
People have always been fascinated by the last words of others.
Perhaps they hold a touch of wisdom, a final joke, or even confirmation of who’s getting what in the will.
In light of that, Business Insider put together a list of the reported last words of 17 famous historical figures.


'I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring.'

'Stand away, fellow, from my diagram!'
Archimedes was killed during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Plutarch, a soldier reportedly 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


'I should never have switched from scotch to martinis.'
Source: International Business Times




'I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have.'
Source: Huffington Post

After accidentally stepping on her executioner's foot as she climbed the scaffold to the guillotine, she reportedly said:
'Pardon me. I didn't do it on purpose.'
Source: 'Famous Last Words' by Alan Bisbort

He made one last -- correct -- prediction when he said:
'You will not find me alive at sunrise.'

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson started out as rivals, but they became friends later in life. As Adams lay on his deathbed, on July 4, his last words were:
'Thomas Jefferson survives.'
Jefferson had actually died some hours earlier, also on July 4.
Source: History


Some reports say Beethoven, who was deaf by the end of 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


These may not be his last words, but Nimoy's last tweet was:
'A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP.'
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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