The last words of great people (36 photos)

Many people are likely wondering what they'll be thinking about in their final moments. Facing death, everyone reflects and speaks about their own thoughts—some say goodbye to family and friends, others try to do what they love until the very end, and still others find nothing better to do than utter some caustic remark about those present.

Here are the dying utterances of individuals who, in one way or another, left their mark on history.







1. Raphael Santi, artist

"Happy."





2. Gustav Mahler, composer

Gustav Mahler died in his bed. In his final moments, he felt as if he were conducting an orchestra, and his final word was: "Mozart!"



3. Bessie Smith, singer

"I am going, but I am going in the name of the Lord."



4. Jean-Philippe Rameau, composer

The dying composer didn't like the priest singing psalms at his deathbed, and he declared, "What the hell do I need all these songs for, Father? You're singing out of tune!"



5. Frank Sinatra, singer

"I'm losing him."



6. George Orwell, writer

"At fifty, every man has the face he deserves." Orwell died at the age of 46.



7. Jean-Paul Sartre, philosopher, writer

In the last moments of his life, Sartre, addressing his beloved, Simone de Beauvoir, said: "I love you so much, my dear Beaver."



8. Nostradamus, physician, alchemist, astrologer

The thinker's dying words, like many of his utterances, proved prophetic: "Tomorrow at dawn I will be gone." The prediction came true.



9. Vladimir Nabokov, writer

Besides his literary work, Nabokov was interested in entomology, particularly the study of butterflies. His last words were: "Some butterfly has already taken flight."



10. Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

Stepping on the executioner's foot as he led her to the scaffold, the Queen said with dignity: "I beg your pardon, sir. I didn't mean to."



11. Sir Isaac Newton, physicist, mathematician

"I don't know how the world perceived me." To myself, I always seemed like a boy playing on the seashore, amusing myself with searching for beautiful pebbles and shells, while the great ocean of truth lay before me, unexplored.



12. Leonardo da Vinci, thinker, scientist, artist

"I have offended God and man, because in my works I have not reached the heights to which I aspired."



13. Richard Feynman, physicist, writer

"Dying is boring."



14. Benjamin Franklin, politician, diplomat, scientist, journalist

When his daughter asked the gravely ill 84-year-old Franklin to lie down differently to help him breathe, the old man, sensing his imminent end, grumpily said, "Nothing comes easy to a dying man."



15. Charles "Lucky" Luciano, gangster

Luciano died while filming a documentary about the Sicilian mafia. His dying words were, "One way or another, I want to be in the movies." The mafioso's last wish came true—several feature films and documentaries have been made based on Luciano's life. He was one of the few gangsters to die a natural death.



16. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer

The creator of Sherlock Holmes died in his garden of a heart attack at the age of 71. His last words were addressed to his beloved wife: "You are wonderful," he said, and then passed away.



17. William Claude Fields, comedian, actor

Dying, the great American said to his mistress Carlotta Monti: "God damn this whole damn world and everyone in it except you, Carlotta."



18. Percy Grainger, pianist, composer

On his deathbed, the composer confessed to his wife for the last time: "You are the only one I wanted."



19. Oscar MacIntyre, journalist

When one of the most talented American journalists of the early 20th century was dying, he asked his wife, who had turned away, unable to bear to watch her husband's agony: "My curious one, please turn this way. I love to admire you."



20. John Wayne, actor

Before his death, the 72-year-old actor, known as the "King of Westerns," found the strength to declare his love to his wife one last time: "I know who you are. You're my girl, and I love you."



21. Ernest Hemingway, writer

On July 2, 1961, Hemingway said to his wife, "Goodnight, kitten." He then retired to his room, and a few minutes later his wife heard a loud, abrupt sound—the writer had committed suicide with a gunshot to the head.



22. Eugene O'Neill, playwright, writer

In his final moments, O'Neill exclaimed, "I knew it! I knew it! I was born in a hotel, and I'm dying, damn it, in a hotel!" Eugene O'Neill was born in a hotel room at the Broadway Hotel on October 16, 1888, and died at the Boston Hotel on November 27, 1953.



23. Josephine Baker, dancer, singer, actress

Josephine Baker knew how to have fun. All her life, she brought people the joy of music and dance, and on the last night of her life, leaving yet another party, this extraordinary woman said to her guests: "You're young, but you act like old people. You're boring."



24. Groucho Marx, comedian, actor

"You can't live like that."



25. Leonard Marx, comedian, actor, brother of Groucho Marx

Before his death, one of the famous comic brothers reminded his wife: "Darling, don't forget what I asked you. Put a deck of cards and a pretty blonde in my coffin."



26. Wilson Mizner, playwright, entrepreneur

When someone approached Wilson on his last legs and said, "Perhaps you want to talk to me?" "The priest approached. Mizner, known for his sharp tongue, replied, 'Why should I talk to you? I just spoke with your superiors.'



27. Alfred Hitchcock, film director, master of suspense

"Nobody knows what the ending will be. To know for sure what happens after death, you have to die, although Catholics have some hopes for that."



28. Peter "Pistol Pete" Maravich, basketball player

The great American athlete collapsed with a heart attack during a basketball game, managing only to say, "I feel great."



29. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, revolutionary, one of the founders of the USSR

Before his death, Vladimir Ilyich, turning to his beloved dog, who had brought him a dead bird, said, "Here's a dog."



30. Sir Winston Churchill, politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain

"I'm so sick of all this."



31. Joan Crawford, actress

With one foot in the grave, Joan turned to her housekeeper, who was praying: "Damn it! Don't you dare ask God to help me!"



32. Bo Diddley, singer, founder of rock 'n' roll

The famous musician died while listening to the song "Walk Around Heaven" by American singer Patti LaBelle. According to eyewitnesses, Diddley said, "Wow!" before he died.



33. Emily Dickinson, poet

"I must go in to clear the fog."



34. Joseph Henry Green, surgeon

In the last moments of his life, the doctor checked his pulse. The last thing he said was, "It's stopped."



35. Steve Jobs, entrepreneur, founder of Apple

"Wow. Wow. Wow!"