custody at the age of 10
"Holy, holy, holy, blessed Lord Jesus! to Thee be endless praise!" [5] :140
William Romaine, evangelical divine of the Church of England (26 July 1795)
"I am dying; leave me alone." [5] :189
Johann Georg Ritter von Zimmermann, Swiss philosophical writer, naturalist and physician (7 October 1795)
"Must I leave it unfinished?" [5] :121
Adam Naruszewicz, Polish-Lithuanian bishop and author (8 July 1796), referring to his History of Poland
The death room of Robert Burns. Death room robert burns.jpg
The death room of Robert Burns.
"John, [14] :30 don't let the awkward squad fire over me." [5] :26 [9] [14] :30 [16] [lower-alpha 48]
Robert Burns, Scottish poet (21 July 1796), referring to a Dumfries militia to which he belonged
"General, why do you shed tears? I am happy to die for my country." [61]
("Général, pourquoi versez-vous des larmes? Je suis hereux de mourir pour mon pays.")
François Séverin Marceau, French general of the Revolutionary Wars (21 September 1796), to General Jean-Baptiste Jourdan when mortally wounded at the Battle of Limburg (1796)
"Water."[ citation needed ]
Catherine the Great, empress of Russia (17 November [ O.S. 6 November] 1796)
"I thank you for all your faithful services; God bless you." [5] :28
William Bromley Cadogan, English clergyman (1797), to a longtime servant
"God bless you." [1] :47 [5] :25
Edmund Burke, Irish statesman and philosopher (9 July 1797)
"I know what you are thinking of, but I have nothing to communicate on the subject of religion." [5] :185
Mary Wollstonecraft, English writer and feminist philosopher (10 September 1797), to her husband, William Godwin, while dying from the effects of giving birth to Mary Shelley
"What an idle piece of ceremony this buttoning and unbuttoning is to me, now." [5] :21
Richard Brocklesby, English physician (11 December 1797), as his servants dressed him for bed
"Had it pleased my Lord to spare me longer I should have been glad. I should then have been able to speak yet a word to the sick and poor; but His will be done! May He, in mercy, but receive me! Into Thy hands I commend my spirit; Thou has redeemed me, O Thou faithful God." [5] :161
Christian Friedrich Schwarz, German Lutheran missionary to India (13 February 1798)
"I have lived as a philosopher. I die as a Christian." [16] [40]
Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (4 June 1798)
"There is another and a better world." [5] :128 [6] [lower-alpha 49]
John Palmer, English actor (2 August 1798), performing on stage in The Stranger
"I can yet find words to thank you, sir; it is the most welcome news you could give me. [69] What should I wish to live for?" [69] [70]
Wolfe Tone, Irish revolutionary (19 November 1798), when told a wound in his throat would reopen and cause him to bleed to death if he spoke. Tone died in prison under unclear circumstances (possibly suicide) while awaiting execution by hanging.
"This is a beautiful world." [5] :58
Johann Reinhold Forster, Reformed (Calvinist) pastor and naturalist (9 December 1798)
"Doctor, I wish you to observe how real and beneficial the religion of Christ is to a man about to die.... [29] [41] I am, however, much consoled by reflecting that the religion of Christ has, from its first appearance in the world, been attacked in vain by all the wits, philosophers, and wise ones, aided by every power of man, and its triumphs have been complete." [41] [lower-alpha 50]
Patrick Henry, American attorney, politician and orator (6 June 1799)
"Here I am finally. Here I am at the end of the tumultuous career that, whatever my repugnance, I have kept to for so long. My troubles will soon be over and my true happiness is coming, since I have all confidence in the mercy of my God. I willingly leave this world where I have been thought happy in that I have had public admiration, been respected by great, esteemed kings. I can't say that I regret all these honors—it's just that they add up to vanity and trouble." [4]
Pierre Pigneau de Behaine, French Roman Catholic priest and missionary in Vietnam (9 October 1799)
"I die hard, but I am not afraid to go... [1] :53 [6] I am just going. Have me decently buried, and do not let my body be put into the vault in less than two days after I am dead. Do you understand me? [1] :53 [5] :176–177 [41] 'Tis well." [1] :53 [5] :176–177 [37] [41]
George Washington, president of the United States (14 December 1799), to Dr. James Craik and his personal secretary, Tobias Lear
"My post is here. I can't leave it until ordered." [71] [72]
James C. Jarvis, United States Navy midshipman (2 February 1800), refusing to leave the rigging of USS Constellation during a battle with French frigate La Vengeance . The mainmast toppled and Jarvis was swept over the side. He was 13 years old.
"What can it signify?" [5] :39
William Cowper, English poet and hymnodist (25 April 1800), to an attendant who offered him refreshments
"There is yet time to win another battle!" [73]
Louis Desaix, French general (14 June 1800), prior to death in the French Revolutionary Wars

Notes

  1. Also reported as, "I suffer the violence of pain and death, but I know whom I have believed." [5] :20
  2. Also reported as, "Oh! the depth of the riches of the goodness and knowledge of God. [5] :98 [6] Cease now" (to Damaris, Lady Masham, who was reading to him from the Psalms). [6]
  3. Egbert incorrectly gives Locke's date of death as 28 October 1714. [1] :87
  4. Also reported as, "It is a great consolation for a dying poet to have never written a word against morality." [5] :19 [9]
  5. These last words are considered legendary. [10] Also reported as, "Now that you have roasted me, you might as well devour me." [11]
  6. Also reported as, "Oh my brother! Oh my poor brother!" (referring to James Francis Edward Stuart). This version of Anne's last words lacks evidence. [4]
  7. Described by Tahourdin as "almost his last words". [12] Last words also reported as, "I thought that dying had been more difficult", [1] :20"Why weep ye? Did you think I should live forever? I thought dying had been harder", [5] :99 [6] and as "O God, come unto mine aid; O Lord, make haste to help me." [5] :99
  8. Also reported as, "I have sent for you to see how a Christian can die" [1] :80 [4] and as "See how a Christian dies." [6] The story of Addison's last words is disputed. [17]
  9. Marvin expresses doubt about the authenticity of these last words. [5] :183
  10. Also reported as, "The Catholic faith is, to love God and to love man. This is the best faith, and to its entertainment I exhort you all." [5] :37
  11. Year of death incorrectly given by Marvin as 1743. [5] :139
  12. Also reported as, "Herr Jesu, to thee I live; Herr Jesu, to thee I die; in life and in death thou art my gain" ("...Du bist mein Gewinn"). [5] :61
  13. Marvin describes these last words as doubtful. [5] :20
  14. Also reported as, "There is nothing that is meritorious but virtue and friendship; and, indeed, [1] :73 friendship itself is only a part of virtue." [1] :73 [5] :131 [6]
  15. It is uncertain whether Gardiner actually spoke these words. [5] :63
  16. He is also mentioned as having laughed when overcrowded timber stand collapsed, killing nine people who came to see him die; his laughter at this incident, even as he was executed, is said to be the origin of the phrase "to laugh one's head off". [27]
  17. Also reported as, "It is a great mercy that I have no manner of fear or dread of death. I could, if God please, lay my head back and die without terror this afternoon." [29]
  18. Also reported as, "Trust in God and you shall have nothing to fear." [29]
  19. Also reported as, "What, do they run already? Then I die happy" [6] [36] or "Then God be praised; I die happy." [1] :116
  20. Also reported as, "Stay a little longer, M. le Curé, and we will go together." [6]
  21. Also reported as, "Your highness has made me too great for my house." [4]
  22. Also reported as, "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." [1] :65 [41] See Nathan Hale#Impact.
  23. Also reported "Now the artery ceases to beat", [1] :93 and as "It's beating—beating—beating—it's stopped." [43]
  24. This is disputed, [45] albeit widely considered his last words. Last words also reported as, "The flames already?" on seeing a lamp beside his bed, [8] :196 as "Do let me die in peace" [6] and as "For the love of God, don't mention that Man—allow me to die in peace!" (at the mention of Jesus), among other versions. [5] :175–176
  25. Also reported as, "My dear!" [14] :47
  26. Also reported as, "All I request of you, gentlemen, is that you will bear witness to the world that I die like a brave man. It will be but a momentary pang" [5] :5 and as "Must I die in this manner?" [4]
  27. Also reported as, "I do not sleep; I wish to meet death awake." [1] :20
  28. The date of the battle is incorrectly given by Marvin as 20 October 1781, quoting from Hotman's tombstone. [5] :82–83
  29. Also reported as, "What possible harm could it do to me?" ("Mais quel diable de mal veux-te que cela me fosse?") (to his wife, who had said he should not eat an apricot). [5] :47 [14] :29
  30. Also reported as, "I am dying now." [14] :28
  31. Also reported as, "La montagne est passée, nous irons mieux" (in delirium). [5] :61–62
  32. In French and English.
  33. Also reported as, "Give me no monument, but lay me quietly in the earth; place a sun-dial over my grave, and let me be forgotten." [1] :137
  34. Also reported as, "Are those already the Achilles' funeral?" [5] :113 and as "Let me fall asleep to the sound of delicious music."Brewer's points out the similarity to the last words of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (ibid.). [6]
  35. Also reported as, "Did I not say that I was writing the Requiem for myself?" (to Franz Xaver Süssmayr), [5] :119 as "Let me hear those notes so long my solace and delight", [1] :95 and as "You spoke of a refreshment, Emilie; take my last notes, and let me hear once more my solace and delight." [6]
  36. Also reported as, "I am lost!" [60]
  37. Also reported as, "Gentlemen, I am innocent of everything of which I am accused. I hope that my blood may cement the good fortune of the French." [2] and as "Je meurs innocent de tous les crimes qu'on m'impute. Je pardonne aux auteurs de ma mort, et je prie Dieu que le sang que vous allez répandre ne retombe jamais su la France... Puisse mon sang cimenter votre bonheur!" ("I die innocent of all the crimes laid to my charge. I forgive the authors of my death, and I pray God that the blood which you are about to shed may never fall on France.... May my blood cement your happiness!" [61]
  38. Also reported as, "This is the toilette of death, arranged by somewhat rude hands, but it leads to immortality" (described as her last words "of which we can be certain"). [5] :38
  39. Also reported as, "Farewell, my children, for ever. I am going to your father." [5] :106 [6] [26]
  40. Also reported as, "Ah! liberté, comme on t'a jouée!" ("Ah! liberty, how they have cheated thee!") [61]
  41. Also reported as, "Je tremble, mais c'est de froid" ("I tremble but it is from the cold") [4] and as "J'ai froid" ("I am cold"). [61]
  42. Also reported as, "This then is my reward?" [4] and as "Voilà donc le prix tout de ce que j'ai fait pour la liberté" ("This then is the price of what I have done for liberty"). [61]
  43. Also reported as, "Pourquoi est ce que vous me quittez" (to his valet). [5] :66
  44. Also reported as, "I leave it all in a frightful welter. Not a man of them has an idea of government. Robespierre will follow me; he is dragged down by me. Ah! better be a poor fisherman than meddle with the government of men." [1] :41
  45. Also reported as, "Oh! Oh! voilà qui s'apelle un mauvais présage. Un Romain à ma place serait rentré" ("Oh! Oh! that's what is called a bad omen. A Roman in my place would have gone in again") (when he stumbled while leaving prison to get into the tumbrel that would take him to the guillotine). [61]
  46. Also reported as, "Je me nomme Élisabeth de France sœur du roi" ("My name is Elisabeth of France, sister of the King"). [61]
  47. Also reported as, "Comme un dernier rayon, comme un derniere zéphyre / Anime la fin d'un beau jour; / Au pied de l'échefaud j'essaie encore ma lyre, / Peut-être est ce bientôt mon tour; / Peut-être avant que l'heure en cercle promenée / Ait posé sur l'émail brillant, / Dans les soixante pas où sa route est bornée, / Son pied sonore et vigilant, / Le sommeil du tombeau pressera me paupière —" [5] :35–36
  48. Also reported as, "Don't let that awkward squad fire over my grave." [1] :80 [6] Whether these were Burns' very last words is disputed. [16]
  49. Whether these were Palmer's last words is questionable. [68]
  50. Also reported as, "I trust in the mercy of God, it is not now too late." [5] :78

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guillotine</span> Apparatus designed for carrying out executions by beheading

A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with a pillory at the bottom of the frame, holding the position of the neck directly below the blade. The blade is then released, swiftly and forcefully decapitating the victim with a single, clean pass; the head falls into a basket or other receptacle below.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madame du Barry</span> Mistress of Louis XV

Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry was the last maîtresse-en-titre of King Louis XV of France. She was executed by guillotine during the French Revolution on accusations of treason — particularly being suspected of assisting émigrés to flee from the Revolution. She is also known as "Mademoiselle Vaubernier".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camille Desmoulins</span> 18th-century French journalist, politician, and revolutionary

Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins was a French journalist, politician and a prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Storming of the Bastille. Desmoulins was also noted for his radical criticism of the Reign of Terror as the editor of the journal Le Vieux Cordelier. He was a schoolmate and close friend of Maximilien Robespierre and a close friend and political ally of Georges Danton, who were the leading figures in the French Revolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Quentin Fouquier-Tinville</span> French lawyer and public prosecutor

Antoine Quentin Fouquier de Tinville, also called Fouquier-Tinville and nicknamed posthumously the Provider of the Guillotine was a French lawyer and accusateur public of the Revolutionary Tribunal during the French Revolution and Reign of Terror.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte Corday</span> French assassin (1768–1793)

Marie-Anne Charlotte de Corday d'Armont, known simply as Charlotte Corday, was a figure of the French Revolution who assassinated revolutionary and Jacobin leader Jean-Paul Marat on 13 July 1793.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans</span> French royal and father of Louis Philippe I, King of the French

Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, was a French Prince of the Blood who supported the French Revolution.

al-Hallaj Persian an al haq, poet and Sufi teacher (c.858–922)

Mansour al-Hallaj or Mansour Hallaj was a Persian mystic, poet, and teacher of Sufism. He is best known for his saying: "I am the Truth" (Ana'l-Ḥaqq), which many saw as a claim to divinity, while others interpreted it as an instance of annihilation of the ego, allowing God to speak through him. Al-Hallaj gained a wide following as a preacher before he became implicated in power struggles of the Abbasid court and was executed after a long period of confinement on religious and political charges. Although most of his Sufi contemporaries disapproved of his actions, Hallaj later became a major figure in the Sufi tradition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Élisabeth of France</span> French princess, sister of Louis XVI (1764–1794)

Élisabeth Philippe Marie Hélène of France, also known as Madame Élisabeth, was a French princess. She was the youngest child of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Duchess Maria Josepha of Saxony, and she was a sister of King Louis XVI. Élisabeth's father, the Dauphin, was the son and heir of King Louis XV and his popular wife, Queen Marie Leszczyńska. Élisabeth remained beside her brother and his family during the French Revolution, and she was executed during the Reign of Terror at the Place de la Révolution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucile Desmoulins</span> Diarist of the french revolution, wife of the revolutionary Camille Desmoulins

Anne-Lucile-Philippe Desmoulins, born Laridon-Duplessis was a French revolutionary, diarist, and author during the French Revolution. She was married to the revolutionary Camille Desmoulins. She was executed eight days after Camille Desmoulins and Georges Danton, accused of conspiring to free her husband and involvement in counter-revolutionary activities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles-Henri Sanson</span> French executioner (1739–1806)

Charles-Henri Sanson, full title Chevalier Charles-Henri Sanson de Longval, was the royal executioner of France during the reign of King Louis XVI, as well as high executioner of the First French Republic. He administered capital punishment in the city of Paris for over forty years. By his own hand he executed nearly 3,000 people, including Robert-François Damiens, who attempted to assassinate King Louis XV. Sanson would later execute King Louis XVI.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louise of France</span> Daughter of King Louis XV, Discalced Carmelite and Venerable

Louise-Marie of France, OCD was a French princess and Discalced Carmelite, the youngest of the ten children of King Louis XV and Queen Maria Leszczyńska. She entered the Carmelite convent at Saint-Denis in 1770 and took the religious name Thérèse of Saint Augustine. She served as prioress in 1773-1779 and 1785–1787.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trial of Joan of Arc</span> 1431 trial and execution of French saint Joan of Arc for heresy

The Trial of Joan of Arc was a 15th century legal proceeding against Joan of Arc, a French military leader under Charles VII during the Hundred Years' War. During the siege of Compiègne in 1430, she was captured by Burgundian forces and subsequently sold to their English allies. She was prosecuted by a pro-English church court at Rouen, Normandy, in 1431. The court found her guilty of heresy and she was burned at the stake. The verdict was later nullified at Joan's rehabilitation trial, which was overseen by the Inquisitor-General, Jean Bréhal, in 1456. Considered a French national heroine, she was declared a saint by the Roman Catholic Church in 1920. The trial is one of the most famous in history, becoming the subject of many books and films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Guy Môquet</span> French Resistance hero and communist militant

Guy Prosper Eustache Môquet was a young French Communist militant. During the German occupation of France in World War II, he was taken hostage by the Nazis and executed by firing squad in Châteaubriant in retaliation for attacks on Germans by the French Resistance; Môquet went down in history as one of its symbols. The farewell letter he wrote to his family at age 17 is now a mandatory reading in all French high schools.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trial of Louis XVI</span> 1792 trial of former French King Louis XVI during the French Revolution

The trial of Louis XVI—officially called "Citizen Louis Capet" since being dethroned—before the National Convention in December 1792 was a key event of the French Revolution. He was convicted of high treason and other crimes, resulting in his execution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Execution of Louis XVI</span> 1793 public execution of Louis XVI

Louis XVI, former King of France since the abolition of the monarchy, was publicly executed on 21 January 1793 during the French Revolution at the Place de la Révolution in Paris. At his trial four days prior, the National Convention had convicted the former king of high treason in a near-unanimous vote; while no one voted "not guilty", several deputies abstained. Ultimately, they condemned him to death by a simple majority. The execution by guillotine was performed by Charles-Henri Sanson, then High Executioner of the French First Republic and previously royal executioner under Louis.

Krista Lavíčková was a Czech secretary who fought against Nazism with the German Resistance group, the European Union. She was arrested on September 3, 1943 and was tried along with her father, Paul Hatschek, at the Volksgerichtshof. Her father's second wife, Elli Hatschek, was arrested with her father, but was tried at a later date. All were sentenced to death, three of the sixteen members of the European Union who were executed by the Third Reich.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Egbert, Walter R. (1898). Last Words of Famous Men and Women. Norristown, Pennsylvania: Herald Printing and Binding Rooms.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Holodny, Elena (13 October 2015). "Famous last words of 18 famous people" . Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Cockerton, Paul (11 March 2014). "Steve Irwin, Karl Marx, Bob Marley: The final words of nine famous faces" . Retrieved 9 February 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 Brahms, William (2012). Last Words of Notable People: Final Words of More than 3500 Noteworthy People Throughout History. ASIN   B009TJOL5S.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 Marvin, Frederic Rowland (1900). The Last Words (Real and Traditional) of Distinguished Men and Women. Troy, New York: C. A. Brewster & Co.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Brewer, E. Cobham, ed. (1895). Dictionary of Phrase and Fable., cited in "WORDS: Brewer's: Dying Sayings" . Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  7. "Last Words of Real People: Bailly to Burbank" . Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Shields, David (2008). The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN   978-0-307-26804-4.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Haining, Peter (2015). "Dying is the Last Thing I Want to Do: A Literary Graveyard of Final Words". Wrotten English: A Celebration of Literary Misprints, Mistakes and Mishaps. Pavilion Books. ISBN   9781910232804.[ dead link ]
  10. 1 2 Divina Basic School Research Team. "About Janosik" . Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  11. "Janosik: The Slovak Robin Hood In the Light of Documentary Evidence and Popular Legend: Part One". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  12. 1 2 Tahourdin, Adrian. "The death of Louis XIV - Modern history". The Times Literary Supplement . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  13. Narmer, Amenuti (27 February 2021). "The Beatification of A River Crossing: Or How the Modern Day Asantehene Crosses River Pra". Grandmother Africa. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Ward, Laura (2004). Famous Last Words: The Ultimate Collection of Finales and Farewells. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN   9781856487085.
  15. Article by Åke Persson, Forskning & Framsteg 2013-10-18
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Grounds, Eric (2014). The Bedside Book of Final Words. Amberley Publishing. ISBN   9781445644646.
  17. 1 2 3 "Last Words of Real People: Abelard to Azeglio" . Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 Higgins, Chris (12 February 2016). "64 People and Their Famous Last Words". Mental Floss . Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  19. 1 2 3 "Last Words of Real People: Ibsen to Murders & Other Sociopaths" . Retrieved 25 November 2019.
  20. Revelation 21:4
  21. Good, Meaghan (6 June 2017). "1730: Sally Bassett, Bermuda slave". ExecutedToday.com. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  22. Chalmers, Alexander. "Lagny, Thomas Fantet De". General Biographical Dictionary . Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  23. Colt, George Howe (1992). The Enigma of Suicide. Simon and Schuster. p. 169. ISBN   978-0-671-76071-7 . Retrieved January 10, 2021.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "Last Words of Real People: D'Annunzo to Frohman" . Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  25. Job 1:21
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Real Last Words and death-bed quotes" . Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  27. 1 2 "Study of coffin contents could end Old Fox mystery". BBC News. 2017-09-15. Retrieved 2020-09-16.
  28. Luke 2:29
  29. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Evidence Bible" . Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  30. 1 2 3 "Composers' famous last words". Global . Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  31. Roper, Matt (1 March 2019). "Extraordinary last words of death row killers - from dark humour to threats". Daily Mirror . Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  32. John 6:37
  33. Grant, James (1859). The Cavaliers of Fortune, Or, British Heroes in Foreign Wars. London: Routledge, Warnes, and Routledge. p. 151.
  34. Smollett, Tobias George (1864). The history of England, from the Revolution to the death of George the second. Vol. III. London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, & Green. p. 47.
  35. Parkman, Francis (1885). Montcalm and Wolfe. Vol. II. London: MacMillan and Co. p. 297. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  36. "Last Words of Real People: Washington to Zizka" . Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  37. 1 2 3 "Famous Last Words – The Dying Utterances of 11 Well-Known Military Commanders". MilitaryHistoryNow.com. 21 July 2014. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  38. Lewis Jr., Joseph W., M.D. (2016). Last and Near-Last Words of the Famous, Infamous and Those In-Between. AuthorHouse. p.  471. ISBN   9781524647872.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  39. "Last Words of Real People: Narvaez to Pompadour" . Retrieved 28 August 2020.
  40. 1 2 "Last Words of Real People: Caesar to Czolgosz" . Retrieved 9 November 2019.
  41. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Shattuck, Gary (13 September 2016). "Revolutionary "Last Words"". Journal of the American Revolution. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  42. "Nathan Hale: The Man and the Legend". Connecticut History | a CTHumanities Project. 2019-06-06. Retrieved 2020-07-09.
  43. 1 2 3 "Last Words of Real People: Garfield to Huss" . Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  44. Bulston, Michael E (2007). Teach What You Believe. Paulist Press. p. 105. ISBN   978-0-8091-4481-5.
  45. "Deathbed Remark: This Is No Time To Be Making New Enemies". Quote Investigator. August 13, 2013. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  46. Job 19:25
  47. Griswold, Rufus Wilmot; Simms, William Gilmore; Ingraham, Edward Duncan (1856). Washington and the Generals of the American Revolution. J.B. Lippincott. p. 271.
  48. Thacher, James (1862). Military Journal of the American Revolution: From the Commencement to the Disbanding of the American Army; Comprising a Detailed Account of the Principal Events and Battles of the Revolution, with Their Exact Dates, and a Biographical Sketch of the Most Prominent Generals. Hartford, Connecticut: Hurlbut, Kellogg & Co. p.  228.
  49. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1892). "Ledyard, William"  . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . New York: D. Appleton.
  50. Caulkins, Frances Manwaring (1895). History of New London, Connecticut: From the First Survey of the Coast in 1612 to 1860. New London, Connecticut: H. D. Utley. p.  562. ISBN   9781429022910.
  51. Robin, Diana Maury; Jaffe, Ira, eds. (1999). Redirecting the gaze: gender, theory, and cinema in the Third World. The SUNY series, cultural studies in cinema/video. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN   978-0-7914-3993-7.
  52. Olof Jägerskiöld in Lovisa Ulrika Libris #8074766 p. 290
  53. John Fiske (1892). "Lee, Charles"  . In Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J. (eds.). Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography . New York: D. Appleton.
  54. 1 2 McGuire, Michael S. (2012). "Famous Last Words". In Turner, Mary G (ed.). Proc. SPIE 8483, Tribute to William Wolfe. Vol. 8483. Union College. pp. 84830F. Bibcode:2012SPIE.8483E..0FW. doi:10.1117/12.2011228. S2CID   121188632. Archived from the original on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  55. "6 Mythical Final Words of Famous People". History Rundown. 29 December 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  56. Cantarino, Nelson Mendes (2006). Ousando saber: José Anastácio da Cunha e as Luzes em Portugal (1744–1787) (Master's thesis). Universidade Federal Fluminense. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  57. 1 2 Barba, Dave (7 April 2016). "Dying Words — the Blessing of Hope". Proclaim and Defend. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  58. 1 2 Reimann, Matt (26 August 2015). "A List of Authors' Famous Last Words". Book Tell You Why. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
  59. Beth Hennings quoting Gustaf Mauritz Armfelt in Ögonvittnen om Gustav III Libris #676858 p. 372
  60. 1 2 Hardy, B. C. (1908). The Princesse de Lamballe; A Biography. London: Archibald Constable and Company Ltd. p. 287.
  61. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Walton, Geri (4 July 2016). "French Revolution: Last Words of Those Who Died". Rooster Press. Retrieved 14 April 2021.
  62. Schama, Simon; Livesey, John (2005). Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. London: Royal National Institute of the Blind. p. 736. ISBN   0-670-81012-6.
  63. "Last Words of Real People: Rabelais to Surratt" . Retrieved 23 February 2021.
  64. McShane, Larry (24 April 1992). "Last Words of Those Executed Express Variety of Emotions". Daily News. Retrieved 29 July 2012. [alternately reported as] "O, Liberty! How they have duped you."
  65. Jacotey, Marie-Louise (1995). Le Tribunal révolutionnaire au service de la Terreur (in French). D. Guéniot. p. 89. ISBN   9782878251142.
  66. de Beauchesne, Alcide-Hyacinthe (1870). La vie de Madame Élisabeth, sœur de Louis XVI (in French). Vol. 2. Paris: Henri-Plon Éditeur-Imprimeur. p. 249.
  67. Norman, Neil (20 June 2000). "Mel's vendetta against England". London Evening Standard . Archived from the original on 5 May 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  68. Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain:  Knight, John Joseph (1885–1900). "Palmer, John (1742?-1798)". Dictionary of National Biography . London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  69. 1 2 Tone, Theobald Wolfe; William Theobald Wolfe Tone (1831). The Life of Theobald Wolfe Tone. London: Whittaker, Treacher and Arnot. p. 315.
  70. Fulton, Laura (21 February 2017). ""Be not afraid" - Irish people's famous last words". Irish Studio LLC. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  71. Evans, Mark L. (7 July 2017). "Jarvis II (DD-393) 1937–1942". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships . Naval History and Heritage Command . Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  72. "Jarvis III (DD-799) 1944-1972". Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships. Naval History and Heritage Command. 6 July 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  73. Wikisource-logo.svg This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Desaix de Veygoux, Louis Charles Antoine". Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 8 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 78.