“Lord, into Your Hands I commend my spirit.”
Quoting the final words of Jesus, the Holy Roman Emperor died in his bed after a deep depression and falling ill of pleurisy.
Charlemagne (747-814)
Archimedes (287 BCE – 212 BCE)
“Do not disturb my circles!”
Ancient Greek mathematician and inventor, not wanting his studies interrupted, uttered these final words to a Roman soldier who then stabbed him.
Socrates (470 BCE – 399 BCE)
“Crito, we owe a chicken to Asclepius. Please, don’t forget to pay the debt.”
Philosopher of ancient Greece, Socrates refused the option to be exiled and instead died by drinking poison, after being found guilty of impiety and corrupting the youth of Athens.
Confucius (551 BCE – 479 BCE)
“Heaven has turned against me. No wise ruler arises, and no one in the Empire wishes to make me his teacher. The hour of my death has come.”
Final words of Confucius the great philosopher of ancient China, who died of natural causes, at the age of 72.
Hannibal (247 BCE – 182 BCE)
“Let us relieve the Romans from the anxiety they have so long experienced, since they think it tries their patience too much to wait for an old man’s death.”
The Carthaginian general and military genius reputedly left behind this letter before taking poison to escape Roman soldiers.
Mary Wollstonecraft (1759 – 1797)
“I know what you are thinking of, but I have nothing to communicate on the subject of religion.”
Writer and early feminist, who died of septicaemia following complications after the birth of her daughter Mary Shelley.
Lewis Carroll (1832 – 1898)
“Take away these pillows, I won’t need them any longer.”
Novelist and mathematician, author of Alice in Wonderland, died at his sisters’ home in Surrey of pneumonia following a bout of influenza.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805 – 1875)
“Don’t ask me how I am! I understand nothing more.”
Author and poet best remembered for writing children’s fairy tales, died of liver cancer at the home of a friend.
Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849)
“Lord, help my poor soul.”
Writer and poet best known for his Gothic fiction, spoke these last words on his deathbed to the physician attending him. He died at Washington College Hospital, the cause of death is a mystery.
Charlotte Brontë (1816 – 1855)
“Oh, I am not going to die, am I? He will not separate us. We have been so happy.”
Novelist and poet, author of Jane Eyre, these final words were spoken to her husband Arthur. But God did separate them, and she died of tuberculosis together with her unborn child.