— Maltbie Davenport Babcock, American clergyman and writer (18 May 1901), to hospital superintendent and nurse, explaining his method of suicide while suffering from brucellosis
"I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people—the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime.[10][11] I am sorry I could not see my father."[11]
— Edgar Edwards, convicted murderer (1902), on the way to the scaffold
"Shoot straight, you bastards. Don't make a mess of it!"[13][14]
— Breaker Morant, Anglo-Australian military officer and war criminal (27 February 1902), to his firing squad
"The position has become impossible.
Anxious important work to do and three commissions of enquiry to attend to.
We may not have done as well as possible in the past but we will necessarily be hampered to do well in the imminent future.
I feel that my brain is suffering and I am in great fear of what effect all this worry will have upon me. I have lost control of my thoughts.
The Coolgardie scheme is all right and I could finish it if I got a chance and protection from misrepresentation but there's no hope for that now and its better that it should be given to some entirely new man to do who will be untrammelled by prior responsibility.
"Syrie, my head is so heavy. Let me rest it on your face."[3][note 2]
— Thomas John Barnardo, Irish-born British philanthropist, founder of the Barnardo's charity (19 September 1905), to his wife
"Make them."[3]
— Susan B. Anthony, American social reformer and women's rights activist (13 March 1906), to her chosen successor, who was worried that she would not be allowed to succeed Anthony
"On the contrary!"[2][12]: 25 [23][24]
("Tvertimod!")
— Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright (23 May 1906), to his maid, who had said his health was improving
"Doctor, you have science, I have faith."[25]
— Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (2 February [O.S. 20 January] 1907)
"In spite of it all, I am going to sleep;[3][12]: 17 [17][26] put out the lights."[3][26]
— Alferd Packer, American prospector and wilderness guide (23 April 1907), who had served 18 years in prison for killing and eating five of his traveling companions in 1874
"Long live the Korean Empire!"[27]
(대한제국 만세!)
— Park Seung-hwan, Imperial Korean officer (1 August 1907), before committing suicide with his pistol
"Well, if it must be so."[12]: 37 [28]
— Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer and pianist (4 September 1907)
"I perished in latitude 79° north under the hardships of the return journey over the inland ice in November. I reached this place under a waning moon, and cannot go on, because of my frozen feet and the darkness. The bodies of the others are in the middle of the fjord. Hagen died on November 15, Mylius Erichsen some ten days later.–Jørgen Brønlund."[29]
("Omkom 79 Fjorden efter Forsøg hjemrejse over Indlandsisen, i November Maaned jeg kommer hertil i aftagende Maaneskin og kunde ikke videre af Forfrosninger i Fødderne og af Mørket. Andres Lig findes midt i Fjorden foran Bræ (omkring 2½ Mil). Hagen døde 15 November og Mylius omtrent 10 dage efter".)
— Jørgen Brønlund, Greenlandic polar explorer (November 1907), final diary entry
"I am dying. Please... bring me a toothpick."[14][23]
— Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (18 May 1911)
"Put your hands on my shoulders and don't struggle."[12]: 47 [21][44]
— W. S. Gilbert, English dramatist and librettist (29 May 1911), while saving 17-year-old Ruby Preece from drowning, which caused his fatal heart attack
"Long live Shah Muhammad Ali!"[45]
("Zindabad Muhammad Ali Shah!")
— Arshadu'd-Dawla (6 September 1911), while being executed by firing squad for involvement in a plot to restore Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar to the Persian throne
"Here I go. Here I go. Here I go."[46]
— Cromwell Dixon, American aviator (2 October 1911), as his biplane crashed sideways
"One last drink, please."[47]
— Jack Daniel, American alcohol businessman (10 October 1911)
"Go ahead, we will get into one of the other boats."[3]
— Carl Oscar Vilhelm Gustafsson Asplund, Swedish-American farmer (15 April 1912), to his wife, Selma Johansson Asplund, asking her to board a lifeboat with two of their children during the sinking of the Titanic. Carl Asplund and three of his sons perished. His daughter Lillian Asplund was the last living American survivor of the disaster, dying in 2006.
"The ladies have to go first.... Get into the lifeboat, to please me.... Goodbye, dearie. I'll see you later."[3][52]
— Harriet Tubman, American humanitarian and activist (10 March 1913)
"Tomorrow, when I pay my formal visit to the dreadnought Goeben, it is the fact that a German battleship is to honor a Greek King here in Salonika that will fill me with happiness and contentment."[57][note 6]
— George I, king of Greece (18 March 1913), shortly before being assassinated
"Don't baby me so!"[12]: 119
— J. P. Morgan, American financier and banker (31 March 1913)
— Richard Corfield, British colonial police officer (9 August 1913), killed in action at the Battle of Dul Madoba
"To be a gringo in Mexico – ah, that is euthanasia!"[17]
— Ambrose Bierce, American writer and journalist (c. 1914), written before his disappearance in Mexico
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were assassinated during a motorcade ride through Sarajevo by a group of nationalists. This was the first event in a series that triggered World War I.
"Oh, Lord, I proclaim to the world that I am innocent of this crime."[68]
— Charles Becker, American police officer (30 July 1915), prior to execution by electrocution for murder
"We shall meet again."[69][note 7]
— Edith Cavell, British nurse (12 October 1915), executed by firing squad in German-occupied Belgium for having helped Allied soldiers escape to the then-neutral Netherlands during World War I. She said this on the night before her execution to Reverend H. Stirling Gahan, the Anglican chaplain who had been allowed to see her and to give her Holy Communion.
"I led them to the end, they wavered I tried to keep them together."[71]
— Joe Hill, Swedish-American labor activist (19 November 1915). Hill shouted these words after Deputy Shettler, who led his firing squad, called out the sequence of commands preparatory to firing ("Ready, aim").
"So here it is at last, the distinguished thing."[12]: 27 [75]: 195
— Henry James, American-British author (28 February 1916)
"Here lies one whose name was written in hot water."[12]: 22
— Robbie Ross, Canadian-British journalist, art critic and art dealer (5 October 1918), referring to the inscription on John Keats' grave ("Here lies One Whose Name was writ in Water").
"It's all right Cowling; we've got them stone cold."[102]
"Well done. You are doing that very well, my boy."[12]: 32
— Wilfred Owen, English soldier and poet (4 November 1918), to a soldier under his command before being killed in action during the crossing of the Sambre–Oise Canal in World War I
"Go away gnadiger Frau [gracious lady]."[103][104]
"I'm all right; tell Mays not to worry... ring....Katie's ring."[111][112]
— Ray Chapman, American baseball player (17 August 1920), referring to the pitcher who had fatally beaned him and to his wedding band
"Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation. My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country."[113]
("내 손톱이 빠져 나가고 내 귀와 코가 잘리고 내 손과 다리가 부러져도 그 고통은 이길 수 있사오나 나라를 잃어버린 그 고통만은 견딜 수가 없습니다. 나라에 바칠 목숨이 오직 하나밖에 없는 것만이 이 소녀의 유일한 슬픔입니다.")[114]
— Ryu Gwansun, Korean independence activist (20 September 1920), writing in prison before being tortured and beaten to death by Japanese prison officers
"Some day, when things look real tough for Notre Dame [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football], ask the boys to go out there and win one for the Gipper."[37][note 12]
— George Gipp, American college football player (14 December 1920), to Knute Rockne while dying of pneumonia
Caruso's body lying in state in the Vesuvio Hotel in Naples.
"Kill me, or else you are a murderer!"[2][121][122]
("Töten Sie mich, sonst sind Sie ein Mörder!")
— Franz Kafka, German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer (3 June 1924), asking his doctors for morphine overdose while dying of tuberculosis
"Dear Gerda, I thank you for every day we have been together."[12]: 36
— Ferruccio Busoni, Italian composer (27 July 1924), to his wife
"So this is what it is like to die – it takes a long time!"[17]
— Anatole France, French writer and journalist (12 October 1924)
"You're too slow...too slow."[123]
— Floyd Collins, American cave explorer (c. 13 February 1925), to rescue workers trying to free him from his entrapment in Sand Cave, Kentucky
"Ah, the cows..."[23]
— Erik Satie, French composer and pianist (1 July 1925)
Yesenin's corpse in his hotel room.
"Goodbye, my friend, goodbye. My dear, you are in my heart. Predestined separation promises a future meeting."[23]
("До свиданья, друг мой, до свиданья. / Милый мой, ты у меня в груди. / Предназначенное расставанье / Обещает встречу впереди.")
— Sergei Yesenin, Russian lyric poet (28 December 1925), in his final poem before allegedly taking his own life
"Well, we fooled 'em for a long time, didn't we?"[23]
"I don't want the doctor's death. I want to have my own freedom."[43]
— Rainer Maria Rilke, Bohemian-Austrian poet and novelist (29 December 1926)
"We fought true."[124]
— Lala VC, Indian World War I Victoria Cross recipient (23 March 1927), dying of polio
"So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did right...but so many others say I did wrong. I only want to die and know from my Maker whether I did right or wrong."[125]
"Probably no one who attempts suicide—is fully aware of all his motives, which are usually too complex. At least in my case it is prompted by a vague sense of anxiety—about my own future. — As for my vague sense of anxiety about my own future, I think I analyzed it all in 'A Fool's Life,' except for a social factor, namely the shadow of feudalism cast over my life. This I omitted purposely, not at all certain that I could really clarify the social context in which I lived. — P.S. Reading a life of Empedocles, I felt how old is this desire to make a god of oneself. This letter, so far as I am conscious, never attempts this. On the contrary, I consider myself one of the most common humans. You may recall those days of twenty years ago when we discussed 'Empedocles on Etna'—under the linden trees. In those days I was one who wished to make a god of myself."[3]
— Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Japanese writer (24 July 1927); excerpt from his suicide note
— D. H. Lawrence, English writer and poet (2 March 1930)
"How are the lads? Did we do it?"[133]
— Henry Segrave, British land speed and water speed record pioneer (13 June 1930), mortally injured in crash of Miss England II. He was asking his wife about the fates of his chief engineer (who was killed) and his mechanic (who survived), and whether they had broken the water speed record (they had).
"You are wonderful."[12]: 34 [43]
— Arthur Conan Doyle, British physician, author and spiritualist (7 July 1930), spoken to his wife in their garden; he proceeded to clutch his chest and die
"Hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could hang a dozen men while you're fooling around!"[134][note 16]
— Carl Panzram, American serial killer and rapist (5 September 1930), spitting in his executioner's face prior to hanging
— Bhagat Singh, Indian revolutionary and Socialist, founder of Hindustan Socialist republican association (23 March 1931)
"Everything's gone wrong, my girl."[21][note 17]
— Arnold Bennett, English writer (27 March 1931), to his mistress, Dorothy Cheston
"The following is a report on the measurement of the velocity of light made at the Irvine Ranch, near Santa Ana, California, during the period of September 1929 to—."[43]
— Albert A. Michelson, American physicist (9 May 1931), writing in a scientific log
"Splendid. The finale just a little too fast."[75]: 196
— Eugène Ysaÿe (12 May 1931), Belgian violinist, composer and conductor, after his Fourth Sonata was played for him
"Doctor, I'm fighting for my life!"[3]
— David Belasco, American playwright and theater impresario (14 May 1931)
"After my head is chopped off, will I still be able to hear, at least for a moment, the sound of my own blood gushing from the stump of my neck? That would be the pleasure to end all pleasures."[23][130]
— Peter Kürten, German serial killer known as "The Vampire of Düsseldorf" (2 July 1931), prior to execution by guillotine
— Zhang Zongchang, Chinese warlord, after being shot by an assassin (3 September 1932)
"Good morning, Robert."[1]
— Calvin Coolidge, president of the United States (5 January 1933), to a carpenter working on his house
"The important thing is knowing how to live. Learn a lesson from my mistakes. I had too much power before I knew how to use it and it defeated me in the end. It drove all sweetness out of my life except the affection of my children. My trouble was I was born too late for the last generation and too early for this one. If you want to be happy, live in your own time."[3]
— Alva Belmont, American socialite and women's suffrage activist (26 January 1933)
"Take that tent thing off me and give me something to drink. Quit shooting that stuff into my arm and leave me alone. I'm going to get well."[142]
"Why should I talk to you? I've just been talking to your boss."[2][12]: 48 [43]
— Wilson Mizner, American playwright and entrepreneur (3 April 1933), to a priest at his deathbed
Wreckage of Bill Lancaster's plane, the Southern Cross Minor.
"So the beginning of the eighth day has dawned. It is still cool. I have no water....I am waiting patiently. Come soon please. Fever wracked me last night. Hope you get my full log. Bill."[143]
— Bill Lancaster, Australian aviator (20 April 1933), final note written on fuel card while dying after crash in Sahara Desert
"I butted him."[144][145]
— Jack Holland, American college football player and boxer (9 May 1933), while leaving ring after loss to Tony Marullo; he then collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage
"Last tag."[43]
— Richard B. Mellon, American banker, industrialist and philanthropist (1 December 1933), to his brother Andrew Mellon; the two had been engaged in a playful game of tag for some seventy years
"Follow the path for another fifty yards. I am going back to the foot of the rocks to make another climb. If I feel in good form I shall take the difficult way up; if I do not I shall take the easy one. I shall join you in an hour."[3]
— Albert I of Belgium (17 February 1934), shortly before falling to his death while rock climbing
"Ella, Ella! Everything is utterly different!"[146][147]
("Ella, Ella! Kõik on täiesti teisiti!")
— Ernst Enno, Estonian writer (7 March 1934), to his wife
— Ma Barker, American mother of criminals (16 January 1935), to her son, Fred Barker, prior to their deaths in a shootout with the FBI
"Always, always. Water for me."[3][12]: 52
— Jane Addams, American settlement and temperance activist, social worker and author (21 May 1935), when her physician asked if she wanted some water
"Death."[152][153]
— Will Rogers, American stage and film actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator (15 August 1935), typed on his typewriter for an unfinished newspaper column prior to the plane crash that killed him and Wiley Post
"When all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one."[21][23]
— Huey Long, United States Senator (10 September 1935), after being fatally shot
"The Baron says these things. I know what I am doing here with my collection of papers. It isn't worth a nickel to two guys like you or me but to a collector it is worth a fortune. It is priceless. I am going to turn it over to... Turn you back to me, please Henry. I am so sick now. The police are getting many complaints. Look out. I want that G-note. Look out for Jimmy Valentine for he is an old pal of mine. Come on, come on, Jim. Ok, ok, I am all through. Can't do another thing. Look out mamma, look out for her. You can't beat him. Police, mamma, Helen, mother, please take me out. I will settle the indictment. Come on, open the soap duckets.[155] The chimney sweeps. Talk to the sword. Shut up, you got a big mouth! Please help me up, Henry. Max, come over here. French-Canadian bean soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone."[35][155]
— Alfred Adler, Austrian psychotherapist (28 May 1937), mumbling his son's name after collapsing on the street
"I can't sleep."[3][12]: 16 [17][21]
— J. M. Barrie, Scottish novelist and playwright (19 June 1937)
Amelia Earhart and her aircraft disappeared in the Pacific Ocean during her attempted world circumnavigation.
"We are running on line north and south."[21][162]
— Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer (c. 2 July 1937), reporting to her headquarters in her last known radio transmission shortly before her disappearance
"I'm going, but I'm going in the name of the Lord."[43]
— Bessie Smith, American blues singer (26 September 1937)
"Tell the girls to keep on going ahead. Put over the boule with a bang. Don't let my passing throw the slightest shadow of gloom. The organization has a grand mission before it."[3]
"You can refute Hegel, but not the Saint or the Song of Sixpence."[17][note 23]
— W. B. Yeats, Irish poet and dramatist (28 January 1939)
"I didn't know prisons had such comfortable beds."[171]
— Nicholas Comper, English aviator and aircraft designer (17 June 1939), dying in hospital after being knocked down while lighting a firework in Hythe, Kent, by a passer-by to whom he claimed he was an IRA man planning to blow up the town hall
"I was going too fast for the conditions - it was entirely my own fault - I am sorry."[172]
— Richard Seaman, British racing driver (25 June 1939), on his deathbed after being fatally burned in racing crash[note 24]
"The meager satisfaction that man can extract from reality leaves him starving."[22][note 25]
— Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (23 September 1939)
"Never felt better."[12]: 49 [22][23][35]
— Douglas Fairbanks, American actor and filmmaker (12 December 1939), to an attendant who asked how he was
1940–1949
"I am only asking for one thing—let me finish my work."[3][note 26]
— Isaac Babel, Russian author (27 January 1940), prior to execution by firing squad on fabricated charges of terrorism and espionage
"I feel this time they have succeeded.[41] I do not want them to undress me. I want you to undress me."[12]: 91 [41][note 27]
— Leon Trotsky, Soviet revolutionary (21 August 1940), to his wife, Natalia Sedova, while being prepared for surgery after being mortally wounded by assassin Ramón Mercader
"My love of God is greater than my fear of death."[179][180]
— Cecil Pugh, GC, MA, Congregational Church minister (5 July 1941), asking to be lowered into the hold of the sinking SS Anselm, where injured airmen were trapped. Pugh then prayed with the men until the ship sank.
"Love the immaculate, love the immaculate, love the immaculate."[181]
"As long as I can give these people air, I'm sticking."[183][note 28]
— Robert R. Scott, United States Navy sailor and Medal of Honor recipient (7 December 1941), refusing to evacuate flooded air compressor compartment aboard USS California (BB-44) during the attack on Pearl Harbor
"If you survive, never forget what is happening here, give evidence, write and rewrite, keep alive each word and each gesture, each cry and each tear!"[184][note 29]
— Simon Dubnow, Jewish-born Russian historian, writer and activist (8 December 1941), prior to his murder in the Riga ghetto at the time of the Rumbula massacre
"I am sorry that we cause you yet more effort beyond death, and I am convinced that you are doing what you can do (which perhaps is not very much). Forgive us our desertion! We wish you and all our friends to experience better times. Your truly devoted Felix Hausdorff"[186]
("Verzeihen Sie, dass wir Ihnen über den Tod hinaus noch Mühe verursachen; ich bin überzeugt, dass Sie tun, was Sie tun können (und was vielleicht nicht sehr viel ist). Verzeihen Sie uns auch unsere Desertion! Wir wünschen Ihnen und allen unseren Freunden, noch bessere Zeiten zu erleben. Ihr treu ergebener Felix Hausdorff")
— Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (26 January 1942); the conclusion of his suicide letter to his lawyer. Hausdorff, his wife and his sister-in-law committed suicide rather than be deported to the Endenich camp.
"No surrender for me."[187]
— Walter Brown, VC, DCM, Australian World War I recipient of the Victoria Cross (15 February 1942), before walking toward Japanese lines carrying grenades during the Battle of Singapore[note 30]
"Here Olena Teliha was sitting until she was shot."[189]
— Olena Teliha, Ukrainian poet and activist (21 February 1942); inscription written on the wall of her prison cell prior to her execution by the Gestapo
"I think it better to conclude in good time and in erect bearing a life in which intellectual labour meant the purest joy and personal freedom the highest good on Earth."[190]
— Stefan Zweig, Austrian writer (22 February 1942), in his last testament before committing suicide with his wife, Lotte Altmann
"I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best."[191]
— Lucy Maud MontgomeryOBE, Canadian author (24 April 1942); conclusion of note found on her bedside table after her death. It may or may not have been a suicide note.
"Take good care of your mother, your brother, and sisters. Tell them to live up to our name. God bless you, my son."[192]
"Walter, who knows what is the scheme of things? My suffering has all been for the purpose of making you a man."[3]
— Moses Annenberg, American newspaper publisher (20 July 1942), to his son, Walter Annenberg. Moses Annenberg had been released from prison a month earlier after being convicted of tax evasion.
"They demand from me to kill the children of my nation with my own hands. There is nothing left for me but to die."[195][note 32]
— Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and senator, head of the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish Council (Judenrat) (23 July 1942), writing to his wife prior to his suicide. The SS had ordered the Judenrat and the Jewish Ghetto Police to begin supplying 6000 people per day, including children, for deportation.
"The bastards tried to come over me last night – I guess they didn't know I was a Marine."[196]
— Matangini Hazra, Indian revolutionary (29 September 1942), repeatedly chanting words from protest song while being shot by British Indian police at the age of 72
"Look after Agnes."[42]
— George M. Cohan, American entertainer (5 November 1942), referring to his wife
"I have no need of your Goddamned sympathy – I want to be entertained by some of your grosser reminiscences."[17]
— Alexander Woollcott, American critic and radio personality (23 January 1943)
"How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause... It is such a splendid sunny day, and I have to go. But how many have to die on the battlefield in these days, how many young, promising lives. What does my death matter if by our acts thousands are warned and alerted. Among the student body there will certainly be a revolt."[202]
— Sophie Scholl, member of White Rose anti-Nazi resistance movement, sister of Hans Scholl (22 February 1943), before she was taken for beheading by guillotine
"Long live freedom!"[203]
("Es lebe die Freiheit!")
— Hans Scholl, co-founder of White Rose resistance movement (22 February 1943), a moment before he was beheaded by guillotine
"What a life!"[17]
— Radclyffe Hall, English poet and author (7 October 1943)
"Reorganise the post, I will give covering fire."[206]
("Post reorganise karo, mein covering fire doonga.")
— Abdul HafizVC, Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (6 April 1944), mortally wounded at the Battle of Imphal
"No."[207]
— George Stinney, African-American child and youngest American with an exact age executed by the United States (16 June 1944), on whether he had any final words before his wrongful execution via electric chair. 14-year-old Stinney was tried and sentenced to death by Judge Philip H. Stoll in under three hours on 14 April after an all-white jury declared him guilty for double murder after only ten minutes of deliberation.[208][209]
"If it doesn't work this time, then please help me."[3]
— Ludwig Beck, German general (20 July 1944), trying unsuccessfully to shoot himself after the failure of the 20 July plot. A soldier then shot and killed him.
"Long live our sacred Germany!"[212][213]
("Es lebe das heilige Deutschland!")
— Claus von Stauffenberg, German army officer (21 July 1944), before being executed by the Nazis for his involvement in the failed 20 July plot
"If I die, do not blame anyone because I am starving. I was making a living by playing piano in a movie theater. Now I can not find this job either. You bury me as a Muslim."[214]
("Ben ölürsem, kimseyi suçlamayın; zira açlıktan ölüyorum. Bir sinemada piyano çalarak hayatımı kazanıyordum. Şimdi bu işi de bulamıyorum. Beni bir Müslüman olarak defnedersiniz.")
— Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, Ottoman prince (7 August 1944), note found in his pocket after he starved to death in a French public park
Last known photo of Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., taken on the day of his death.
"To Harald, may God forgive you and forgive me too but I prefer to take my life away and our baby's before I bring him with shame or killing him, Lupe."[23]
— Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress, dancer and singer (14 December 1944), in her suicide note, addressed to actor Harald Ramond. Vélez was pregnant with Ramond's child at the time.
"What's the matter Miller, do you want to live forever?"[3]
"What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has forgiven me. I have nothing against anyone. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good to me. I am ready to go. I am one in the number.[222] I am ready to meet my God.[3][222] I have a very strong conscience."[222]
— Lena Baker, African American maid (5 March 1945), prior to execution by electrocution for the murder of her employer. She received a full and unconditional pardon in 2005.
"Doc, the New York Giants lost a mighty good end today."[223]
— Ernie Pyle, American war correspondent (18 April 1945), to Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge before being fatally shot on Iejima during the Battle of Okinawa
Adolf Hitler committed suicide in order to avoid being captured after losing World War II.
"Above all, I charge the leadership of the nation and their followers with the strict observance of the racial laws and with merciless resistance against the universal poisoners of all peoples, international Jewry."[231]
("Vor allem verpflichte ich die Führung der Nation und die Gefolgschaft zur peinlichen Einhaltung der Rassegesetze und zum unbarmherzigen Widerstand gegen den Weltvergifter aller Völker, das internationale Judentum.")
"Go away. I'm all right."[12]: 15 [22][23][140][176][note 39]
— H. G. Wells, English author and futurist (13 August 1946)
"You might make that a double."[23]
— Neville Heath, English murderer (16 October 1946), when he was offered a drink prior to his execution by hanging
"God protect Germany. May I say something else? My last wish is that Germany realize its entity and that an understanding be reached between the East and the West. I wish peace to the world."[240][note 40]
"I have loved my German people and my fatherland with a warm heart. I have done my duty by the laws of my people and I am sorry my people were led this time by men who were not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge. Germany, good luck."[240]
— Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Austrian SS official, major perpetrator of The Holocaust (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"No."[240]
— Alfred Rosenberg, Baltic German Nazi theorist and ideologue (16 October 1946), when asked if he had anything to say prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"I am thankful for the kind of treatment during my captivity and I ask God to accept me with mercy."[240]
— Hans Frank, German politician and lawyer (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"Long live eternal Germany."[240]
— Wilhelm Frick, German politician of the Nazi Party (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
("Heil Hitler! Dies ist mein Purimfest 1946. Ich gehe zu Gott. Die Bolschewisten werden eines Tages Euch auch hängen!")
— Julius Streicher, Nazi politician, founder and publisher of Der Stürmer (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"I am dying innocent. The sentence is wrong. God protect Germany and make Germany great again. Long live Germany! God protect my family."[240]
— Fritz Sauckel, German Nazi politician (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"My greetings to you, my Germany."[240]
— Alfred Jodl, German Generaloberst (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions)
"I hope that this execution is the last act of the tragedy of the Second World War and that the lesson taken from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between peoples. I believe in Germany."[240]
— George Atcheson Jr., American diplomat (17 August 1947), aboard plane going down in Pacific Ocean near Hawaii
"You ass-face!"[246]
("¡Cara de poto!")
— Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (2 January 1948); after regaining consciousness, he confessed to his loved ones that he was afraid and made his friend Henriette Petit cry when he stared at her and shouted this expression
"The object is directly ahead of and above me now, moving at about half my speed... It appears to be a metallic object or possibly reflection of Sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size... I'm still climbing... I'm trying to close in for a better look."[247]
"The man was by the door. I got his identity card and name. I do not know if it is right. He shot me in the legs with three shots. The pocket book is in my inside pocket."[249]: 4
— Nathanael Edgar, British police officer (13 February 1948), describing the circumstances of his being mortally wounded in the line of duty
"To the General Secretary of the Arab League in Cairo: I lay full blame on your shoulders for leaving my soldiers, in the zenith of victory, without aid or weaponry. Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni."[250]
("السيد الأمين العام لجامعة الدول العربية، القاهرة: اني احملكم المسؤولية بعد ان تركتم جنودي في اوج انتصاراتهم بدون عون او سلاح. عبدالقادر الحسيني")
— Babe Ruth, American baseball player (16 August 1948)
"I'll need it."[3]
— Folke Bernadotte, Swedish nobleman and diplomat (17 September 1948), on being wished good luck by a journalist prior to his assassination
"Frenzy hath seized thy dearest son, / Who from thy shores in glory came / The first in valor and in fame; / Thy deeds that he hath done / Seem hostile all to hostile eyes.... / Better to die, and sleep / The never waking sleep, than linger on, / And dare to live, when the soul's life is gone."[35]
"Doctor, if I put this here guitar down now, I ain't never gonna wake up."[43]
— Lead Belly, American folk and blues singer, musician and songwriter (6 December 1949)
1950–1959
"At fifty, everyone has the face he deserves."[3][43]
— George Orwell, English author (21 January 1950), dying at the age of 46
"Mama!"[12]: 42
("Mamasha!")
— Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish ballet dancer and choreographer (8 April 1950)
"I have lost this fight but I leave with honour. I love this country, I love this nation, strive for their wellbeing. I depart without rancour towards you. I wish you, I wish you..."[251]
("Padám, padám, tento boj jsem prohrála, odcházím čestně. Miluji tuto zem, miluji tento lid, budujte mu blahobyt. Odcházím bez nenávisti k vám. Přeji vám to, přeji vám to…")
— Milada Horáková, Czech politician (27 June 1950), prior to execution by hanging on fabricated charges of conspiracy and treason
"No, I'll never make it. I'm going back and get that bastard."[252][note 46]
"Doctor,[21] do you think it could have been the sausage?"[12]: 34 [21]
("Docteur, pensez-vous que cela aurait pu être la saucisse?")
— Paul Claudel, French writer and diplomat (23 February 1955)
"I want to go when I want.[262] It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly."[23][262]
— Albert Einstein, German physicist (18 April 1955), declining surgery the day before his death[note 47]
"Life is wonderful. I am wonderful."[3]
— Mary McLeod Bethune, American educator, stateswoman and civil rights activist (18 May 1955)
"That guy's gotta stop... He'll see us."[264][note 48]
"I am wiling to be a junior.[3] I am glad to sit in the back row, for I had rather be a servant in the house of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty."[1][3][266]
— Alben W. Barkley, vice-president of the United States (30 April 1956), alluding to Psalms 84:10[267] just before dying of a heart attack while giving keynote address at the 1956 Washington and Lee Mock Convention
"No.[12]: 17 Thanks for everything."[3][12]: 17
— Max Beerbohm, English essayist, parodist and caricaturist (20 May 1956), on being asked by his wife if he had had a good sleep
"Too late for fruit, too soon for flowers."[12]: 25 [23]
— Walter de la Mare, English author (22 June 1956), when asked if he wanted some fruit or flowers
Test pilots Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr. and Milburn G. "Mel" Apt in 1956.
"There she goes!"[269]
— Milburn G. Apt, American test pilot (27 September 1956), final radio transmission while losing control of Bell X-2
"Goodbye, kid. Hurry back."[3][12]: 41 [43][270]
— Humphrey Bogart, American actor (14 January 1957), to his wife Lauren as she left to collect their children, after which he entered a fatal coma
"Were [sic] a midair collision - midair collision, 10 How we are going in-uncontrollable - uncontrollable - we are...we've had it boy - poor jet too - told you we should take chutes - say goodbye to everybody."[271]
— Wyndham Lewis, English writer and painter (7 March 1957), when asked on his deathbed about his bowels
"I can't admit it, Doc. Think of what that would do to my mother. She could not take it."[3][note 49]
— Burton Abbott, American convicted rapist and murderer (15 March 1957), to prison physician Dr. David Schmidt prior to execution by gas chamber
"The future is just old age and illness and pain... I must have peace and this is the only way."[23]
— James Whale, English film and theater director and actor (29 May 1957), in his suicide note
"No.... Awfully jolly of you to suggest it, though."[2]
— Ronald Knox, English Roman Catholic priest and writer (24 August 1957), when Lady Elton asked if he would like her to read from his translation of the New Testament
"I have laid my papers on a bed for my daughters. I have left the door open for the police to enter. I am going to shoot myself."[272]
— Donald E. Montgomery, American economist (11 October 1957), calling police before committing suicide
"A quick haircut."[3][note 50]
— Albert Anastasia, Italian-American mobster (25 October 1957). He was assassinated while in the barber's chair at the Park Sheraton Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.
"Dear Hef, When you read this I shall be dead. I cannot go on living with myself and hurting those dear to me. What I do has nothing to do with you."[275]
— Frederick George Hutchins, QPM, British police officer (3 June 1961), to Police Constable Leslie Charles England after being shot along with PC Charles Edward Cox, who survived
"Get after him!"[249]: 79
— Philip Pawsey, QPM, British police officer (3 June 1961), to PC Leslie Charles England after being shot by the same assailant as Sgt Hutchins and PC Cox
"Let's have a really good red wine tonight."[39]
— Carl Jung (6 June 1961), Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst
"Goodnight my kitten."[3][23][24][43]
— Ernest Hemingway, American author (2 July 1961), before committing suicide with a shotgun
"Remember, Honey, don't forget what I told you. Put in my coffin a deck of cards, a mashie niblick, and a pretty blonde."[3][39][43]
— Chico Marx, American actor and comedian (11 October 1961), giving his wife Mary humorous instructions for his funeral
"God bless ... God damn."[12]: 24 [17][23][41][75]: 195
— James Thurber, American humorist (2 November 1961)
"Yes, but not too many."[3]
("Ja, maar niet te veel.")
— Gerrit Achterberg, Dutch poet (17 January 1962), to his companion, who had asked if she should bake some potatoes
"Tell Georgie I want to get in the movies one way or another."[43]
— Lucky Luciano, Italian-American gangster (26 January 1962), after meeting with a producer about a proposed film based on his life
"I'm only going out for a few minutes. Besides, I'm wearing thermal underwear."[3]
— Anthony Strollo, American gangster (8 April 1962), to his wife prior to his disappearance
"I hope that all of you will follow me."[288][note 55]
"Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to the president and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy... I'll see... I'll see."[290][note 56]
— Marilyn Monroe, American actress (4 August 1962), over the phone to Peter Lawford, John F. Kennedy's brother-in-law
"I'm going to stop now, but I'm going to sharpen the ax before I put it up, dear."[10][17]
— E. E. Cummings, American poet (3 September 1962), to his wife, who was worried it was too hot for him to be chopping wood; he then suffered a stroke
"Have a good trip!"[292]
("Счастливого пути!")
— Pyotr Dolgov, Soviet Air Force colonel and balloonist (1 November 1962), to Yevgeni Nikolayevich Andreyev prior to jumping from a Volga balloon gondola at an altitude of 25,600 metres (84,000 ft). Dolgov was killed when his pressure suit depressurized; Andreyev successfully reached the ground.
"Yes."[293]
— Ian James Campbell, American police officer (9 March 1963), just before being fatally shot, in response to his killer asking if he had heard of the Little Lindbergh Law
"An olive, with a pit..."[23]
— Victor Feguer, American convicted murderer (15 March 1963), requesting his last meal prior to execution by hanging
"Why crying? This is a moment of joy, a moment of glory."[citation needed]
("Perché piangere? È un momento di gioia questo, un momento di gloria.")
"All the damn fool things you do in life you pay for."[36]: 17 [note 57]
— Édith Piaf, French singer-songwriter (10 October 1963), to her sister
"No, you certainly can't."[1][295][296][297][note 58]
— John F. Kennedy, president of the United States (22 November 1963), replying to co-passenger Nellie Connally saying, "You certainly can't say Dallas doesn't love you, Mr. President" while travelling through Dallas in a motorcade, shortly before he was fatally shot
"10-4."[299][note 59]
— J. D. Tippit, American police officer (22 November 1963), over his police radio shortly before being shot and killed, less than one hour after the Kennedy assassination
"LSD, 100 μg, im"[300]
— Aldous Huxley, philosopher, writer (22 November 1963), to his wife Laura ("im" being an abbreviation for intramuscular)
Jack Ruby shoots Lee Harvey Oswald.
"I want to see the American Civil Liberties Union."[301]
— Lee Harvey Oswald, accused of killing Kennedy and Tippit (24 November 1963), shortly before he was shot by Jack Ruby
"You made one mistake. You married me."[3][36]: 4 [note 60]
"Am I dying or is this my birthday?"[52][75]: 198 [note 61]
— Nancy Astor, Viscountess Astor, American-born British politician (2 May 1964), awakening on her deathbed to see her entire family around her. (Astor died 17 days before her birthday.)
"This is my final word. It is time for me to become an apprentice once more. I have not settled in which direction."[75]: 196 [note 62]
— Charles L. Kelly, United States Army helicopter pilot and medical evacuation unit commander (1 July 1964), responding to warning to leave a dangerous landing zone during a Vietnam War rescue mission. Kelly was then struck by a bullet.
"My God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire!"[303]
— Fireball Roberts, American stock car racer (2 July 1964), inside his burning car after 24 May 1964 wreck during the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Roberts survived for six weeks before dying of his injuries.
"I am sorry to trouble you chaps. I don't know how you get along so fast with the traffic on the road these days."[21][24]
— Ian Fleming, English naval intelligence officer and novelist (12 August 1964), to ambulance crew
"I'm sorry, boys, I'm all wet."[3]
— Gracie Allen, American vaudevillian and comedian (27 August 1964)
"Valerie."[43]
— T. S. Eliot, American-born British poet (4 January 1965), whispering the name of his wife, Valerie Eliot
"I am the only one who held the largest responsibility of the failed G30S and supported by other PKI members and mass organizations under the PKI [...] Rather I am being captured, better you kill me...! [...] Long live, PKI!"[305]
— D. N. Aidit, Indonesian communist and Communist Party of Indonesia leader (22 November 1965), prior to being summarily executed by Jasir Hadibroto and other executioners from the army. It was said that his last words were 30 minutes of inflaming speech against the army, resulting in the executioners shortly firing lethal shots after he shouted "Long live, PKI!"[306]
"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it."[12]: 14 [17][23]
— Nick Piantanida, American parachutist (29 August 1966), making emergency transmission from Strato Jump III balloon during decompression accident on 1 May 1966; the accident left him in a coma until his death
"A party! Let's have a party."[43]
— Margaret Sanger, American birth control activist (6 September 1966)
"How are we going to get to the moon if we can't talk between two or three buildings?"[316][317][318]
— Gus Grissom, American astronaut (27 January 1967), during Apollo 1 launch rehearsal test moments before a deadly fire broke out
"We've got a bad fire! Let's get out... We're burning up!"[316][317][318]
— Roger B. Chaffee, American astronaut (27 January 1967), reporting that a fire had broken out during Apollo 1 launch rehearsal test
"God bless you, please make it quick."[319][320]
— Ronald Ryan, Australian criminal (3 February 1967), to the hangman. Ryan was the last person to be executed in Australia prior to the abolition of the death penalty in 1985.
Corpsmen attempt to save Fall and Highland.
"We've reached one of our phase lines after the fire fight and it smells bad—meaning it's a little bit suspicious...Could be an amb—"[321]
— Bernard B. Fall, American war correspondent and historian (21 February 1967); spoken into tape recorder just before stepping on land mine that killed him and U.S. Marine Byron G. Highland during the Vietnam War
"To leave this life, to me, is a sweet prospect. When you read this I will be quite dead and no answer will be possible. All I can say is that I offered you love, and the best I could. All I got in return in the end was a kick in the teeth. Thus I die alone and unloved. As you sowed, so shall you reap."[23]
— David Ferrie, American pilot (22 February 1967), in apparent suicide note (alluding to Galatians 6:7).[322] Ferrie's autopsy concluded that he had died of natural causes.
The corpse of Che Guevara the day after his execution.
"I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man."[12]: 91 [37][329][note 66]
("Sé que estás aquí para matarme. Dispara, cobarde, solo vas a matar a un hombre.")
— Che Guevara, Argentinean statesman and socialist revolutionary (9 October 1967), facing his captors
"Dear Ted, what has happened to us? I don't know. I feel myself in a spiral, going down down down, into a black hole from which there is no escape, no brightness. And loud in my ears from every side I hear, 'failure, failure, failure...' I love you so much ... I am too old and enmeshed in everything you do and are, that I cannot conceive of life without you ... My going will leave quite a rumor but you can say I was overworked and overwrought. Your reputation with your friends and fans will not be harmed ... Sometimes think of the fun we had all thru the years ..."[330]
— Helen Palmer, American children's author, editor and philanthropist (23 October 1967), in her suicide note, addressed to her husband, Theodor Seuss Geisel
— Robert F. Kennedy, American politician (6 June 1968), speaking to medical attendants who lifted him onto a stretcher several minutes after he was fatally shot and lost consciousness shortly thereafter
"I'm awful tired now, Hank. I've got to go to bed."
— Red Foley, American country music singer (19 September 1968)[341]
"God sits in the regiments! That is why I am not afraid. Stay confident in also the darkest moments! Let us hope not fall, the hope for all people, for all the peoples of the world. God let us not fall, not a single one of us and all of us together. It is governed."[3][note 67]
"How nice, if I were to die now I would be happy..."[347]
("Che bello, se dovessi morire adesso sarei felice..")
— C. F. Powell, FRS, British physicist (9 August 1969), before dying in Casargo, Italy on balcony with scenic view
"Please — please don't kill me. I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to have my baby. I want to have my baby."[290]
— Sharon Tate, American actress (9 August 1969), confirmed by confessed murderer Susan Atkins to be among the pregnant actress' last words.
1970–1979
"Anyway, I can get a good rest in the morning. There's no rehearsal till three."[3]
— John Barbirolli, British conductor (29 July 1970), to his wife after awakening during the night
"Happy anniversary. I love you."[43][348]
— Vince Lombardi, American football coach (3 September 1970), to his wife
"Roger."[349]
— William Schaffner, United States Air Force pilot (8 September 1970), prior to his BAC Lightning crashing into the North Sea; some commentators would allege that a UFO was involved in the incident
"I need help bad, man."[350]
— Jimi Hendrix, American musician, singer, and songwriter (18 September 1970), to his manager, Chas Chandler, in an answering machine message he left for him
"I feel pain here."[21][351]
("Ça fait mal là.")
— Charles de Gaulle, French statesman (9 November 1970), pointing at his neck seconds before he unexpectedly died from aneurysm
"Human life is limited; but I would like to live forever."[2]
"Are you there, Pam? Pam, are you there?"[355][356][350]
— Jim Morrison, American singer, musician, songwriter and poet (3 July 1971), to his girlfriend Pamela Courson
"I had him by the throat but the bastard shot me."[357][note 68]
— Gerry Richardson, GC, British police officer (23 August 1971), to PC Carl Walker, GC, referring to armed robber Frederick Joseph Sewell, who had shot both of them. Walker survived.
"Mama, if I get through this, I swear I'll be a better man."[12]: 40
"If this is what viral pneumonia does to one, I really don't think I shall bother to have it again."[12]: 47
— Gladys Cooper, English actress (17 November 1971), looking in a mirror
"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."[16][23][359]
— George Sanders, British actor (25 April 1972); one of his suicide notes
— Moe Berg, American baseball player (29 May 1972), to his nurse
"I have got that woman. We are all right."[362]
— Adrian McGill, Glasgow Fire Service Sub Officer (18 November 1972), shouting to other firefighters from the top floor of a burning building. The woman whom McGill died trying to save also died.
"Good night my darlings. I'll see you tomorrow."[12]: 47 [21]
— Noël Coward, English playwright, composer and performer (26 March 1973), to Graham Payn, his life partner, and Cole Lesley, his secretary, while going to bed the night before he died
"Drink to me, drink to my health. You know I can't drink anymore."[23][48][176]
"It is stuffy, sticky, and rainy here at present – but forecasts are more favourable."[363]
— J. R. R. Tolkien, English writer and academic (2 September 1973), postscript of letter to his daughter Priscilla
Salvador Allende's eyeglasses, found after his death.
"These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain. I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice and treason."[3]
("Estas son mis últimas palabras y tengo la certeza de que mi sacrificio no será en vano, tengo la certeza de que, por lo menos, será una lección moral que castigará la felonía, la cobardía y la traición.")
— Murray Hudson, GC, New Zealand infantry sergeant (13 February 1974), to a soldier who froze with an armed grenade; the grenade exploded as Hudson tried to release it, killing both men
"My dear, before you kiss me goodbye, fix your hair. It's a mess."[2][39]
— George Kelly, American playwright and actor (18 June 1974), to one of his nieces
"In keeping with the WXLT practice of presenting the most immediate and complete reports of local blood and guts news, TV 40 presents what is believed to be a television first. In living color, exclusive coverage of an attempted suicide."[364]
"That was a great game of golf,[10][12]: 44 [22][384] fellas.[10][12]: 44 [384] Let's go have a Coca-Cola."[385]
— Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (14 October 1977), moments before collapsing and dying of a heart attack
"Why not? After all, it belongs to him."[10][12]: 48
— Charlie Chaplin, English actor and filmmaker (25 December 1977), to a priest who had said, "May the Lord have mercy on your soul"
"What do you think I'm gonna do? Blow my brains out?"[386]
— Terry Kath, American lead singer and guitarist for Chicago (23 January 1978), before accidentally shooting himself
"Don't worry, I can do it. I can get to land."[3][note 71]
— Eddie Aikau, American lifeguard and surfer (17 March 1978), leaving voyaging canoe Hōkūleʻa after it began leaking to paddle to shore for help. The rest of the canoe's crew were rescued.
"If you don't like it, you can fuck off!"[387][388]
— Keith Moon, English drummer for the rock band the Who (7 September 1978), to his girlfriend Annette Walter-Lax
— Frederick Valentich, Australian aviator (21 October 1978), last transmission before disappearing after possibly sighting a UFO
"All stop."[391]
— Tony Prangley, British commercial diver (26 November 1978), prior to anchor chain severing diving bell connections to MS Star Canopus, causing bell containing Prangley and fellow diver Michael Ward to plummet to the sea floor
"Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub."[37]
— Conrad Hilton, American hotelier (3 January 1979), on being asked if he had any final words of wisdom
"It must have been the coffee."[43]
— Jack Soo, American actor (11 January 1979); speaking to Hal Linden while being wheeled into operating room, referring to the bad coffee Soo's character made on their sitcom Barney Miller
"God help me [Allah madad], for I am innocent."[392][note 72]
"When you've been in the mountains for many years, you may forget that it's not a man's world. Every day I have to remember that this is not a world for man. This is the only sure way to approach it. Otherwise it's like when a boxer lets his guard down, it can stop very quickly."[396]
("Lorsque vous avez été pendant de nombreuses anées en montagne, vous pouvez finir par oublier que ce n'est pas un monde pour l'homme. Chaque jour, je dois me souvenir que ce n'est pas un monde pour l'homme. C'est la seule façon sûre de l'aborder. Sinon c'est comme quand un boxeur baisse sa garde, ça peut s'arrêter très vite.")
"I've got to be crazy to do this shot. I should've asked for a double."[407]
— Vic Morrow, American actor (23 July 1982), prior to being killed along with two child actors during filming in the Twilight Zone accident
"I am going."[16]
— Sobhuza II, King of Swaziland, longest verifiably-reigning monarch in recorded history (21 August 1982), to his minister of health after halting a meeting
"Do I look all right? Give me my brush and my makeup."[3][39]
— Ingrid Bergman, Swedish actress (29 August 1982), on hearing she had a visitor
"I believe this is going to be the greatest day of my life!"[38]
— Lester Roloff, American fundamentalist Independent Baptist preacher and founder of teen homes (2 November 1982), prior to fatal plane crash
— John Eldon Smith, American convicted murderer (15 December 1983), prior to execution by electrocution
"Kill me if you want, but stop bothering me!"
("Tue-moi si tu veux mais arrête de m'emmerder")
— Paul Gégauff, French director (24 December 1983), before being killed by his Norwegian wife.
"What is about to transpire in a few moments is wrong! However, we as human beings do make mistakes and errors. This execution is one of those wrongs yet doesn't mean our whole system of justice is wrong. Therefore, I would forgive all who have taken part in any way in my death. Also, to anyone I have offended in any way during my 39 years, I pray and ask your forgiveness, just as I forgive anyone who offended me in any way. And I pray and ask God's forgiveness for all of us respectively as human beings. To my loved ones, I extend my undying love. To those close to me, know in your hearts I love you one and all. God bless you all and may God's best blessings be always yours. Ronald C. O'Bryan. P.S. During my time here, I have been treated well by all T.D.C. personnel."[411]
— Truman Capote, American author (25 August 1984). He had been separated from his mother for several years during his childhood.
"Can you believe this crap?"[23]
— Jon-Erik Hexum, American actor and model (18 October 1984), prior to dying by accidental self-inflicted blank cartridge gunshot to the head
"I know that everybody has gone through a lot of pain, all the families connected, and I am sorry, and I want to thank everybody who have been supporting me all these six years."[413]
— Velma Barfield, American serial killer (2 November 1984), right before her execution
"I am about to die for a murder that I did not commit, that someone else committed ... I love the Lord and hope that God takes me into his kingdom, and goodbye, mother."[371]
— Roosevelt Green, Jr., American convicted murderer (9 January 1985), prior to execution by electrocution
"I'm ready. It feels good. It's a go."[414]
— Karel Soucek, Czech-Canadian stuntman (20 January 1985), prior to fatal barrel drop from ceiling of Houston Astrodome
"I can't anymore."[3]
— James Beard, American chef and cookbook author (23 January 1985), no longer able to speak
"Shit!"[415][416]
— Rudolph Przydzial "Rudy" Price Jr. (2 August 1985), First Officer of Delta Air Lines Flight 191, reacting to the first impact of the Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar.
"It's... the end!"[417]
("ああ、おわった")
— Captain Masami Takahama (12 August 1985), pilot of Japan Air Lines Flight 123, just before the Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain
"I have a problem, I have a real problem."[418]
— Art Scholl, American aerobatic pilot (16 September 1985), after his plane entered a flat inverted spin during filming of Top Gun
"No, I don't believe so."[12]: 43
— Rock Hudson, American actor (2 October 1985), when asked if he wanted a cup of coffee
"I am going to the inevitable."[12]: 35
— Philip Larkin, English poet and novelist (2 December 1985), to his nurse
"I'm bad, I'm nineteen."[77]
— Phil Lynott, Irish singer, musician and songwriter (4 January 1986), dying at age 36[note 75]
— Benny Goodman, American clarinetist (13 June 1986), to his friend Carol Smith, who discovered him pale and slumped on his couch after suffering an apparent heart attack
"My name is Jerome Bowden, and I would just like to state that my execution is about to be carried out. And I would like to thank the people at this institution for taking such good care of me in the way that they did. And I hope that by my execution being carried out, that it may bring some light to this thing that is wrong. And I would like to have a final prayer with Chaplain Lizzel if that is possible. Thank you very much."[421]
— Jerome Bowden, American convicted murderer (24 June 1986), prior to execution by electrocution
"Freedom. Freedom at last, man. It's been a real good one."[371]
— John William Rook, American convicted murderer (19 September 1986), prior to execution by lethal injection
"Every important thing a man searches for in his life, I found in Coach Lombardi. He made us men."[422]
"Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!"[423][424]
— Jane Dornacker, American rock musician and traffic reporter (22 October 1986), prior to fatal crash of WNBC Radio helicopter into Hudson River
"I love you Barbara...don't worry."[12]: 46
— Cary Grant, English-American actor (29 November 1986), to his wife while being wheeled to intensive care following a stroke
"I love you too, honey. Good luck with your show."[3]
— Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American bandleader, actor and film and television producer (2 December 1986), over the phone to his former wife, Lucille Ball
"Don't, don't, don't, this will hurt someone!"[425]
— R. Budd Dwyer, American politician (22 January 1987), to the reporters who tried to stop him from shooting himself on live television
"Yeah, country music."[43]
— Buddy Rich, American jazz drummer and bandleader (2 April 1987), to a nurse who asked him, "Is there anything you can't take?" He then died during surgery.
"Life is unbearable for me. Forgive me"[426]
("La vie m'est insupportable. Pardonnez moi")
— Dalida, Italian-French singer and actress (3 May 1987); writing her suicide note
"Yeah, I think[427] I'd rather be fishing."[12]: 60 [23][130][427]
— Jimmy L. Glass, American convicted murderer (12 June 1987), prior to execution by electrocution[note 76]
"I always knew what I was doing."[428]
— Jackie Gleason, American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor (24 June 1987)
"I'm bored."[3]
— James Baldwin, American author and activist (1 December 1987)
"I feel great."[43][429]
— Pete Maravich, American basketball player (5 January 1988), before dying of undiagnosed heart defect during pickup game
"I love you."[430]
— Heather O'Rourke, American child actress (1 February 1988), to her mother, shortly before dying of septic shock
"This dying is boring."[43][note 77]
— Richard Feynman, American theoretical physicist and raconteur (15 February 1988)
"I want to offer again my most profound and heartfelt apologies to my victims' families. I am truly sorry. I have tried my best to empathize with their grief and devastation and I hope they come to know of my concerns and prayers for them."[431]
— Oliver L. Austin, American ornithologist (31 December 1988), to his wife
"Where is my clock?"[21][23]
("Dónde está mi reloj?")
— Salvador Dalí, Spanish surrealist painter (23 January 1989)
"Give my love to my family and friends."[371]
— Ted Bundy, American serial killer (24 January 1989), prior to execution by electrocution
"I'm begging you, let me work!"[433]
("お願いです、働かせてください!")
— Osamu Tezuka, Japanese cartoonist (9 February 1989), to a nurse who tried to take away his drawing equipment
"I did what I could."[3]
— Edward Abbey, American author, essayist and environmental advocate (14 March 1989)
"It's too late. We can't win, they've gotten too powerful."[23]
— Abbie Hoffman, American political and social activist (12 April 1989), in note written prior to phenobarbital overdose
"My Florida water."[3]
— Lucille Ball, American actress, television producer and studio executive (26 April 1989), when asked if she wanted anything
"I hope and pray that all the new and reopened wounds will be healed quickly after my passing. My death is the Lord's will and I am now with my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Heaven."[434]
— Aubrey Dennis Adams, Jr., American convicted child murderer (4 May 1989), prior to execution by electrocution
"I love you, Noel."[435]
— Mel Blanc, American voice actor and radio personality (10 July 1989), spoken in the voice of Yosemite Sam to his son Noel
"This isn't Hamlet, you know, it's not meant to go into the bloody ear."[12]: 42 [436][437]
— Laurence Olivier, English actor and director (11 July 1989), to a nurse when she spilled water on him while moistening his lips
"Why? Why?"[438]
— Rebecca Schaeffer, American actress and model (18 July 1989), after being shot at her apartment doorsteps by stalker Robert John Bardo
"No bloody doctors."[39]
— R. D. Laing (23 August 1989), Scottish psychiatrist
"Sorry for saying fuck."[439]
— Graham Chapman, English comedian, writer, actor, and author (4 October 1989), to a nurse who stuck a needle in his arm
"I'm so tired."[440]
— Bette Davis, American actress (6 October 1989), spoken to a nurse before she died
"Ah, shit."[441]
— Marc Lépine, Canadian perpetrator of the École Polytechnique massacre (6 December 1989), in which he killed fourteen women, before fatally shooting himself
"Long Live the Socialist Republic of Romania, independent and free."[442]
(„Trăiască Republica Socialistă România, independentă și liberă".)
— Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian communist politician, dictator and president of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989 (25 December 1989), executed by firing squad
1990–2000
"I don't want to lay down."[443]
— Hank Gathers, American basketball player (4 March 1990), after collapsing during game
"See you later, I feel like I'm in good hands."[444]
— Jim Henson, American puppeteer (16 May 1990), to his estranged wife Jane
"What is this?"[3][445]
— Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (14 October 1990), on receiving an injection
"Ow, fuck!"[23][446]
— Roald Dahl, British author (23 November 1990), after a nurse pricked him with a needle
"Okay air speed's alive. Engines are stabilized, power's set for departure. Fuel's even kind'a balanced. One hundred knots. V1. Rotate. V2. Plus ten. Positive rate. Watch out. Watch out. Watch out."[447]
— Harry Collinson, English planning officer (20 June 1991), asking for the cameraman to get a picture of Albert Dryden, who had brandished a revolver and shot him moments after
"You're right. It's time. I love you all."[43][348]
— Michael Landon, American actor (1 July 1991), when one of his sons said it was time to move on
"Yes. I'm not going to die tomorrow."[149][452]
— Dr. Seuss, American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, and filmmaker (24 September 1991)
"No, I'm going to kill more people."[453]
— George Hennard, American mass murderer (16 October 1991), to first responders before committing suicide.
"She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong."[454]
— G. W. Green, American convicted murderer (11 November 1991), echoing Gary Gilmore prior to execution by lethal injection
"Thank you."[455]
— Freddie Mercury, British lead vocalist of Queen (24 November 1991), to his assistant Peter Freestone, before he slipped into a coma and died shortly thereafter.
"I'd like to thank my family for loving me and taking care of me, and the rest of the world can kiss my ass."[2][23][37][371]
— Johnny Frank Garrett, American convicted murderer (11 February 1992), prior to execution by lethal injection
"I just want everybody to know that I think the prosecutor and Bill Scott [a fellow inmate who testified against Ellis] are some sorry s.o.bs."[371]
— Edward Ellis, American convicted murderer (3 March 1992), prior to execution by lethal injection
(Declined to make a final statement, but signaled the executioner to get started.)[371][456]
— Donald Harding, American convicted murderer (6 April 1992). His asphyxiation in the gas chamber took 11 minutes before death was finally confirmed, and Harding spent his last moments cursing Arizona's state attorney general Grant Woods and giving him the middle finger.
"I don't want to die; I don't want to die. But why? Okay, okay, okay."[457][458][note 78]
— Sam Kinison, American comic (10 April 1992), spoken after a fatal car accident caused by a teen who had been drinking alcohol.
"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper."[12]: 60 [23][38][371][note 79]
— Robert Alton Harris, American kidnapper and murderer (21 April 1992), prior to execution by gas chamber
"An innocent man is going to be murdered tonight. When my innocence is proven, I hope America will realize the injustice of the death penalty as all other civilized countries have.[298][460] My last words are to the woman I love. Love is eternal. My love for you will last forever. I love you, Sharon."[460]
— Roger Keith Coleman, American rapist and murderer (20 May 1992), prior to execution by electrocution. In 2006, Coleman was found to be truly guilty due to DNA evidence.
"I HAVE HAD A HAPPY LIFE AND THANK THE LORD. GOODBYE AND MAY GOD BLESS ALL!"[461]
— Chris McCandless, American hiker (18 August 1992), final note written before dying of starvation
"I'm dying. Tell Sue I'm sorry and that I love her."[462]
"I am innocent, innocent, innocent.[12]: 60 [463][464] Make no mistake about this. I owe society nothing.[12]: 60 [464] Continue the struggle for human rights, helping those who are innocent, especially Mr. Graham.[464] I am an innocent man, and something very wrong is taking place tonight.[12]: 60 [463][464] May God bless you all. I am ready."[464]
— Leonel Torres Herrera, American convicted police murderer (12 May 1993), prior to execution by lethal injection
"No paparazzi, I want anonymity."[465]
— River Phoenix, American actor, musician, and activist (31 October 1993)
"I want the world to be filled with white fluffy duckies."[43]
— Derek Jarman, English film director, stage designer and author (19 February 1994)
"I don't have the passion anymore, and so remember, it's better to burn out than to fade away. Peace, love, empathy. Kurt Cobain.[466]Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your altar. Please keep going Courtney, for Frances. For her life, which will be so much happier without me. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!"[22][23][466]
— Kurt Cobain, American musician (5 April 1994), closing his suicide note
"Help."[1]
— Richard Nixon, president of the United States (22 April 1994), to a housekeeper while suffering a stroke
"I'm really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist... depressed... without phone... money for rent... money for child support... money for debts... money!!!... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners... I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky."[472]
— Sonja Davis, American stunt performer (November 1994), calling down to stunt coordinator prior to fatal fall onto airbag on the set of Vampire in Brooklyn
"Now, I'm in the biggest fight of my life and it ain't easy. But I want to say much love to those who have been down with me and thanks for all your support. Just remember, It's your real time and your real life."[474]
— Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records (16 March 1995), written as part of his final message to his fans while dying of AIDS. He slipped into a coma not long afterwards and died on March 26.
"I did not get my Spaghetti-Os. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this."[2][23][43][130]
— Thomas J. Grasso, American double murderer (20 March 1995), prior to execution by lethal injection
— Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, American singer (31 March 1995), explaining her murderer's name and room number to the hotel staff shortly after being shot by Yolanda Saldívar
"I'm the happiest man in the world! I'm not afraid to die! I'm not crazy! I'm going to be reaching that white house tonight!"[3]
— Sylvester Lewis Adams, American convicted murderer (18 August 1995), prior to execution by lethal injection
"Oh, come on."[3]
— Kingsley Amis, English novelist and poet (22 October 1995)
"Mom, do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain?[21][35] Mom, I just want to take off in the plane."[35]
— Jessica Dubroff, seven-year-old American pilot trainee (11 April 1996), before dying in an aircraft crash. Pilots at the airport later testified that the weather was unsuitable for flight.[477]
"I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much."[478]
— Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (11 May 1996), speaking to his wife by satellite phone before dying on Mount Everest
"Why? Why not?"[36]: 16 [note 80]
— Timothy Leary, American psychologist and writer (31 May 1996)
"This is for you!"[479]
— Ricardo López, Uruguayan-born American pest controller (12 September 1996), before committing suicide with a gun after he mailed a bomb to Icelandic musician Björk, attempting to kill her
— Allen Ginsberg, American poet and writer (5 April 1997)
"Thank the Lord for the past 14 years that have allowed me to grow as a man. To J.D.'s family, I am sorry for the suffering you have gone through the past 14 years. I hope you can get some peace tonight. To my family, I am happy to be going home to Jesus. Sweet Jesus, here I come. Take me home. I am going your way."[481]
— Kenneth Edward Gentry, American criminal (16 April 1997), prior to execution by lethal injection
"Forgive me, but I don't want to live anymore. The pain is too bad. There's no point in trying to prolong this agony."[482]
— Brian Keith, American actor (24 June 1997), to his wife Victoria
— John Denver, American singer-songwriter (12 October 1997), asking if he had transmitted a four-digit code properly prior to crash of his experimental Rutan Long-EZ aircraft
"And where do you come from?"[21]
— Isaiah Berlin, Russian-British philosopher (5 November 1997), to a nurse
"Please don't leave me."[23][406]
— Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (18 December 1997), to a prostitute, leaving his Chicago apartment
"[Mo]nday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 98 3pm. Please help us to rescue us before we die. Help!!!"[489]
— Tom Lonergan, American scuba diver (26 January 1998), message written on dive slate. Lonergan and his wife Eileen disappeared in the Coral Sea off northeast Australia after being unintentionally abandoned by their dive boat.
"Yes sir, I would like to say to all of you-the Thornton Family and Jerry Dean's family that I am so sorry. I hope God will give you peace with this. Baby, I love you. Ron, give Peggy a hug for me. Everybody has been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I am going to be face to face with Jesus now. Warden Baggett, thank all of you so much. You have been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I will see you all when you get there. I will wait for you."[490][491]
— Karla Faye Tucker, American double murderer who converted to Christianity in prison (3 February 1998), prior to execution by lethal injection
"The act of taking my own life is not something I am doing without a lot of thought.[492] I don't believe that people should take their own lives without deep and thoughtful reflection over a considerable period of time.[23][492] I do believe strongly, however, that the right to do so is one of the most fundamental rights that anyone in a free society should have. For me much of the world makes no sense, but my feelings about what I am doing ring loud and clear to an inner ear and a place where there is no self, only calm. Love always, Wendy."[492]
— Wendy O. Williams, American singer, songwriter and actress (6 April 1998); one of her suicide notes
"I'm losing it."[3][43]
— Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor (14 May 1998)
"I'm going out for the night. I'll be back—Phil. Love you."[493]
— Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic designer (28 May 1998), a note that he had left behind for his wife hours before his murder
"Don't mess with my money."[23]
— Lowell Fulson, American blues guitarist and songwriter (7 March 1999)
"I'll finally get to see Marilyn."[12]: 43 [348][494][note 81]
— Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (8 March 1999)
"Oooh, the Godfather, just saying his name makes my blue blood boil. OHHH! The Godfather, my arch nemesis, he represents everything that's wrong with the WWF. But fear not, because I, the Blue Blazer, will always triumph over evil doers, and you know why, because I always take my vitamins, say my prayers, and drink my milk, WHOOO!"[495]
— Owen Hart, Canadian-American professional wrestler (23 May 1999), being interviewed on camera prior to fatal fall into ring at Over the Edge (1999)
"You crawl out of your mother's womb, you crawl across open country under fire, and drop into your grave."[12]: 24
— Quentin Crisp, English writer, racounteur and actor (21 November 1999)
"Five zula [sic] alpha just had a midair. Both planes are going down in the, ah, one mile to the, ah, two miles to the west of the power plant."[496]
— Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist (12 February 2000), to his son Monte
"I love my family. I love all my friends and my rabbi"[499]
— Terry Melvin Sims, American convicted murderer (23 February 2000), before his execution
"I just want you to know from the bottom of my heart that I am truly sorry. I mean it. I'm not saying it."
— Timothy Gribble, American serial killer (15 March 2000), before his execution
"There is no way words can express how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies. Now I can be with my babies, as I always intended. I love you my babies."[468][note 82]
— Christina Marie Riggs, American murderer (2 May 2000), prior to execution by lethal injection for killing her two young children
"I want to tell you, Keith, and the Ponsano family that I always regretted what I've done. It was my own doing. After this is over with, I hope you can find the peace to move on."
— Feltus Taylor, American convicted murderer (6 June 2000), right before his execution
"Our destiny is to build a better future for our countries, a safe future for our children. We have to give them something better than we inherited."[3]
— George Bernard Harris, American armed robber and murderer (13 September 2000), prior to execution by lethal injection
"Sant Ajaib Singh. That's it"[502]
— Daniel Hittle, American serial killer (6 December 2000), prior to his execution
Notes
^Also reported as, "We are all going" (when his wife said "I want to go too, I want to go too!").[2] He may also have sung the first few lines of the hymn "Nearer, My God, to Thee".[6]
^Also reported as, "Oh, Syrie! My head feels so heavy!"[3]
^Also reported as, "Don't turn down the light. I'm afraid to go home in the dark"[37] or "Turn up the lights. I don't want to go home in the dark."[12]: 22 [23][38]
^Also reported as, "Even in the valley of the shadow of death, two and two do not make six" (refusing to reconcile with the Russian Orthodox Church),[22][23][41]"I do not understand what I have to do"[42] and as "The truth... I care a great deal... how they..."[12]: 22 Tolstoy's first name is incorrectly given by Ward as "Nikolai".[12]: 22
^Several accounts suggest that Captain Smith jumped overboard as the ship sank and subsequently perished in the water, possibly near Collapsible B. An unknown swimmer who was thought to have been Smith, cried out, "All right boys. Good luck and God bless you", and cheered the occupants on saying "Good boys! Good lads!" before dying.[54]
^Also reported as, "Thank God, Christmas can now finish his work with a chapter to the glory of Greece, of the Crown Prince and of the Army." (referring to his biographer).[58]
^Cavell's final words to the German Lutheran prison chaplain, Paul Le Seur, were recorded as, "Ask Father Gahan to tell my loved ones later on that my soul, as I believe, is safe and that I am glad to die for my country."[70]
^Just prior to his execution, Hill had written to Bill Haywood, an IWW leader, saying, "Goodbye Bill. I die like a true blue rebel. Don't waste any time in mourning. Organize... Could you arrange to have my body hauled to the state line to be buried? I don't want to be found dead in Utah."[73][74]
^Also reported as, "Death is nothing, nor life either, for that matter. To die, to sleep, to pass into nothingness, what does it matter? Everything is an illusion."[14]
^Also reported as, "Goodnight, my dear" (to his housekeeper).[3]
^Also reported as, "What?"[94]
^The story of Gipp's last words was possibly fabricated by Rockne.[37]
^Also reported as, "But I have to. So little done. So much to do" (to his wife, who had asked him not to hurry while dictating).[3]
^Also reported as, "I am off to love" ("Je vais à l'amour") by Glenway Wescott.[127]
^Also reported as, "Well, folks, you are about to see a baked Appel"[3] and as "Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel."[23][130]
^Also reported as, "Hurry up you bastard, I could kill 10 men while you're fooling around!"[135][unreliable source?] and as "Yes, hurry it up, you Hoosier bastard! I could kill a dozen men while you're screwing around!"[130]
^Also reported as, "Everything is going wrong, my girl."[3]
^Also reported as, "Safeguard Yugoslavia."[3][150] These last words are questionable; Alexander probably did not speak after being shot.[3][150]
^Also reported as, "Later, Seymour, later", "I wonder what will happen to my poor university boys", "I have so much to do" and "Shit".[154]
^Also reported as, "An upbeat. An upbeat" ("Auftakt. Auftakt").[3]
^Also reported as, "BuggerBognor", "Gentlemen, I am sorry for keeping you waiting like this. I am unable to concentrate" and "How is the Empire?"[37]
^Also reported as, "Hello my darling [to his wife], hello my dear [to his secretary]."[12]: 29
^Also reported as, "If I die, bury me up there, and then in a year's time, when the newspapers have forgotten me, dig me up and plant me in Sligo."[77]
^Seaman also said to his wife, "I am afraid you must go to the cinema alone after all".[172]
^Also reported as, "Now it is nothing but torture[23][39] and makes no sense anymore."[39]
^Year of death incorrectly given by Brahms as 1941.[3]
^Also reported as, "I will not survive this attack. Stalin has finally accomplished the task he attempted unsuccessfully before."[173]
^Also reported as, "This is my station and I will stay and give them air as long as the guns are going."[183]
^These last words are regarded as legendary.[184]
^Date of death officially recorded as 28 February 1942.[188] There are alternate theories about the circumstances of Brown's death.
^Also reported as, "Tell me Gene, is it true that you are the illegitimate son of Buffalo Bill?" (to Gene Fowler)[3][12]: 44 and as "This is wonderful! What a wonderful place!" (to Lionel Barrymore).[3]
^Czerniaków also wrote a letter to the Judenrat, stating, "They demanded [of me] to prepare transports of children. I cannot take it any longer, I cannot allow [the] death of innocent children; this is why I decided to do away with myself. This is not cowardice or escape. I am powerless, my heart is splitting from sorrow and compassion and I cannot bear this any longer. My deed will show the truth to all and maybe it will encourage [the] right actions. I am aware that I am leaving you with a difficult legacy."[195]
^Also reported as "Mach End', o Herr, mach' Ende mit aller unserer Not."[217]
^Also reported as "It's on fire."[221]
^Also reported as, "We have fifteen minutes more to work" by Elizabeth Shoumatoff.[225]
^Last words of Mussolini as claimed by Aldo Lampredi [it], who was an eyewitness to his death. Also reported as, "But...but...Mr. Colonel."[42]Walter Audisio, the person generally accepted to have killed Mussolini, claimed that Mussolini said nothing immediately prior to or during the execution.[229][230]
^Also reported as, "The sad thing is that I leave with so much to say."[28]
^Glossed idiomatically as "Make it quick" or "Get it over with."[237]
^Also reported as, "God damn you all; I told you so."[75]: 196
^Also reported as, "God protect Germany. God have mercy on my soul. My final wish is that Germany should recover her unity and that, for the sake of peace, there should be understanding between East and West. I wish peace to the world."[241]
^Also reported as, "I call on God Almighty to have mercy on the German people. More than 2 million German soldiers went to their death for the fatherland before me. I follow now my sons - all for Germany."[240]
^Also reported as, "Heil Hitler!" (when asked his name) "You know my name well. Julius Streicher. Now it goes to God. Purim Fest 1946. The Bolsheviks will hang you one day. Adele, my dear wife."[240]
^Also reported as, "I'm looking for a loophole"[22] or "I'm looking for loopholes" (while paging through a Bible).[38]
^Mantell was also reported to have said, "My God, I see people in this thing!"[247]
^Also reported as, "I am late by ten minutes. I hate being late. I like to be at the prayer punctually at the stroke of five."[22]
^Also reported as, "I'll get those dirty bastards!"[253]
^His true last words are unknown, as he spoke them in German to the attending English nurses, who could not understand him.[263] These are therefore his last known words.
^Also reported as, "My fun days are over."[22]
^Also reported as, "Thank you" (to Warden Harley O. Teets).[3]
^Also reported as, "Haircut!"[12]: 58
^Also reported as, "Is everybody happy? I want everybody to be happy. I know I'm happy."[3][116]
^Also reported as, "Ah, non ..."[279]
^Also reported as, "It is. But not as hard as farce",[23][75]: 196 and as "Yes, it's tough, but it's not as tough as doing comedy",[12]: 41 when told that dying must be hard.
^Also reported as, "God, I'm bored."[12]: 16
^Last words more commonly reported as, "Long live Germany. Long live Argentina. Long live Austria. These are the three countries with which I have been most connected and which I will not forget. I greet my wife, my family and my friends. I am ready. We'll meet again soon, as is the fate of all men. I die believing in God."[288][289]
^Also reported as, "Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to Jack and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy, Charlie" (referring to Lawford's Rat Pack nickname).[291]
^Also reported as, "Every damn thing you do in this life, you have to pay for"[294] and as "I can die now, I've lived twice."[12]: 47
^Also reported as, "That's obvious"[2][298] and "My God, I've been hit."[1]
^This was Tippit's last radio transmission. He apparently spoke to his killer just before being shot.
^Also reported as, "Bless you, Sister. May all your sons be bishops" (to a nursing nun).[3][116]
^Also reported as, "Jakie, is it my birthday or am I dying?"[3][23]
^Also reported as, "But maybe I wouldn't wake up" (to his physician, who had suggested he get some rest).[3]
^Incorrectly reported as, "How about this for a headline? French fries."[2][23][130] French actually made a similar comment to reporter Bob Gregory days earlier.[311]
^Also reported as, "Kein Grund zum Weinen" ("No reason to cry") and as "Stick together. See as much as possible of one another" (to his family). The latter version is described as an indirect quote of Adenauer's last coherent statement.[3]
^Incorrectly reported as, "Put me back on my bloody bike."[326]
^Also reported as, "Kill me! I'm just a man."[12]: 91
^Also reported as, "Keep your chin up! Never mind! He will reign!" and as "We shall not be downhearted! Never! For 'He reigns'" (quoting the last words of J. C. Blumhardt).[3]
^Also reported as, "I had him by the throat Carl, but he shot me."[358]
^Gilmore is also oft-quoted as saying a few minutes earlier, as he walked past the Hi-Fi Murderers on his way to be executed: "Adios, Pierre and Andrews. I'll be seeing you directly."[371][372]
^Also reported as, "I'm going to the can, Ginger" (to his girlfriend, Ginger Alden).[12]: 40
^Also reported as, "I'll be okay. Everything will be okay."[3]
^Also reported as, "Finish it."[392]
^Lennon is rumoured to have additionally said, "Yes, I am" when asked by a police officer if he was John Lennon. This is however highly doubted and conflicted by other accounts. Reportedly, officer James Moran asked, "Are you John Lennon?" to which Lennon nodded and replied, "Yes."[402] According to another account by officer Bill Gamble, Lennon nodded slightly and tried to speak, but could only manage to make a gurgling sound, and lost consciousness shortly thereafter.[403]
^Saroyan also telephoned a final message to the Associated Press a month before his death: "Everybody has got to die, but I have always believed an exception would be made in my case. Now what?"[16][23][298]
^Fulton incorrectly gives Lynott's age at death as 46.[77]
^Glass is incorrectly stated by Ward to have died by lethal injection.[12]: 60
^Also reported as, "I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."[23][138]
^A friend who was with Kinison at the time of the fatal crash later recalled, "Whatever voice was talking to him gave him the right answer and he just relaxed with it."[458]
^This is a misquotation of a line[459][unreliable source?] in the 1991 film Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, which was in turn a paraphrase of the German danse macabre caption Wer war der Thor, wer der Weiser, wer der Bettler oder Kaiser? Ob arm, ob reich, im Tode gleich ("Who was the fool; who [was] the sage; who [was] the beggar or [the] Emperor? Whether rich or poor, in death [all are] equal.").[371]
^DiMaggio's final words according to his lawyer, Morris Engelberg, an account challenged by Dom DiMaggio and a hospice worker.[494]
^Also reported as, "No words can express just how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies. No way I can make up for or take away the pain I have caused everyone who knew and loved them. I love you, my babies."[500]
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^Grounds, Eric, ed. (2016). The Bedside Book of Final Words. Amberley Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4456-5531-4.
^ a bMcKnight, Ray A. "The Battleground Shootout—Arizona Rangers Fight Smith Gang" (PDF). asoac.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 30 January 2022. Tafolla's surname is spelled "Tafoya" in this article.
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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn co cp cq cr cs ct cu cv cw cx cy cz da db dc dd de df dg dh di dj dk dl dm dnWard, Laura (2004). Famous Last Words: The Ultimate Collection of Finales and Farewells. Sterling Publishing Company. ISBN 978-1-85648-708-5.
^ a b c d eBerra, Paul (2016). Grave Tidings: An Anthology of Famous Last Words. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78590-144-7. Retrieved 1 May 2021.
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^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t uHaining, 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 978-1-910232-80-4. [dead link]
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