The Novice Writer: Last Words!

Last Words

“Famous last words.” We have all heard that phrase before. Our notes say that the phrase refers to something said that proves wrong or inappropriate, or it might be a phrase used to express disbelief, rejection, or self-deprecation. It can also serve as a somewhat ironic reference to the final deathbed utterances of famous people—which are often full of legend and conflicting stories.

17^th December 1977, Garry Gilmore was executed for murder. He was the first prisoner executed by the US after the decade of the suspension posed on the practice. When asked if he had any last words to say he simply replied: “Let’s do it!”

Years later advertising executive Ban Wieden adopted those words into a slogan that is now more widely known as “Just do it!”

Last words are powerful. They are the final statement of a person’s entire life has been leading up to. It is the one last chance to go on record before obliteration.

Last words have always fascinated people.

Perhaps they hold an echo of wisdom or a biting witticism — or at least a hint about who's getting what in the will.

Therefore, Conceptuality has put together a list of the reported last words of famous historical figures.

Last words by Great Personalities:

Albert Einsteins

We don’t know Albert Einstein’s last words who spoke them in German to a nurse who only knew English.

Thomas Edison

"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.

Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam

Our former President, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam wasn't keeping too well, yet had his spirit intact during his last hours. He spoke to his close aid, Srijan Pal Singh, asking him if he's keeping well!

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

The father of our nation breathed his last breath with these two words - "Hey Ram!" that remained etched in history soon after he was shot by Nathuram Godse.

Joseph Wright

This is Joseph Wright, who edited the English Dialect Dictionary. It is reported that his last word was, predictably, “Dictionary.”

Beethoven

There are multiple stories about Beethoven’s now-famous last words. One report said he stated, “I will hear in Heaven.” Another report attributed “Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est" to the famed composer ("Applaud, friends, the comedy is finished"). And yet another story says someone brought him a dozen bottles of wine, to which he replied: “Pity, pity, too late.”

Nostradamus

The prognosticator was famous for his wild predictions. His last words were, reportedly, “Tomorrow, at sunrise, I shall no longer be here.” Whether he said it or not, he would have been right.

Archimedes

"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.

Bob Marley

Money can’t buy life!

Karl Marx

Last words are for fools who haven't said enough.

Groucho Marx

When famed comic Groucho Marx was dying, he is said to have uttered “This is no way to live!” With his sense of humor well understood, we wonder if he hoped to have someone standing by with a rimshot for that one.

Rajesh Khanna

This superstar of Bollywood made sure that he left for the heavenly abode in complete style! Kaka murmured how it's time to pack up - in true Rajesh Khanna fashion.

Kishore Kumar

Kishore Kumar was feeling a bit uneasy and told his family members that he's alright, but if they call the doctor, he might just have a real heart attack.

Indira Gandhi

The Iron Woman of India, Indira Gandhi greeted her guards with a "Namaste!" before they gunned her down in her own home.

Augustus Caesar

"I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble." — That he reportedly said to his subjects.
"Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit." — That he reportedly said to his friends who were with him throughout his reign.

Leonardo da Vinci

"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."

Richard Feynman

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

Buddy Rich

The famous American jazz drummer died after going into surgery in 1987. As he was being prepped for the surgery, he was reportedly asked, “Is there anything you can’t take?” (Meaning any type of medication). He replied, “Yeah, country music.”

Terry Kath

Guitarist Terry Kath of the band Chicago died of an accidental gunshot wound to the head in January of 1978. He thought the gun was empty, but there was still around in the chamber. “Don’t worry,” Kath said. “It’s not loaded.” He was wrong, making these famous last words a true and terrible combination what famous last words can represent.

Steve Jobs

It is said that the Apple co-founder said before he passed away, “Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow.”

Joe DiMaggio

Jolting Joe said as he died of lung cancer in 1999, “I finally get to see Marilyn.” The Yankee Clipper was referring to his wife Marilyn Monroe, who had died in 1962.

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe's last words were a farewell to President Kennedy, actor Peter Lawford and his wife in a phone call she made to Lawford hours before she was found dead, a police report says.
'Say goodbye to Pat (Lawford's wife), say goodbye to Jack (President Kennedy) and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy,' Monroe said, according to Lawford.

John F. Kennedy

"No, you certainly can't!" Kennedy said this in response to his fellow passenger, Nellie Connally, the wife of Gov. John Connally. She had just remarked, "You certainly can't say that the people of Dallas haven't given you a nice welcome, Mr. President." You'll occasionally read that Kennedy's last words were "My God, I've been hit."

Michael Landon

The star of shows like Bonanza, Little House on the Prairie, and Highway to Heaven died of cancer in 1991. He said to his gathered family, “You’re right. It’s time. I love you all.”

John Lennon

In December 1980, the once-Beatle was shot outside his apartment in New York City, by Mark David Chapman. He said simply, “I’m shot.”

Princess Diana

Princess Diana of Wales died in a terrible August 1997 car crash, having been pursued by numerous paparazzi. She was said to have asked, “My God. What’s happened?” before she died.

Moe Berg

Baseball player Morris “Moe” Berg uttered the last words, “How did the Mets do today?” For the record, on May 29th, 1972 they beat the Cardinals 7-6.

Humphrey Bogart

One source states that as his wife Lauren Bacall left their house to go pick up their kids, equally legendary actor Humphrey Bogart said, “Goodbye, kid. Hurry back.” Another report says that Bogart said this right before he died: “I should never have switched from Scotch to martinis.”

Osma Bin Laden

Not a great personality, but his last words surely inculcate us that - as children of the light we live in hope, never forgetting the darkness in which we once walked, and praising God that at the end our last words will not be, “Don’t turn on the lights.”
The last words he spoke were, “Don’t turn on the light.” These were the last words spoken by Osama Bin Laden, to his youngest wife Amal on that night his compound was raided by Navy SEALs and he was shot and killed. Peter Bergen, in his book Manhunt, detailed Bin Laden’s end from the beginning. As Peter Bergen tells it, Osama, “just waited in the dark in silence for about 15 minutes, seemingly mentally paralyzed as the Americans stormed his last refuge.” At one point he opened a metal gate that blocked access to his room and poked his head out to see what the commotion was downstairs. But then, he “made the fatal error of not locking the gate behind him” when he retreated, allowing the SEALs to run past it and into his bedroom and finish him.

But,

What will be our first words?

The first words from earth, the extraterrestrial out there might hear from us.

The first cosmic words spoken by humans to the cosmic civilizations that they could receive and robust enough to be picked up light years away might have come from Adolf Hitler. His 1936 broadcasting of the summer Olympics used powerful enough radio equipment to reach forty – one different countries, making it a contender for “What listening extraterrestrial could receive!” To them, this was our first words.

So far Martin Luther King Junior’s speech – “I have a dream” as far as the furthest star named – ‘uAra’ which has four known planets. And almost within a year’s time our first words on the moon – “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” – spoken by Neil Armstrong, would surpass the ‘uAra’s’ system.

Eugene Cernan, the most recent and currently the last man to have walked on the surface of the moon. On December 14^th, 1972, before climbing back on the Lunar Module, Cernan spoke as of today, the last words on the moon – “We leave as we came, and God willing, as we shall return with peace and hope for all mankind. ”

Although technically there were people inside the Lunar Module who kept talking and thus the last words on the surface of the moon were that of the countdown spoken by Harrison Jack Smith – “Three, Two, One. Launch. ”

~Jay Mehta