Archimedes, mathematician:
"Stand away, fellow, from my diagram!"
Archimedes was killed during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Plutarch, a soldier came up to the mathematician and told him to go with him to Marcellus.
Archimedes, however, refused to do so until he finished the problem he was working on. Enraged, the soldier killed him.
Sources: "The Parallel Lives" by Plutarch, "Famous Last Words" by Laura Ward
Augustus Caesar, first Roman emperor:
"I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble."
— what he reportedly said to his subjects.
"Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit."
—what he reportedly said to his friends who were with him throughout his reign.
Source: History
next slide will load in 15 secondsSkip AdSkip AdLeonardo da Vinci, inventor and painter:
"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."
Source: Huffington Post
Groucho Marx, comedian and film star:
Joe DiMaggio, baseball player:
"I finally get to see Marilyn."
Source: ABC News
Napoléon Bonaparte, French military and political leader:
"France, the army, the head of the army, Joséphine."
Source: The Guardian
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Marie Antoinette, queen of France:
"Pardon me. I didn't do it on purpose."
She reportedly said this after accidentally stepping on her executioner's foot as she climbed the scaffold to the guillotine.
Source: "Famous Last Words" by Alan Bisbort
Michel de Nostradamus, French apothecary and alleged soothsayer:
Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist:
John Adams, second president of the US:
"Thomas Jefferson survives."
Adams and Thomas Jefferson started out as rivals, but they became friends later in life. As Adams lay on his deathbed, on July 4, he reportedly noted that his former nemesis was still alive.
However, Jefferson had actually died some hours earlier — also on July 4.
Source: History
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Thomas Edison, inventor and businessman:
"It is very beautiful out there."
Right before his death, Edison came out of a coma, opened his eyes, and reportedly said the above quote to his wife. He was likely referring to the view outside his window.
Sources: The Wall Street Journal, "Famous Last Words" by Laura Ward
Raphael, painter from the Italian Renaissance:
Ludwig van Beethoven, composer and pianist:
There are a variety of reports regarding Beethoven's last words. Some say the composer, who was deaf by the end of his life, said:
"I will hear in heaven"
while others suggest he said:
"Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est" (Applaud, friends, the comedy is finished)
But still others say that after a publisher brought the composer 12 bottles of wine, his final words were:
"Pity, pity, too late!"
Sources: "The Creative Circle" by Michael Fitzgerald, "Beethoven: The Man Revealed" by John Suchet, Classic FM
Leonard Nimoy, actor:
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP."
Technically, this was Leonard Nimoy's last tweet, so they may not be his actual last words.
LLAP is short for "Live long and prosper," a saying made famous by Nimoy's "Star Trek" character Mr. Spock.
Source: Twitter
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