List of last words (19th century)

The last words of Maximilian I of Mexico may or may not have referred to his wife.

Main article: List of last words

1801–1809

"Only a soldier's blanket! Make haste and return it to him at once."

— Ralph Abercromby, Scottish soldier and politician (28 March 1801). Wounded at the Battle of Alexandria, he asked what had been placed under his head and was told it was "Only a soldier's blanket."

"Let me die in the old uniform in which I fought my battles for freedom. May God forgive me for putting on any other."

— Benedict Arnold, American military officer and traitor (14 June 1801), referring to his Continental Army uniform

"Emma, will you? There is no time to be lost."

— Erasmus Darwin, English physician and natural philosopher (18 April 1802), urging his daughter to bleed him

"Stop. Go out of the room. I am about to die."

— George Fordyce, Scottish physician (25 May 1802), to his daughter, who had been reading to him

"Doctor, if I could be the man I was when I was 21 years of age, I would be willing to be stripped stark naked on the top of the Alleghany Mountains to run for my life with the hounds of hell at my heels."

— Daniel Morgan, American pioneer, soldier and politician (6 July 1802), when his physician advised him to settle his affairs

"Ah! The times were good! It was I who was so unhappy."

("Ah! c'etait le bon temps! J'etait si malheureuse.")

— Sophie Arnould, French operatic soprano (18 October 1802), when a priest asked how much she had suffered

"Clasp my hand, my dear friend, I die!"

("Stringetemi la mano, mi cara, mi sento morire.")

— Vittorio Alfieri, Italian dramatist and poet (8 October 1803), to Princess Louise of Stolberg-Gedern

"That is right; I have now done."

— Joseph Priestley, English chemist, natural philosopher and theologian (6 February 1804), while dictating revisions to his works

"I have not yet lost my feeling for humanity."

— Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (12 February 1804), thanking his physicians and attendants

"I die for my king and for France."

— Louis Antoine, Duke of Enghien (21 March 1804), prior to execution by firing squad

"Remember, my Eliza, you are a Christian."

— Alexander Hamilton, American statesman (12 July 1804), addressing his wife after being mortally shot by his rival Aaron Burr in a duel

"Many things are growing clearer and clearer to me."

— Friedrich Schiller, German writer, philosopher and physician (9 May 1805)

Nelson is shot on the quarterdeck, painted by Denis Dighton, c. 1825.

"Thank God, I have done my duty."

— Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, Royal Navy admiral (21 October 1805), mortally wounded at the Battle of Trafalgar

"I think I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies."

— William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (23 January 1806)

"I'll be shot if I don't believe I'm dying."

— Edward Thurlow, 1st Baron Thurlow, British lawyer and politician (12 September 1806)

"I die happy."

— Charles James Fox, British statesman (13 September 1806)

"Have pity on the poor Indians; if you can get any influence with the great, endeavor to do them all the good you can."

— Joseph Brant, Mohawk military and political leader (24 November 1807), to his adopted nephew John Norton

"I am all yours."

("Je suis toute à vous.")

— Adrienne de La Fayette (24 December 1807), French marchioness who married Marquis de Lafayette

"I have peace of mind. It may arise from stupidity, but I think it is founded on a belief of the Gospel. My hope is in the mercy of God through Jesus Christ."

— Fisher Ames, member of the U.S. House of Representatives (4 July 1808)

"It is a great satisfaction to me to know we have beaten the French. I hope the people of England will be satisfied. I hope my country will do me justice."

— John Moore, British Army general (16 January 1809), mortally wounded at the Battle of Corunna. Moore then spoke of his mother and some other people, including Lady Hester Stanhope, before dying.

"Children be comforted, I am well."

— Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (31 May 1809), reassuring his servants when cannon shot fell near his house during French bombardment of Vienna

"Taking a leap into the dark. O mystery!"

— Thomas Paine, English-born American political activist and theorist, philosopher and revolutionary (8 June 1809)

"I am not coward, but I am so strong. It is hard to die."

— Meriwether Lewis, American explorer (11 October 1809), apparent suicide/possible murder

"I am dead."

("Je suis mort.")

— Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (16 December 1809)

"It grows dark, boys, you may go."

— Alexander Adam, Scottish teacher (18 December 1809), imagining himself still at work

1810–1819

"I will not kneel. Fire!"

— Andreas Hofer, leader of the Tyrolean Rebellion (20 February 1810), to his firing squad

"I am a queen, but I have not the power to move my arms."

— Louise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of Prussia (19 July 1810)

Assassination of Spencer Percival by John Bellingham in the lobby of the House of Commons.

"Oh!"

— Spencer Perceval, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (11 May 1812), mortally wounded by gunshot

"I thank God for having enabled me to meet my fate with so much fortitude and resignation."

— John Bellingham, English merchant, assassin of Spencer Perceval (18 May 1812), prior to hanging

"Push on the York Volunteers."

— Isaac Brock KB, British Army officer (13 October 1812), mortally wounded at the Battle of Queenston Heights

"I will not abandon the post which Providence has assigned me; I think it my duty not only to sacrifice my pleasure and repose, but my life, should it be necessary, for the safety of my patients."

— Benjamin Rush, American physician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (19 April 1813), dying of typhus

"Don't give up the ship. Fight her till she sinks."

— James Lawrence, United States naval officer (4 June 1813), mortally wounded by British fire. His words became a popular naval battle cry.

"Bury me where the birds will sing over my grave."

— Alexander Wilson, American ornithologist (23 August 1813)

"Now let her sing and clash, / That glowing sparks may flash! / Morn wakes in nuptial pride. / Hurrah, thou iron bride! / Hurrah!"

("Nun lasst das Liebchen singen, / Dass helle Funken springen! / Der Hochzeitsmorgen graut. / Hurra, du Eisenbraut! / Hurra!")

— Theodor Körner, German poet and soldier (26 August 1813); final lines of the "Schwertlied", written two hours before his death in battle

"Now I am satisfied; I die contented."

— William Ward Burrows II, United States naval officer (5 September 1813), mortally wounded while commanding USS Enterprise in the capture of HMS Boxer

Death of Poniatowski by January Suchodolski

"Gentlemen, it behoves us now to die with honour."

— Józef Poniatowski, Polish general and Marshal of the Empire (19 October 1813). While he was covering the French Army's retreat during the Battle of Leipzig, French forces prematurely blew up the only bridge over the White Elster before Poniatowski could reach it.

"I shall not in fact see the new year which I have just commemorated."

— Johann Georg Jacobi, German poet (4 January 1814), referring to a poem for New Year's Day that he had completed on New Year's Eve; he in fact lived 5 more days

"Leave it alone; I need no medicine; I feel that I am well."

— Johann Gottlieb Fichte, German philosopher (29 January 1814), to an attendant who brought him medicine

"L'Isle d'Elbe—Napoleon—"

— Empress Joséphine, former wife of Napoleon (29 May 1814), looking at a picture of her former husband, who was exiled to the island of Elba at the time

"Charge! Hurrah! hurrah!"

— Thomas Picton, Welsh officer of the British Army (18 June 1815), before being shot in the temple at the Battle of Waterloo

"Soldiers, save my face; aim at my heart. Farewell."

— Joachim Murat, King of Naples (13 October 1815), to his firing squad

The Execution of Marshal Ney (1868), by Jean-Léon Gérôme

"Soldiers, when I give the command to fire, fire straight at my heart. Wait for the order. It will be my last to you. I protest against my condemnation. I have fought a hundred battles for France, and not one against her ... Soldiers, fire!"

— Michel Ney, Marshal of the Empire (7 December 1815). When executed by firing squad, he refused to wear a blindfold and was allowed the right to give the order to fire himself.

"I am absolutely undone."

— Richard Brinsley Sheridan, Irish satirist, playwright and poet (7 July 1816), dying in poverty

"A beautiful day, yes, but, / Who, to dumb forgetfulness a prey, / This pleasing, anxious being e'er resigned: / Left the warm precincts of the cheerful day, / Nor cast one longing lingering look behind?"

— Gouverneur Morris, American statesman and Founding Father of the United States (6 November 1816), quoting from Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard by Thomas Gray on being told the weather was fine

"There, I have done! Oh, what triumphant truth!"

— Timothy Dwight IV, American academic and educator (11 January 1817), finishing his final manuscript

"I have loved God, my father, and liberty."

— Germaine de Staël, French woman of letters and political theorist (14 July 1817)

"I want nothing but death."

— Jane Austen, English novelist (18 July 1817), being asked by her sister Cassandra if she wanted something

"That is surprising, since I have been practicing all night."

— John Philpot Curran, Irish orator, politician and wit (14 October 1817), when his doctor said he was coughing "with more difficulty"

"An end of Poland."

— Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish-Lithuanian military engineer, statesman, and military leader (15 October 1817)

"You make me drunk. Pray leave me quiet. I feel it affects my head."

— Princess Charlotte of Wales (6 November 1817), dying of postpartum bleeding

"Although I am a woman and young, I have more than enough courage to suffer this death and a thousand more! Do not forget my example."

— Policarpa Salavarrieta, Neogranadine seamstress and spy (14 November 1817), prior to execution by firing squad for high treason

"Come on my brave boys! St. Vin."

— George Rogers Clark, American surveyor, soldier and militia officer (13 February 1818), dying after a stroke

"Do not grieve, my friend, my dearest friend. I am ready to go. And John, it will not be long."

— Abigail Adams, First Lady of the United States (28 October 1818), to her husband, John Adams

"Nostitz, you have learned many a thing from me. Now you are to learn how peacefully a man can die."

— Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian field marshal (12 September 1819), to his aide-de-camp, August Ludwig von Nostitz

"Glory to God in the highest. The whole earth shall be filled with his glory."

— Jesse Appleton, second president of Bowdoin College and father of First Lady of the United States Jane Pierce (12 November 1819)

1820–1829

"Blessed Virgin, have mercy."

— Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (14 February 1820), assassinated at the Paris Opera by Louis Pierre Louvel, a Bonapartist

"I am mortally wounded … I think."

— Stephen Decatur, United States naval officer (22 March 1820), mortally wounded in duel with James Barron

"Oh, my homeland!"

("¡Ay, patria mía!")

— Manuel Belgrano, Argentine economist, lawyer, politician, journalist, and military leader (20 June 1820)

"I can feel the daisies growing over me."

— John Keats, English poet (23 February 1821)

"Hobbema, my dear Hobbema, how I have loved you!"

— John Crome, English landscape artist (22 April 1821)

"I was born a Greek, I shall die a Greek."

("Εγώ Γραικός γεννήθηκα, Γραικός θε να πεθάνω.")

— Athanasios Diakos, Greek military commander (24 April 1821), prior to execution for refusal to convert from Christianity to Islam and become an Ottoman officer

"France, the army, the head of the army, Joséphine."

("France, armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine.")

— Napoleon, emperor of the French (5 May 1821)

"Go my friend, dispatch poor Vasiliky, that these dogs may not profane her beauteous form."

— Ali Pasha of Ioannina, Ottoman Albanian ruler (24 January 1822), ordering that his mistress be killed to save her from enemy soldiers of Mahmud II. Vasiliky was captured but pardoned and lived until 1834.

"Bankhead, let me fall into your arms. It is all over."

— Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, Anglo-Irish statesman (12 August 1822); to his personal physician, Dr. Charles Bankhead, after cutting his throat

"Put it down, hussy! Do you think I cannot help myself?"

— Eva Marie Veigel, Viennese dancer and wife of David Garrick (16 October 1822), telling a servant to put down a cup of tea prior to dying at age 98

"Golgotha, Gethsemene."

— John Heckewelder, American missionary for the Moravian Church (21 January 1823)

Botsaris surprises the Turkish camp and falls fatally wounded by Eugène Delacroix

"To die for liberty is a pleasure and not a pain."

— Markos Botsaris, Greek general, hero of the Greek War of Independence (21 August 1823), killed in action in attack on Karpenisi

"Let not my body be sent to England. Here let my bones molder. Lay me in the first corner without pomp or nonsense."

— Lord Byron, English poet (19 April 1824), to his physician, Dr. Julius Michael Millingen

"A king should die standing."

— Louis XVIII, King of France (16 September 1824)

"You must be tired."

("Que vous devezêtre fatiguée.")

— Alexander I of Russia (1 December [O.S. 19 November] 1825), to his wife, Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden)

"Is it the Fourth?"

— Thomas Jefferson, president of the United States (4 July 1826), correctly remembering the national day of his country

"Thomas Jefferson survives."

— John Adams, president of the United States (4 July 1826), unaware that Jefferson had died earlier that same day

The hanging of Jereboam O. Beauchamp.

"Farewell child of sorrow—Farewell child of misfortune and persecution—you are now secure from the tongue of slander—for you I have lived; for you I die."

— Jereboam O. Beauchamp, American lawyer and murderer (7 July 1826), to his wife. Beauchamp had murdered Kentucky legislator Solomon P. Sharp to avenge his wife's honor. Beauchamp and his wife both stabbed themselves on the morning of his execution; his wife died of her wounds, while Beauchamp survived to be hanged.

"Nothing succeeds with me. Even here, I meet with disappointment."

— Mikhail Bestuzhev-Ryumin, Russian officer (25 July N.S. 1826), when the rope broke during his hanging for having helped organize the Decembrist revolt

"Voltaire."

— François-Joseph Talma, French actor (19 October 1826)

"What we know is little; what we are ignorant of is immense."

("Ce que nous connaisons est peu de chose; ce que nous ignorons est immense.")

— Pierre-Simon Laplace, French scholar and polymath (5 March 1827)

"Pity, pity - too late!"

— Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (26 March 1827), being informed that his publisher had gifted him 12 bottles of wine

"Here, here is my end."

("Hier, hier ist mein Ende.")

— Franz Schubert, Austrian composer (19 November 1828)

Advertisement for Sam Patch's last jump.

"Napoleon was a great man and a great general. He conquered armies and he conquered nations. But he couldn't jump the Genesee Falls. Wellington was a great man and a great soldier. He conquered armies and he conquered Napoleon, but he couldn't jump the Genesee Falls. That was left for me to do, and I can do it and will!"

— Sam Patch, American daredevil (13 November 1829), prior to fatal leap from Genesee Falls

1830–1839

"Quick, quick! some vinegar! I am fainting."

— Joseph Fourier, French mathematician and physicist (16 May 1830), calling to his physician, who had stepped out of the room

"Fuck, a bullet wound!"

("¡Carajo, un balazo!")

— Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan independence leader and President of Peru and Bolivia (4 June 1830), after being shot while riding in the jungle of Colombia. He was said to be an educated gentleman who had never cursed until that day.

"O God! I am dying." (To his physician) "This is death."

— George IV, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (26 June 1830)

"Well, I've had a happy life."

— William Hazlitt, English essayist and critic (18 September 1830)

"How do I get out of this labyrinth!"

— Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan military and political leader (17 December 1830)

"Is there anybody in the room?"

— John Abernethy, English surgeon (20 April 1831)

"I regret that I should leave this world without again beholding him."

— James Monroe, president of the United States (4 July 1831), referring to his close friend James Madison

"Oh God, what an injustice."

("O Arglwydd, dyma gamwedd.")

— Dic Penderyn, Welsh laborer and coal miner (13 August 1831), prior to execution by hanging for the non-fatal stabbing of a soldier during the Merthyr Rising. Another man confessed to the stabbing on his deathbed in 1874.

"Only one man ever understood me. And he really didn't understand me."

— Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, German philosopher (14 November 1831)

"Please open the second window of the bedroom so that more light can enter."

— Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German statesman and writer (22 March 1832)

"Nurse, it was I who discovered leeches have red blood."

— Georges Cuvier, French naturalist and zoologist (13 May 1832), to a nurse who was bleeding him

"I now feel that I am dying. Our care must be to minimize pain. Do not let the servants come into the room, and keep away the youths; it will be distressing to them, and they can be of no service."

— Jeremy Bentham, English philosopher, jurist and social reformer (6 June 1832)

"I have written nothing which on my deathbed I should wish blotted."

— Walter Scott, Scottish novelist and poet (21 September 1832)

"Gentlemen of the jury, you may retire."

— Charles Abbott, 1st Baron Tenterden, Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench (4 November 1832), thinking he was in court

"Thank God that I have lived to see the day when England is willing to give twenty millions for the abolition of slavery."

— William Wilberforce, British politician (29 July 1833)

"Patty, Joy."

— Hannah More, English religious writer and philanthropist (7 September 1833)

"My mind is quite unclouded. I could even be witty."

— Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and literary critic (25 July 1834)

"If I die, I die unto the Lord. Amen."

— Edward Irving, Scottish clergyman (7 December 1834)

"My bedfellows are cramp and cough – we three all in one bed!"

— Charles Lamb, English essayist and poet (27 December 1834)

"I am ready."

— Charles Mathews, English theatre manager and comic actor (28 June 1835)

"Perhaps some day they will hear my music without even saying 'Poor Bellini'."

— Vincenzo Bellini, Italian opera composer (23 September 1835)

"Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear."

— James Madison, president of the United States (28 June 1836), to his niece, who had asked him what was the matter

"Madame."

— Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States (14 September 1836)

"My hope is in Christ."

— John Bannister, English actor and theater manager (7 November 1836)

"What do you think especially gives me comfort at this time? The creation! I ask myself, 'Did Jehovah create the world or did I?' He did! Now if He made the world and all the rolling spheres of the universe, He certainly can take care of me. Into Jesus' hands I can safely commit my spirit!"

— Charles Simeon, English evangelical Anglican clergyman (13 November 1836)

"Texas recognized! Archer told me so. Did you see it in the papers?"

— Stephen F. Austin, founder of Anglo Texas, Secretary of State of the Republic of Texas (27 December 1836)

"Thank you—but don't kiss me; it is the sweat of death. I am dying, and it's for the best."

— John Field, Irish pianist and composer (23 January 1837), to his friend Gebhard

Duel of Pushkin and d'Anthes.

"Try to be forgotten. Go live in the country. Stay in mourning for two years, then remarry, but choose somebody decent."

— Alexander Pushkin, Russian poet (10 February [O.S. 29 January] 1837), to his wife, Natalia Pushkina, after being mortally wounded in a duel with Georges-Charles de Heeckeren d'Anthès, who was rumored to be having an affair with Natalia

"It matters not where I am going whether the weather be cold or hot."

— John Scott, 1st Earl of Eldon, British barrister and politician (13 January 1838)

"I am about to leave you. I have labored in the sanctuary fifty-three years, and this is my comfort and confidence, that I have never labored without blood in the vessel. Goodbye! Drive on!"

— Christmas Evans, Welsh nonconformist minister (19 July 1838)

1840–1849

"Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of the government. I wish them carried out. I ask nothing more."

— William Henry Harrison, president of the United States (4 April 1841), to his doctor but possibly intended for John Tyler, his vice-president and successor

"Hold me in your arms."

— Charles Bell, Scottish physician, artist and philosophical theologian (28 April 1842), to his wife

"Ah! very well."

— Thomas Arnold, English educator and historian (12 June 1842), to his physician, who had described his serious prognosis and treatment

"Magellan, Magellan!"

("¡Magallanes, Magallanes!")

— Bernardo O'Higgins, Chilean independence leader and statesman (24 October 1842)

"I have struggled with many difficulties. Some I have been able to overcome and by some I have been overcome. I have made many mistakes but I love my country and have labored for the youth of my country, and I trust no precept of mine has taught any dear youth to sin."

— Noah Webster, American lexicographer and textbook pioneer (28 May 1843)

"I shall soon be with Him. Victory, victory, victory forever."

— William Gadsby, English Baptist pastor (27 January 1844), raising his hand before the word "forever"

"Come quick! Quick!"

— William Beckford, English novelist and art collector (2 May 1844), in a message to his daughter

"It is an inexpressible comfort at my time of life to be able to look back and feel that I have not written one line against Religion or Virtue."

— Thomas Campbell, Scottish poet (15 June 1844)

Death of Joseph Smith.

"Oh Lord My God..."

— Joseph Smith, founder of Mormonism (27 June 1844), before falling from a window during his murder

"What is the matter with my dear children? Have I alarmed you? Oh, do not cry. Be good children and we will all meet in Heaven."

— Andrew Jackson, president of the United States (8 June 1845)

"Happy, happy."

— Andrew Combe, Scottish physician and phrenologist (9 August 1847)

"Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him."

— Grace Aguilar, English author (16 September 1847)

"Weary, very weary."

— Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (4 November 1847), in response to being asked how he felt

"Peace! Joy!"

— Henry Francis Lyte, Anglican poet (20 November 1847)

"This is the last of Earth. I am content."

— John Quincy Adams, president of the United States (23 February 1848), after collapsing in the United States Capitol

"There, I told you that she would pay it if you went the right way to work with her."

— John Jacob Astor, German-American multi-millionaire businessman (29 March 1848), to his son. Astor had been worried about an overdue rent payment. His son payed the woman's rent and claimed that she had paid it.

"It is now half-past nine. World, adieu!"

— Frederick Marryat, Royal Navy officer and novelist (9 August 1848)

"If you will send for a doctor I will see him now."

— Emily Brontë, English novelist (19 December 1848), to her sister Charlotte

"I am food for what I am good for—worms. I ought to have been among other things a good poet. Life was too great a bore on one peg & that a bad one.—Buy for Dr. Ecklin above mentioned Reade's best stomach pump."

— Thomas Lovell Beddoes, English poet, dramatist and physician (26 January 1849), concluding his suicide note

"Did the doctors really say I was not to get up?—If they said so, then I won't get up; but I feel well.—No, I will keep them [the pillows] as the doctors left them."

— Sir Andrew Agnew, 7th Baronet, Scottish politician (28 April 1849)

"Take courage, Charlotte; take courage."

— Anne Brontë, English novelist (28 May 1849), to her sister Charlotte

"I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you."

— James K. Polk, president of the United States (15 June 1849), to his wife, Sarah Childress Polk

"Lord, help my poor soul."

— Edgar Allan Poe, American writer (7 October 1849), quoting one of his poems

"Not yet."

("Pas encore.")

— Frédéric Chopin, Polish composer and pianist (17 October 1849), asked by his physician if he was suffering

"Wonderful! Wonderful this death!"

— William Etty, English artist (13 November 1849), watching the sunset over the River Ouse, Yorkshire

1850–1859

"The South! The poor South! God knows what will become of her."

— John C. Calhoun, vice president of the United States (31 March 1850)

"God bless you! Is that you, Dora?"

— William Wordsworth, English poet (23 April 1850)

"I regret nothing, but I am sorry to leave my friends."

— Zachary Taylor, president of the United States (9 July 1850)

"I can no longer read or write. De Balzac."

— Honoré de Balzac, French novelist and playwright (18 August 1850), written across the bottom of a letter from his wife

"Ah! Coquereau, I forgot to mention one of the greatest faults of my life. I have spoken badly of Charles X!"

— Félix Arvers, French poet and dramatist (7 November 1850), to his confessor

"I am not able to explain myself."

— Frédéric Bastiat, French economist and writer (24 December 1850)

"Yes, yes, Billy! You go down that side on Long Pond, and I'll go this side, and we'll get the ducks."

— John James Audubon, American ornithologist, naturalist and painter (27 January 1851), speaking to his friend William Bakewell while suffering from senility

"Neither life nor death, nor any being can separate us from Him."

— Paul-Thérèse-David d'Astros, French Roman Catholic cardinal and archbishop (29 September 1851)

"Give me! Give me! Come on, give me! The ladder! Quick, pass me the ladder!"

— Nikolai Gogol, Russian author of Ukrainian origin (4 March [O.S. 21 February] 1852), in delirium

"'I still live."

— Daniel Webster, American statesman (24 October 1852)

"Let the earth be filled with His glory."

— William Broughton, Anglican Bishop of Australia (20 February 1853)

"I will now try to sleep."

— Samuel Appleton, American merchant and philanthropist (12 July 1853), to his wife

"I intend to resign my situation of perpetual secretary to the Academy, since I can no longer discharge its duties."

— François Arago, French mathematician, physicist and astronomer (2 October 1853), to his associate Jean-Baptiste Biot

"Teixeira? If I am in danger, tell me; do not deceive me."

("Ó Teixeira? Se tenho perigo, diga-mo; não me engane.")

— Maria II, queen regnant of Portugal (15 November 1853), addressing her surgeon during her eleventh childbirth

"Let me bleed."

— François Xavier Aubry, French Canadian merchant and explorer (18 August 1854), mortally wounded in saloon fight by Richard Hanson Weightman

Death of Cathcart at Inkerman.

"I fear we are in a mess."

— George Cathcart, British general and diplomat (5 November 1854), prior to his death at the Battle of Inkerman

"I no longer see you."

("Eu já o não vejo.")

— Almeida Garrett, Portuguese author (9 December 1854), addressing his friend Francisco

"If you wish for another cheerful evening with your old friend, there is no time to be lost."

— Mary Russell Mitford, English author and dramatist (10 January 1855)

"I feel that I must come like the poor publican, like the thief on the cross, and like Mary Magdalene. I must come to the foot of the cross and be saved just in the same manner as they."

— Benjamin Parsons, English congregational minister (10 January 1855)

"Thee while the first Archangel sings, He hides his face behind his wings."

— Joseph Beaumont, English Methodist minister (21 January 1855), announcing the first lines of a hymn to his congregation. He then fell dead as they sang the second line.

"Cover my face."

— Hedley Vicars, British Army officer and evangelical (22 March 1855), killed in action in the Crimean War

"Oh, I am not going to die, am I? He will not separate us. We have been so happy."

— Charlotte Brontë, English author (31 March 1855), addressing her husband Arthur

"Do not kill me! I did not come to fight you!"

— Andrew Bolon, American Bureau of Indian Affairs agent (25 September 1855), prior to his throat being cut by a member of the Yakama

"That fellow hit me."

— Thomas Washington Barber, American abolitionist (6 December 1855); shot along with his horse by slavery supporters near Lawrence, Kansas

"Write! Write! Write! Paper! Pencil!"

— Heinrich Heine, German writer and literary critic (17 February 1856)

"This oppression is altogether physical: God is not the less with me. I am waiting for Him in the faith of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit."

— Adolphe Monod, French Protestant churchman (6 April 1856)

"Don't disturb me. I am too full. O! what a glorious sight."

— John Bryan, Welsh Wesleyan Methodist minister (28 May 1856)

Lithograph of a death mask of William Palmer.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

— William Palmer, English physician and murderer (14 June 1856), to the hangman while looking at the trapdoor on the gallows

"The worse, the better for me."

— Edward Alderson, English lawyer and judge (27 January 1857), when asked how he felt

"Let there be no fuss about me; let me be buried with the men."

— Henry Montgomery Lawrence, British military officer and statesman (4 July 1857), mortally wounded at Siege of Lucknow

"My God, my God! Enlighten us. Inspire in a united mankind the love of the good, the love of well being.—To do good, to live for others—that's happiness. Charity, charity, for all the world to be happy. —Widows, small boys—help them."

— Pierre-Jean de Béranger, French poet and chansonnier (16 July 1857)

"What an irreparable loss!"

— Auguste Comte, French philosopher (5 September 1857)

"I am comfortable and content."

— Thomas Hart Benton, United States Senator from Missouri (10 April 1858)

"I am looking to the Savior. My only hope is in Jesus."

— James Maitland Hog, Scottish advocate and landowner (1 August 1858), spelling out his final words on a printed alphabet with a reed in his mouth

"I lost."

("J 'ai perdu.")

— Karl August Varnhagen von Ense, German biographer, diplomat and soldier (10 October 1858), playing chess with his young niece

"If there is a Christian's God, I am not afraid to trust myself in his hands."

— Frederick W. Adams, American physician, author and violin maker (17 December 1858)

"How grand those rays! they seem to beckon earth to heaven."

— Alexander von Humboldt, German polymath (6 May 1859)

"Comfort my Peter."

("Consolem o meu Pedro.")

— Stephanie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, queen consort of Portugal (17 July 1859)

"Sister! Sister!"

— Thomas De Quincey, English essayist (8 August 1859), to a vision of his dead sister

"Well, I must arrange my pillows for another night – when will this end!"

— Washington Irving, American writer and diplomat (28 November 1859)

John Brown's last words, passed to a jailor on his way to the gallows.

"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done."

— John Brown, American abolitionist (2 December 1859), prior to hanging

1860–1869

"No noise, no music, no bohemia!"

— Henri Murger, French author of Scenes of Bohemian Life (28 January 1861)

"While there is life there is will."

— Patrick Brontë, Irish Anglican priest and author, father of Charlotte, Branwell, Emily and Anne Brontë (7 June 1861)

"It is beautiful."

— Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (29 June 1861)

"Boys, they've killed me, but never give it up!"

— Francis S. Bartow, American and Confederate politician and brigade commander of the American Civil War (21 July 1861), mortally wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run

"Scots, follow me!"

— James Cameron, Union colonel of the American Civil War (21 July 1861), before being mortally wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run

"There is Jackson standing like a stone wall! Rally behind the Virginians. Let us determine to die here and we will conquer. Follow me."

— Barnard Elliott Bee Jr., Confederate general of the American Civil War (22 July 1861), before being mortally wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run. His last words gave rise to the nickname of Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson.

Death of Col Edward D. Baker: At the Battle of Balls Bluff near Leesburg Va. Oct. 21st 1861, by Currier and Ives.

"See, he falls."

— Edward Dickinson Baker, United States Senator and Union colonel of the American Civil War (21 October 1861), pointing to a Confederate horseman who had been struck by gunfire at the Battle of Ball's Bluff. Baker was then himself shot four times. He was the only sitting United States Senator ever killed in a military engagement.

"Good little wife."

("Gutes Weibchen" or "Gutes Frauchen.")

— Albert, Prince Consort (14 December 1861), to his wife, Queen Victoria

"Doctor, I am going. Perhaps it is best."

— John Tyler, president of the United States (18 January 1862)

"I remember that little fellow who said, 'I love God!' Nothing that loves him shall perish. No, they shall not die. I shall meet them soon in heaven. Amen."

— Andrew Reed, English Congregational minister and hymnwriter (25 February 1862), pondering the fate of the souls of intellectually disabled persons

"Now comes good sailing. Moose...Indian."

— Henry David Thoreau, American writer (6 May 1862)

"Charge Men! For God's sake charge!"

— Turner Ashby, Confederate cavalry commander of the American Civil War (6 June 1862), before being killed at Harrisonburg, Virginia

"There is but one reliance."

— Martin Van Buren, president of the United States (24 July 1862)

"I know how to deal with these people."

— Charles Lennox Richardson, English merchant (14 September 1862), prior to death in the Namamugi Incident

"Tell McClellan that my last regret as a military man is that I did not die serving under him."

— George Dashiell Bayard, Union general of the American Civil War (14 December 1862), mortally wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown, which God, the righteous Judge, will give me at that day. That is my testimony—write it down.—That is my testimony."

— Lyman Beecher, American Presbyterian minister (10 January 1863), quoting 2 Timothy 4:7-8

"I am dying, carry me to the rear."

— Hiram Gregory Berry, American politician and Union general of the American Civil War (3 May 1863), mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville

Death of Stonewall Jackson.

"Order A.P. Hill to prepare for action! Pass the infantry to the front rapidly! Tell Major Hawks.... Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees."

— Stonewall Jackson, American and Confederate soldier and general of the American Civil War (10 May 1863), dying of pneumonia after being wounded by friendly fire

"Forward men forward for God's sake and drive those fellows out of those woods."

— John F. Reynolds, Union general of the American Civil War (1 July 1863), prior to being fatally shot at the Battle of Gettysburg

"Tell father that I died with my face to the enemy."

— Isaac E. Avery, Confederate officer of the American Civil War (3 July 1863), written on scrap of paper after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg

"Tell my wife I am shot, but we fought like hell."

— William Barksdale, Confederate general of the American Civil War (3 July 1863), to a Union surgeon after being mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg

"Give them the cold steel, boys."

— Lewis Armistead, Confederate brigadier general of the American Civil War (5 July 1863), prior to being mortally wounded at the Battle of Gettysburg

"Texas, Texas."

— Sam Houston, American soldier and politician (26 July 1863), to his wife, Margaret Lea Houston

"Tell my father I died right."

— Richard Rowland Kirkland, Confederate soldier (20 September 1863), mortally wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga

"Congestion. Stopped."

— Joseph Henry Green, English surgeon (13 December 1863), breathing with difficulty on his deathbed and then taking his own pulse

"Good night."

— William Makepeace Thackeray, English novelist (24 December 1863), to his valet

"Colonel, rally your men and advance as soon as possible."

— Lewis Benedict, American politician and Union colonel of the American Civil War (9 April 1864), before being killed at the Battle of Pleasant Hill

"Why are you dodging like this? They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance!"

— John Sedgwick, Union general of the American Civil War (9 May 1864), shortly before being shot in the head by a Confederate sharpshooter

"Lay me down, and save the flag!"

— James A. Mulligan, Union Army colonel of the American Civil War (26 July 1864), mortally wounded at the Second Battle of Kernstown

"Why should I not know you, Mary?"

— Park Benjamin Sr., American poet, journalist and editor (12 September 1864), when his wife asked him if he knew her

"I protest against this execution. It is absolute murder—brutal murder. I die in the service and defense of my country."

— John Yates Beall, Confederate privateer (24 February 1865), hanged as a spy by the Union during the American Civil War

President Abraham Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth, a Confederate nationalist, while watching a stage play. Lincoln had recently fought and won a civil war against the Confederate States.

"She won't think anything about it."

— Abraham Lincoln, president of the United States (15 April 1865), assuring his wife Mary that their friend Clara would not mind them holding hands, shortly before he was fatally shot from behind

"Tell mother, tell mother, I died for my country...useless...useless..."

— John Wilkes Booth, American actor and assassin of Abraham Lincoln (26 April 1865), after being fatally shot by Boston Corbett

"And now with my latest writing and utterance, and with what will be near my latest breath, I here repeat and would willingly proclaim my unmitigated hatred to yankee rule – to all political, social and business connections with Yankees, and the perfidious, malignant and vile Yankee race."

— Edmund Ruffin, Virginia planter and slaveowner (18 June 1865), conclusion of final diary entry before suicide

"Please don't let me fall."

— Mary Surratt, American boarding house owner (7 July 1865), prior to execution by hanging after conviction for taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln

"That's Article 98; now go on to the next."

— Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (18 October 1865), pondering diplomatic treaties

"This is too tight."

— Henry Wirz, Confederate States Army officer (10 November 1865), referring to his noose prior to execution for war crimes

"Ah, Luisa, you always arrive just as I'm leaving."

— Massimo d'Azeglio, Italian statesman, novelist and painter (15 January 1866), seeing his estranged wife arrive at his bedside as he died

"By the Immortal God, I will not move."

— Thomas Love Peacock, English novelist and poet (23 January 1866), fatally burned while trying to save his library from a fire

"James, take good care of the horses."

— Winfield Scott, United States Army general (29 May 1866)

Kim Douglas Wiggins' study of the Fetterman Fight, early 21st century.

"Give me 80 men and I'll ride through the whole Sioux nation."

— William J. Fetterman, United States Army officer (21 December 1866), prior to death in Fetterman Fight

"O man! O man!"

("Hombre! Hombre!")

— Maximilian I of Mexico (19 June 1867), after being shot by firing squad

"Holy name!"

("Cré nom!")

— Charles Baudelaire, French poet (31 August 1867)

"Never mind, I shall soon drink of the river of eternal Life."

— Henry Timrod, American and Confederate poet (7 October 1867), unable to swallow a spoonful of water

"Run for a Doctor."

— Alexander Roberts Dunn VC, Canadian British Army officer, Crimean War Victoria Cross recipient (25 January 1868), mortally wounded by gunshot under unclear circumstances during hunting expedition near Senafe

"I do not have to forgive my enemies. I have had them all shot."

— Ramón María Narváez, 1st Duke of Valencia, Spanish general and Prime Minister of Spain (23 April 1868)

"Gentlemen, do you see this hand? Does it tremble? I never hurt a hair of that girl's head."

— Tom Dula, former Confederate soldier (1 May 1868), prior to execution by hanging for the murder of Laura Foster

"Oh, Lord God Almighty, as thou wilt!"

— James Buchanan, president of the United States (1 June 1868)

"I have my death wound, General. I am shot and dying... Yes, Good night... My poor mother."

— Fredrick Henry Beecher, United States Army lieutenant (September 1868), mortally wounded at the Battle of Beecher Island

"One thousand greetings to Balakirev."

— Hector Berlioz, French composer (8 March 1869)

"It is a great mystery, but I shall know all soon."

— George Peabody, American financier and philanthropist (4 November 1869)

1870–1879

Death of Francisco Solano López.

"I die for my homeland."

("Muero por mi patria.")

— Francisco Solano López, 2nd president of Paraguay (1 March 1870), after his last stand in the Battle of Cerro Corá

"Is not this dying with true courage and true greatness?"

— Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry (16 April 1870)

"Yes. On the ground."

— Charles Dickens, English novelist (9 June 1870), to his sister-in-law Georgina Hogarth, who had suggested he lie down after he suffered a stroke

"Tell Hill he must come up! Strike the tent!"

— Robert E. Lee, American and Confederate soldier and general (12 October 1870)

"All mortal!"

("¡Todo mortal!")

— Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, Spanish Romanticist poet and writer (22 December 1870), in a delirium from fever

"Will you tell the Archdeacon?–will you move a vote of thanks for his kindness in performing the ceremony?"

— Henry Alford, English churchman (12 January 1871), requesting that the Archdeacon participate in his funeral

"I want to go away."

— Alice Cary, American poet (12 February 1871)

"God bless you all!"

— James Osgood Andrew, American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South (2 March 1871)

"Nothing, only 'love one another'."

— William H. Seward, United States Secretary of State (10 October 1872), when asked if he had any final words

"I live."

("Minä elän")

— Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author and poet (31 December 1872)

"We were not cowards at Sedan, were we?"

— Napoleon III, Emperor of the French (9 January 1873), to Dr. Conneau

"Stand up for Jesus in all circumstances."

— Thomas Guthrie, Scottish divine and philanthropist (24 February 1873)

"Build me a hut to die in. I am going home."

— David Livingstone, Scottish physician, explorer and Christian missionary (1 May 1873)

"There is no such thing as sudden death to a Christian."

— Samuel Wilberforce, Anglican bishop (19 July 1873)

"The play is finished."

("Le jeu est fini.")

— Louis Agassiz, Swiss-American biologist and geologist (14 December 1873)

"Linen, doctor? You speak of linen? Do you know what linen is? The linen of the peasant, of the worker? Linen is a great thing. I want to make a book of it."

— Jules Michelet, French historian (9 February 1874), rambling before his death

"I love her—I love you all."

— John Bachman, American Lutheran minister, social activist and naturalist (24 February 1874), referring to a relative

"The nourishment is palatable."

— Millard Fillmore, president of the United States (8 March 1874), referring to soup he had eaten

"Thou knowest, O Lord, the secrets of the hearts; shut not Thy merciful ear to our prayers, but spare us, O Lord most holy; O God most mighty, O holy and merciful Savior, Thou most worthy Judge Eternal, suffer us not, at our last hour, from any pains of death, to fall from Thee."

— Charles Kingsley, English priest, university professor and author (23 January 1875)

"This is the happiest day I have ever experienced on earth. I shall soon be where the wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest."

— Edward Sugden, 1st Baron St Leonards, British lawyer, judge and politician (29 January 1875)

"I am in a cold sweat. Is it the sweat of death? How are you going to tell my father?"

— Georges Bizet, French composer (3 June 1875)

"Oh, do not cry. Be good children, and we shall meet in heaven."

— Andrew Johnson, president of the United States (31 July 1875)

"Don't ask me how I am! I understand nothing more."

— Hans Christian Andersen, Danish children's author (4 August 1875)

"I might have lived another year if I had not caught this cold, but I am satisfied to go now. I am eighty-four years old—long past the allotted time of man—and at my age, life becomes a burden."

— William Backhouse Astor Sr., American business magnate (24 November 1875)

"Farewell, I am going to die. Goodbye Lina, goodbye Maurice, goodbye Lolo, good ..."

— George Sand, French novelist (8 June 1876)

Custer's Last Stand by Edgar Samuel Paxson.

"Orderly, I want you to take a message to Colonel Benteen. Ride as fast as you can and tell him to hurry. Tell him it's a big village and I want him to be quick, and to bring the ammunition packs."

— George Armstrong Custer, United States Army officer (25 June 1876), to Sergeant Charles Windolph prior to the Battle of the Little Bighorn

"Where's the General?"

— Boston Custer, United States Army civilian contractor, brother of George Armstrong Custer and Thomas Custer (25 June 1876), asking about the location of his brother George prior to his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn

"Farewell, the martyrdom is no more!"

("Adeus, acabou o martírio!")

— Inocêncio Francisco da Silva, Portuguese bibliographer (27 June 1876)

"Let me have my own fidgets."

— Walter Bagehot, British journalist, businessman and essayist (24 March 1877), declining help rearranging his pillows

"Joseph! Joseph! Joseph!"

— Brigham Young, American religious leader and politician (29 August 1877), referring to Joseph Smith

"Good-bye Mary, good-bye forever."

— Edwin Adams, American stage actor (28 October 1877), to his wife

Funeral of Pope Pius IX.

"Guard the Church I loved so well and sacredly."

— Pope Pius IX (7 February 1878)

"This time it will serve me for the voyage from which there is no return, the voyage of eternity."

— Claude Bernard, French physiologist (10 February 1878), when a cover was placed to warm his feet

"I hope to be in Phil. in about ten days. I am stronger than for yrs. but take no new responsibilities."

— Catharine Beecher, American educator (12 May 1878); last written words

"Whose house is this? What street is this? Would you like to see Miss Fairchild?"

— William Cullen Bryant, American poet, journalist and editor (12 June 1878). He had fallen and hit his head on the sidewalk; Miss Fairchild was his niece.

"My work is done. The pins of the tabernacle are taken out."

— Charles Hodge, American Presbyterian theologian (19 June 1878)

"Let me go... The world is bobbing around me."

— Sam Bass, American train robber and outlaw (21 July 1878), mortally wounded in gun battle with Texas Rangers

"I will sleep quietly now."

— Princess Alice of the United Kingdom, daughter of Queen Victoria (14 December 1878)

"Surrender? Your grandmother should surrender, you bastard!"

("¿Rendirme? ¡Que se rinda su abuela, carajo!")

— Eduardo Abaroa, Bolivian hero of the War of the Pacific (23 March 1879), responding to Chilean forces asking him to surrender

1880–1889

"I suppose it had to come to this. Such is life."

— Ned Kelly, Australian bushranger and convicted police murderer (11 November 1880), prior to execution by hanging

"Tell them I have a great pain in my left side."

— George Eliot, English novelist (22 December 1880)

"So this is death … well … "

— Thomas Carlyle, Scottish philosopher and author (5 February 1881)

"I am sweeping through the gates, washed in the blood of the Lamb."

— Alexander II of Russia (13 March [O.S. 1 March] 1881), bleeding to death after being wounded by nihilist bomb

"Relieved to hear that you feel better. I had a very bad night—am now stronger. Your poor Louis."

— Ludwig von Benedek, Austrian general (27 April 1881), writing to his wife

"Who is it? Who is it?"

("¿Quién es? ¿Quién es?")

— Billy the Kid, American outlaw and gunfighter (14 July 1881), entering a dark bedroom whereupon sheriff Pat Garrett shot him after recognizing his voice

James A. Garfield, right after being shot by Charles J. Guiteau

"Oh, Swaim, this terrible pain. Press your hand on it. Oh, Swaim. Oh, Swaim, can't you stop this?"

— James A. Garfield, president of the United States (19 September 1881), to General David G. Swaim

"I can't see a damned thing."

— Morgan Earp, American lawman (18 March 1882), to his brother Wyatt; the brothers had each promised to describe to the other what he saw at the moment of death

"Now I know I must be very ill, since you have been sent for."

— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American poet (24 March 1882), to his sister

Assassination of Jesse James.

"That picture is awful dusty."

— Jesse James, American outlaw (3 April 1882), examining a picture on his wall before being murdered by Robert Ford

"Then you really think I am dying? At last you think so. But I was right from the first."

— Dante Gabriel Rossetti, English poet, translator and artist (9 April 1882)

"I am not the least afraid to die."

— Charles Darwin, English naturalist and evolutionary (19 April 1882)

"Glory hallelujah! I am with the Lord, Glory, ready, go!"

— Charles J. Guiteau, assassin of President James A. Garfield (30 June 1882), at the conclusion of reading his poem "I am Going to the Lordy" prior to his hanging

"I should like to record the thoughts of a dying man for the benefit of science, but it is impossible."

— George Miller Beard, American neurologist (23 January 1883)

"Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!"

("Hinaus! Letzte Worte sind für Narren, die noch nicht genug gesagt haben.")

— Karl Marx, political theorist (14 March 1883), when asked by his housekeeper about his last words

"Lord, receive my spirit."

— William Farr, British epidemiologist (14 April 1883)

"How interesting this all is! It will be a new experience."

— Thomas Gold Appleton, American writer, artist and art patron, brother-in-law of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (17 April 1884)

"What I require is warmth—will it never come?"

— Judah P. Benjamin, American and Confederate politician and English barrister after the American Civil War (6 May 1884), in a letter

"We shall go out together."

— Marie Bashkirtseff, Russian artist and diarist (31 October 1884), looking at a candle beside her deathbed

Robert Emmet Odlum's fatal leap from the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Am I spitting blood?"

— Robert Emmet Odlum, American swimming instructor (19 May 1885), after being fatally injured in dive off Brooklyn Bridge; a friend falsely reassured him that the fluid was only brandy

"This is the fight of day and night. I see black light."

("En moi c'est le combat du jour et de la nuit.")

— Victor Hugo, French novelist (22 May 1885)

"Water."

— Ulysses S. Grant, president of the United States (23 July 1885), dying of throat cancer

"It doesn't seem to go!"

— Emil Zsigmondy, Austrian mountain climber (6 August 1885), referring to route on south face of the Meije prior to falling to his death

Death of Alfonso XII.

"I don't deserve to be cared for as you have cared for me. I know that when I have gone you will care for Spain as I have myself."

— Alfonso XII, King of Spain (25 November 1885)

"I have had no real gratification or enjoyment of any sort more than my neighbor on the next block who is worth only half a million."

— William Henry Vanderbilt, American multimillionaire (8 December 1885)

"I must go in, for the fog is rising. (when offered a drink of water) Oh, is that all it is?"

— Emily Dickinson, American poet (15 May 1886)

"Water."

— Samuel J. Tilden, American politician (4 August 1886), suffering from thirst

"Now comes the mystery."

— Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman (8 March 1887)

"Damn. This is funny."

— Doc Holliday, American gambler and gunfighter (8 November 1887), after a nurse refused him a whiskey

"Hurrah for anarchy!"

— George Engel, German-born American labor union activist (11 November 1887), prior to hanging after Haymarket affair

"This is the happiest moment of my life!"

— Adolph Fischer, German-born American labor union activist and anarchist (11 November 1887), prior to hanging after Haymarket affair

"Will I be allowed to speak, O men of America? Let me speak, Sheriff Matson! Let the voice of the people be heard! O—"

— Albert Parsons, American anarchist leader (11 November 1887), during hanging after Haymarket affair; interrupted by opening of gallows trapdoor

"I did not answer the letters of my friends because I could not write, as no sooner did I take a pen in my hand than I felt as if I was dying."

— Edward Lear, English nonsense poet (29 January 1888)

"I am going up. Come with me."

— Amos Bronson Alcott, American teacher, writer, philosopher and reformer (4 March 1888), to his daughter, Louisa May Alcott

"Is it not meningitis?"

— Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (6 March 1888)

"I am so happy, so happy."

— Gerald Manley Hopkins SJ, English poet and priest (8 June 1889)

"Stop your fooling, fellows."

— James Averell, American businessman (20 July 1889), to the cattlemen who lynched him along with his wife, Ellen Watson

"I see such things as you can not dream of."

— William Allingham, Irish poet, diarist and editor (18 November 1889)

"Pray, excuse me."

— Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (6 December 1889)

1890–1900

"A little while and I will be gone from among you. Whither I cannot tell. From nowhere we came, into nowhere we go. What is life? It is a flash of a firefly in the night. It is the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime. It is the little shadow which runs across the grass and loses itself in the sunset."

— Crowfoot, Siksika Nation chief (25 April 1890)

"The sadness will last forever."

("La tristesse durera toujours.")

— Vincent van Gogh, Dutch painter (29 July 1890)

"Quick, Puss, chloroform–ether–or I am a dead man."

— Richard Francis Burton, British polymath (20 October 1890), to his wife, Isabel Burton

"Capture & Death of Sitting Bull" by Kurz and Allison.

"I am not going. Do with me what you like. I am not going. Come on! Come on! Take action! Let's go!"

— Sitting Bull, Hunkpapa Lakota leader (15 December 1890), during unsuccessful attempt by police to arrest him

"I am not afraid to die."

— Emma Abbott, American operatic soprano (5 January 1891), dying of pneumonia

"Yes."

— P. T. Barnum, American showman (7 April 1891), when asked if he wanted a drink of water

"God bless Captain Vere!"

— Herman Melville, American novelist (28 September 1891), quoting his final, unfinished novella, Billy Budd

Pedro II, clad in court dress uniform, on his bier, 6 December 1891: the book beneath the pillow under his head symbolized that his mind rests upon knowledge even in death

"May God grant me these last wishes—peace and prosperity for Brazil."

— Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (5 December 1891)

"Who is that?"

— Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, second in line to the British throne (14 January 1892); he repeated these words over and over again while dying

"Very weak. Rail to La Encina and Alicante."

— Edward Augustus Freeman, English historian and politician (16 March 1892); his final diary entry

"Warry, shift!"

— Walt Whitman, American poet (26 March 1892), to a nurse

"We perish, we disappear, but the march of time goes on for ever."

— Ernest Renan, French scholar (2 October 1892)

"I know I am going where Lucy is."

— Rutherford B. Hayes, president of the United States (17 January 1893), referring to his wife, Lucy Webb Hayes, who had died in 1889

"Oh, my poor kids. What will ever become of them?"

— Georgiana Drew, American stage actress, mother of Lionel, Ethel and John Barrymore (2 July 1893)

"Bad."

— Hans von Bülow, German conductor, pianist and composer (12 February 1894), in response to being asked how he felt

"Enough, Enough."

("Keo-la, Keo-la.")

— Fred C. Roberts, English physician and medical missionary (6 June 1894), dying in Tientsin, China

"How good!"

— Alexander III of Russia (1 November [O.S. 20 October] 1894), when the priest placed his hands on his head after performing the last rites

"What's that? Do I look strange?"

— Robert Louis Stevenson, Scottish author (3 December 1894), to his wife, Fanny Stevenson, before collapsing from a cerebral haemorrhage

"I love everybody. If ever I had an enemy, I should hope to meet and welcome that enemy in heaven."

— Christina Rossetti, English poet (29 December 1894)

"Don't sole the dead man's shoes yet!"

— Paul Verlaine, French poet (8 January 1896), who spent much of his later life in poverty

File:Leandro Alem estatua 2.jpg

Memorial to Leandro N. Alem in Rosario, Santa Fe, illustrating the motto quoted in his suicide note.

"Yes, that is broken, but does not bend!"

("¡Sí, que se rompa, pero que no se doble!")

— Leandro N. Alem, Argentine politician (1 July 1896); his suicide note, quoting the motto of the Radical Civic Union

"Sacrifices must be made."

("Opfer müssen gebracht warden.")

— Otto Lilienthal, German aviation pioneer (10 August 1896), fatally injured in glider crash

"I want to get mumbo-jumbo out of the world."

— William Morris, British textile designer, poet and socialist (3 October 1896), to his family doctor

"Ah, that tastes nice. Thank you."

("Ah, der schmeckt schön. Danke.")

— Johannes Brahms, German composer (3 April 1897), after being given a glass of wine

"What's the time?"

— Barney Barnato, British Randlord (14 June 1897); he asked this question before jumping overboard from a ship

"My God, I love You!"

— Thérèse of Lisieux, French Catholic Carmelite nun and mystic (30 September 1897)

Richard Von Albade Gammon in his athletic attire.

"No, Bill, I've got too much Georgia grit for that."

— Richard Von Albade Gammon, American football fullback fatally injured in game (31 October 1897), responding to teammate who asked if he was going to give up

"Take away these pillows, I won't need them any longer."

— Lewis Carroll, English mathematician and novelist (14 January 1898)

"I am imploring you – burn all the indecent poems and drawings."

— Aubrey Beardsley, English illustrator and author (16 March 1898)

"What can happen to me? I can only die."

— Edward Bellamy, American author, journalist and political activist (22 May 1898)

"Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn't made that will kill me."

— Buckey O'Neill, captain in Theodore Roosevelt's Rough Riders (1 July 1898), just before being shot in the mouth prior to charge up Kettle Hill

"My God, don't shoot!"

— Soapy Smith, con artist and gangster in the American frontier (7 July 1898), after vigilante Frank H. Reid shot him

"House."

("Haus.")

— Otto von Bismarck, German statesman (30 July 1898), writing on a piece of paper with unknown meaning

"I will, whatever happens."

— Johann Strauss II, Austrian composer (3 June 1899), in response to being asked to get some sleep

"Splendid! I'll sleep now. I shall have a nap. Later I can pack and leave on the evening train. But I'm tired. Let me rest."

— Horatio Alger, American author and educator (18 July 1899)

"I see earth receding; Heaven is opening; God is calling me."

— Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist and publisher (22 December 1899)

"When you come to the hedge that we must all go over, it isn't so bad. You feel sleepy, you don't care. Just a little dreamy anxiety, which world you're really in, that's all."

— Stephen Crane, American author (5 June 1900)

"Keep up the fire, men."

— Emerson H. Liscum, United States Army colonel (13 July 1900), dying after being shot at the Battle of Tientsin

"My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us has to go."

— Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright (30 November 1900)

External links

• Quotations related to Last words at Wikiquote