List of last words (20th century)

;"I am not afraid to die." :—Philip Danforth Armour, American industrialist, founder of Armour and Company (6 January 1901) ;"Bertie." :—Victoria, queen regnant of the United Kingdom (22 January 1901), calling to her eldest son and heir, Albert, Prince of Wales ;"Are the doctors here? Doctor, my lungs..." :—Tom Ketchum, American outlaw and cowboy (26 April 1901), executed by hanging for attempted train robbery ;"I have swallowed corrosive sublimate." :—William Thomas Maxwell, American tracker and deputized sheriff (8 October 1901), telling the Smith Gang to surrender prior to the Battleground Gunfight ;"Give this to my wife. It, and the month's wages coming to me, will be all she will ever have." :—Carlos Tafolla, Arizona Ranger (8 October 1901), handing a silver dollar to posse member Henry Barrett after being mortally wounded in Battleground Gunfight ;"I killed the President because he was the enemy of the good people—the good working people. I am not sorry for my crime. I am sorry I could not see my father." :—Edgar Edwards, convicted murderer (1902), on the way to the scaffold ;"Shoot straight, you bastards. Don't make a mess of it!" :—Breaker Morant, Anglo-Australian military officer and war criminal (27 February 1902), to his firing squad ;"The position has become impossible. ;Anxious important work to do and three commissions of enquiry to attend to. ;We may not have done as well as possible in the past but we will necessarily be hampered to do well in the imminent future. ;I feel that my brain is suffering and I am in great fear of what effect all this worry will have upon me. I have lost control of my thoughts. ;The Coolgardie scheme is all right and I could finish it if I got a chance and protection from misrepresentation but there's no hope for that now and its better that it should be given to some entirely new man to do who will be untrammelled by prior responsibility. ;10/3/02 ;Put the wing walls to Helena Weir at once" :—C. Y. O'Connor, engineer-in-chief of Western Australia (10 March 1902), purported suicide note ;"How do you do, Cushing? I am glad to see you." :—Cecil Rhodes, British businessman and politician (26 March 1902) ;"Have you brought the chequebook, Alfred?" :—Émile Zola, French novelist, playwright and journalist (29 September 1902), dying of carbon monoxide poisoning from an improperly ventilated chimney ;"And now I am officially dead." :—Andrew Haswell Green, American lawyer, city planner and civic leader (13 November 1903), to his murderer, Cornelius Williams ;"I feel a bit dizzy, I think I'll go and lie down." :() :—Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (1 May 1904) ;"It's a long time since I drank champagne." :() :—Anton Chekhov, Russian author and playwright (), to his wife, Olga ;"Thy will be done." :—Lew Wallace, American lawyer, politician, Union general and author (15 February 1905) ;"That was the right prayer." :() :—Henrik Ibsen, Norwegian playwright (23 May 1906), to his maid, who had said his health was improving ;"Doctor, you have science, I have faith." :—Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist () ;"In spite of it all, I am going to sleep; put out the lights." :() :—Park Seung-hwan, Imperial Korean officer (1 August 1907), before committing suicide with his pistol ;"Well, if it must be so." :—Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer and pianist (4 September 1907) ;"I perished in latitude 79° north under the hardships of the return journey over the inland ice in November. I reached this place under a waning moon, and cannot go on, because of my frozen feet and the darkness. The bodies of the others are in the middle of the fjord. Hagen died on November 15, Mylius Erichsen some ten days later.–Jørgen Brønlund." :() :—Jørgen Brønlund, Greenlandic polar explorer (November 1907), final diary entry ;"I am dying. Please... bring me a toothpick." :—Anton Gag, Sudeten-American painter and studio photographer to his daughter Wanda (22 May 1908) ;"I have tried so hard to do right." :—Grover Cleveland, president of the United States (24 June 1908), to his wife Frances ;"I am about the extent of a tenth of a gnat's eyebrow better." :—Reddy Foster, American baseball player (19 December 1908), said to his friend before committing suicide with a shotgun ;"By gad, I'm not licked yet." :—Frederick Holder, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives (23 July 1909), prior to collapsing in the House after a tumultuous all-night session ;"I'm guilty. I murdered that man." :– Poral Stefoff, Macedonian murderer (23 December 1909), moments prior to his execution for the robbery-murder of his second cousin in Toronto ;"Cut 'er loose, Doc!" :—Frederic Remington, American artist (26 December 1909), prior to emergency appendectomy; he subsequently died of peritonitis. ==1910–1919==

;"When the day comes that I hear of Korea's independence in heaven, I will dance and shout 'Hurrah!'" :—An Jung-geun, Korean independence fighter and assassin of Ito Hirobumi (26 March 1910), before being executed ;"Give me my glasses." :—Mark Twain, American novelist (21 April 1910), to his daughter Clara ;"Yes, I have heard of it. I am very glad." :—Edward VII, king of the United Kingdom (6 May 1910), on being told by his son that one of his horses had won a race ;"Pull up the shades; I don't want to go home in the dark." :—O. Henry, American writer (5 June 1910), to a hospital nurse ;"These then are my last words to you. Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact." :—William James, American philosopher and psychologist (26 August 1910) ;"Higher. Always higher." :() :—Miguel Bombarda, Portuguese psychiatrist (3 October 1910), after being shot by a mental patient ;"I'm so tired. Take me home to mother." :—Stanley Ketchel, American professional boxer nicknamed "The Michigan Assassin" before succumbing to wounds sustained during an armed robbery turned shooting. (15 October 1910) ;"God will help me. I am so tired." :—Gustav Mahler, Austrian composer and conductor (18 May 1911) ;"Put your hands on my shoulders and don't struggle." :—W. S. Gilbert, English dramatist and librettist (29 May 1911), while saving 17-year-old Ruby Preece from drowning, which caused his fatal heart attack ;"Long live Shah Muhammad Ali!" :() :—Arshadu'd-Dawla (6 September 1911), while being executed by firing squad for involvement in a plot to restore Mohammad Ali Shah Qajar to the Persian throne ;"Here I go. Here I go. Here I go." :—Cromwell Dixon, American aviator (2 October 1911), as his biplane crashed sideways ;"One last drink, please." :—Jack Daniel, American alcohol businessman (10 October 1911) ;"Should I lift my head a bit?" :—Dmitry Bogrov, assassin of Russian Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin (24 September 1911), to his executioner prior to hanging ;"See you soon." :() :—Franz Reichelt, Austro-Hungarian born French tailor and inventor (4 February 1912), prior to leaping from Eiffel Tower in fatal test of "parachute suit" . ;"I am just going outside and may be some time." :—Lawrence Oates, British army officer and Antarctic explorer (17 March 1912), prior to walking out of tent and into blizzard on Terra Nova Expedition ;"Last Entry — For God's sake look after our people" :—Robert Falcon Scott, Royal Navy officer and Antarctic explorer (); final diary entry on doomed Terra Nova Expedition ;"Let me go! Let me go!" :—John Jacob Astor IV, American businessman (15 April 1912), remaining aboard the RMS Titanic while his pregnant wife boarded a lifeboat ;"Well boys, do your best for the women and children, and look out for yourselves." :—Edward Smith, sea captain of the RMS Titanic (15 April 1912), giving orders to crew members before the final plunge of the sinking ship ;"When a man has a great name, he must expect to die for it." :—Rukara, one of the leaders of Ndungutse's rebellion, after hearing his death sentence (18 April 1912) ;"Everything is atoned for." :—Lorentzos Mavilis, Greek poet (29 November 1912), killed in action at the Battle of Driskos ;"Remember, keep the right wing strong." :—Alfred von Schlieffen, German field marshal and strategist (4 January 1913) ;"Swing low, sweet chariot." :—George I, king of Greece (18 March 1913), shortly before being assassinated ;"Don't baby me so!" :—Charles Deen, Sri Lankan murderer (5 May 1913), prior to execution by hanging at Boggo Road Gaol in Brisbane, Australia ;"Leave me!" :("Bes! Bes! Bes!") :—Richard Corfield, British colonial police officer (9 August 1913), killed in action at the Battle of Dul Madoba ;"To be a gringo in Mexico – ah, that is euthanasia!" :() :—Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary (28 June 1914), on his way to a hospital after being fatally shot by a Serbian nationalist ;"Now I begin to think the end is approaching. The Almighty in His inexhaustible goodness wishes to spare me the horrors which Europe is undergoing." :—Pope Pius X, Italian Roman Catholic prelate and Pope (20 August 1914) ;"Arthur, don't look at me! Nurse stand between my brother and me.... Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul." :—Harry Turner, Canton Professionals center (15 November 1914), to Canton manager Jack Cusack, after suffering fractured back and severed spinal cord while tackling the Akron Indians' Joe Collins ;"By Jove, that has deafened my right ear." :—Frederick Harding Turner, Scottish sportsman (10 January 1915), shortly before being killed by a sniper during World War I ;"Hullo." :—Elbert Hubbard, American writer and publisher (7 May 1915), prior to dying with his wife in the sinking of the RMS Lusitania ;"There does not seem to be anything to do." :—Francis Octavius Grenfell , British Army officer (24 May 1915), mortally wounded during World War I, referring to his squadron ;"Oh, Lord, I proclaim to the world that I am innocent of this crime." :—Charles Becker, American police officer (30 July 1915), prior to execution by electrocution for murder ;"We shall meet again." :—Edith Cavell, British nurse (12 October 1915), executed by firing squad in German-occupied Belgium for having helped Allied soldiers escape to the then-neutral Netherlands during World War I. She said this on the night before her execution to Reverend H. Stirling Gahan, the Anglican chaplain who had been allowed to see her and to give her Holy Communion. ;"I led them to the end, they wavered I tried to keep them together." :—Ralph Hemingway, English cricketer (15 October 1915), fatally wounded during World War I ;"Fire – go on and fire!" :—Joe Hill, Swedish-American labor activist (19 November 1915). Hill shouted these words after Deputy Shettler, who led his firing squad, called out the sequence of commands preparatory to firing ("Ready, aim"). ;"So here it is at last, the distinguished thing." :—Henry James, American-British author (28 February 1916) ;"Goodbye, God bless you all." :—William Richard Cotter , British Army soldier (14 March 1916), mortally wounded during World War I ;(Whistling) :—Patrick Pearse, Irish author and revolutionary (3 May 1916), on his way to execution by firing squad ;"I'm going to have a shot at getting him in." :—Cyril Rattigan, English cricketer (13 November 1916), prior to fatally attempting to kill a German sniper during World War I ;"Put that bloody cigarette out!" :—Saki (Hector Hugh Munro), British writer (14 November 1916), prior to being killed by a German sniper during the Battle of the Ancre in World War I ;"How beautiful it all is." :—Frederick Funston, United States Army general and Medal of Honor recipient (19 February 1917), while listening to an orchestra play "The Blue Danube" waltz in the lobby of The St. Anthony Hotel in San Antonio, Texas. He then collapsed from a heart attack. ;"I have perfect faith." :—Albert Ball, , British World War I fighter ace (7 May 1917), said to a member of his ground crew before dying in a flying accident ;"Do not forget what I have told you." :—Noel Godfrey Chavasse, , British Army officer (4 August 1917), mortally wounded at the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. He was reminding a nurse of their earlier conversation about contacting his father and fiancée and about his younger brother, who was missing in action. ;"Tom, I'm done. Throw me overboard." :—Thomas Crisp VC, DSC, Royal Naval Reserve, skipper of armed trawler Nelson (15 August 1917), to his son after being mortally wounded in a German submarine attack during World War I ;"It is unbelievable." :—Vince Coleman, Canadian train dispatcher (6 December 1917), warning an incoming train by telegraph of the impending Halifax Explosion ;"We are in the hands of God." :—Geoffrey Saxton White , Royal Navy officer (28 January 1918), before being killed by a shell on the deck of HMS E14 in the Dardanelles during World War I ;"Throw up your hands! Throw up your hands!" :—Thomas Kane Wooten, Graham County, Arizona Deputy Sheriff (10 February 1918), prior to death in the Power's Cabin shootout ;"Never." :—Wilfrith Elstob , British Army officer (21 March 1918), in response to enemy demand to surrender on the first day of the German spring offensive during World War I ;"Save yourselves. I'll carry on." :—Herbert George Columbine , British Army soldier (22 March 1918), to fellow soldiers after holding off the enemy for four hours with a Vickers machine gun at Hervilly Wood, France, during World War I ;"Carry on with those on the left." :—William Herbert Anderson , British Army officer (25 March 1918), to a fellow officer during World War I counter-attack at Bois Favieres, near Maricourt, Somme, France ;"Dear child, keep me alive." :—Gordon Flowerdew , Canadian Expeditionary Force officer (31 March 1918), mortally wounded at the Battle of Moreuil Wood in World War I ;"Kaputt." :- Manfred von Richthofen, or the Red Baron (April 21, 1918), mortally wounded at the Fourth Battle of Ypres. ;"But we coped with the sadness, and we wait for death from one moment to the next." :—Mohammad Jawad al Jaza'iri, Iraqi cleric, one of the ringleaders of the anti-British uprising in Najaf (May 1918); final lines of poem written prior to his execution ;"Don't bother with me. Take care of my good men." :—Major Lloyd W. Williams, United States Marine Corps officer (12 June 1918), to his approaching medics, after being gassed and hit by German shrapnel during the Battle of Belleau Wood in World War I ;"You know not what you do." :—Nicholas II of Russia, last Emperor of Russia (17 July 1918), quoting Jesus to Yakov Yurovsky upon being informed he and his family were to be put to death. ;"I am through. Take charge of the company. I won't be here long." :—Jean Brillant , Canadian Expeditionary Force officer (10 August 1918), fatally wounded by enemy machine-gun fire during World War I ;"Stick it, men; show them fight, and for God's sake put up a good fight." :—Richard Annesley West, , British Army officer (2 September 1918), killed in action during World War I ;"I am sorry to have been so much trouble; I shall never forget what you have done for me." :—Oswald Samson, English cricketer (17 September 1918), fatally wounded during World War I ;"I'm all finished. Give them hell." :—Milo Lemert, United States Army soldier and recipient of the Medal of Honor (29 September 1918), mortally wounded near Bellicourt, France, during World War I ;"Here lies one whose name was written in hot water." :—Jack Youll , British Army officer (27 October 1918), prior to being killed in action at the Battle of Vittorio Veneto during World War I ;"Well done. You are doing that very well, my boy." :—Julian Royds Gribble , British Army officer (25 November 1918), dismissing his nurse while dying of pneumonia at Niederzwehren prisoner of war camp ;"I die well! Save the Fatherland!" :() :—Sidónio Pais, Portuguese politician, military officer, and diplomat (14 December 1918), according to reporter Reinaldo Ferreira. ;"Please put out that light, James." :—Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States and Medal of Honor recipient (6 January 1919), to family servant James E. Amos ;"Goodbye, until Heaven!" :() :—Saint Francisco Marto, Portuguese Marian mysticist (4 April 1919), to his cousin Lúcia ;"I must get back to my work." :—Jane Delano, American nurse, founder of the American Red Cross Nursing Service (15 April 1919), dying while on a Red Cross mission in France ;"Now we can cross the Shifting Sands together." :—L. Frank Baum, American author (5 May 1919), referring to a fictional location in his Oz books ==1920–1929==

;"Let my soldiers know that I've always been committed to them, loved them and proved it by my death." :() :—Vladimir Kappel, White Russian military leader (26 January 1920), dying during the Great Siberian Ice March ;"Never mind, it is good to die for our country." :() :—Joseph Trumpeldor, Jewish Zionist activist (1 March 1920), during the Battle of Tel Hai ;"I'm all right; tell Mays not to worry... ring....Katie's ring." :—Ray Chapman, American baseball player (17 August 1920), referring to the pitcher who had fatally struck him with a pitch and to his wedding band ;"Even if my fingernails are torn out, my nose and ears are ripped apart, and my legs and arms are crushed, this physical pain does not compare to the pain of losing my nation. My only remorse is not being able to do more than dedicating my life to my country." :() :—Ryu Gwansun, Korean independence activist (20 September 1920), writing in prison before being tortured and beaten to death by Japanese prison officers ;"Some day, when things look real tough for Notre Dame [Notre Dame Fighting Irish football], ask the boys to go out there and win one for the Gipper." :—Charles I of Austria, the last Emperor of Austria (1 April 1922), while dying of pneumonia ;"I am coming, Katie!" :(''signing 'no' in sign language'') :—Alexander Graham Bell, Scottish-American inventor (2 August 1922), replying to his deaf wife Mabel's plea "''Don't leave me.''" ;"Forgive them. Bury me in Glasnevin with the boys." :—Richie Rose, American police officer from the Denver Police Department (31 October 1922), apparently shot by bootleggers ;"Yes, my dear Robert, you are." :—Erskine Childers, English-born Irish writer (24 November 1922), facing a firing squad ;"I believe... I'm going to die. I love the rain. I want the feeling of it on my face." :() :—Franz Kafka, German-speaking Bohemian novelist and short-story writer (3 June 1924), asking his doctors for morphine overdose while dying of tuberculosis ;"Dear Gerda, I thank you for every day we have been together." :—Floyd Collins, American cave explorer ( 13 February 1925), to rescue workers trying to free him from his entrapment in Sand Cave, Kentucky ;"Ah, the cows..." :—Lala , Indian World War I Victoria Cross recipient (23 March 1927), dying of polio ;"So many people who knew the condition of Amritsar say I did right...but so many others say I did wrong. I only want to die and know from my Maker whether I did right or wrong." :—Reginald Dyer, British Indian Army officer (23 July 1927). In 1919, Dyer ordered the troops under his command to fire into a crowd of protesting Indian independence activists in Jallianwala Bagh, Punjab, killing at least 379 people and wounding over 1,200 others. ;"Probably no one who attempts suicide—is fully aware of all his motives, which are usually too complex. At least in my case it is prompted by a vague sense of anxiety—about my own future. — As for my vague sense of anxiety about my own future, I think I analyzed it all in 'A Fool's Life,' except for a social factor, namely the shadow of feudalism cast over my life. This I omitted purposely, not at all certain that I could really clarify the social context in which I lived. — P.S. Reading a life of Empedocles, I felt how old is this desire to make a god of oneself. This letter, so far as I am conscious, never attempts this. On the contrary, I consider myself one of the most common humans. You may recall those days of twenty years ago when we discussed 'Empedocles on Etna'—under the linden trees. In those days I was one who wished to make a god of myself." :—Nicola Sacco, Italian immigrant anarchist (23 August 1927), prior to execution by electrocution ;"I wish to forgive some people for what they are now doing to me." :() :—Isadora Duncan, American/French dancer (14 September 1927), just before dying in freak car accident ;"Sky deep blue, sun very bright, sand [buoyancy compensator] all gone." :—Hawthorne C. Gray, American aeronaut (4 November 1927), final journal entry during balloon altitude record attempt ;"Long live Christ the King!" :() :—Miguel Pro, Mexican Jesuit Catholic priest (23 November 1927), prior to execution by firing squad on false charges of sedition ;"I think I'll go for a drive before dinner – anyone coming?" :—Habibullāh Kalakāni, claimant of the titles of King and Emir of Afghanistan (1 November 1929), prior to execution ==1930–1939==

;"Dictionary." :—Joseph Wright, compiler of The English Dialect Dictionary (27 February 1930) ;"I think it is time for morphine." :—Henry Segrave, British land speed and water speed record pioneer (13 June 1930), mortally injured in crash of Miss England II. He was asking his wife about the fates of his chief engineer (who was killed) and his mechanic (who survived), and whether they had broken the water speed record (they had). ;"You are wonderful." :—Carl Panzram, American serial killer and rapist (5 September 1930), spitting in his executioner's face prior to hanging ;"Get my Swan costume ready." :—Raymond Hamilton, member of Barrow Gang (10 May 1935), before dying in the electric chair ;"Splendid. The finale just a little too fast." :() :—Paul Anlauf, German police captain (9 August 1931), assassinated by members of the Communist Party of Germany including Erich Mielke ;"It's very beautiful over there." :—Thomas Edison, American inventor (18 October 1931), speaking words of unclear meaning as he was dying ;"They tried to get me — I got them first!" :—George Eastman, American entrepreneur (14 March 1932), as his suicide note, before shooting himself in the chest ;"Goodbye, everybody!" :—Florenz Ziegfeld Jr., American Broadway impresario (22 July 1932) ;"No good!" :—Zhang Zongchang, Chinese warlord, after being shot by an assassin (3 September 1932) ;"Good morning, Robert." :—Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (6 March 1933), in hospital after being wounded in assassination attempt on Franklin D. Roosevelt; last reported words ;"Why should I talk to you? I've just been talking to your boss." :—Bill Lancaster, Australian aviator (20 April 1933), final note written on fuel card while dying after crash in Sahara Desert ;"I butted him." :—Jack Holland, American college football player and boxer (9 May 1933), while leaving ring after loss to Tony Marullo; he then collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage ;"Last tag." :() :—Ernst Enno, Estonian writer (7 March 1934), to his wife ;"To Frances and all my friends-goodbye" :—Karl Dane, Danish-American comedian and actor (14 April 1934), wrote it on his suicide note ;"I don't want it." :() :—Marie Skłodowska Curie, Polish scientist (4 July 1934), upon being offered a painkilling injection ;"It's gone, mother! Gone, gone, gone!" :—Clyde Smith, Australian rules footballer and police constable (5 January 1935), accidentally shot by police colleague ;"All right! Go ahead!" :—Will Rogers, American stage and film actor, vaudeville performer, cowboy, humorist, newspaper columnist, and social commentator (15 August 1935), typed on his typewriter for an unfinished newspaper column prior to the plane crash that killed him and Wiley Post ;"When all usefulness is over, when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible one." The chimney sweeps. Talk to the sword. Shut up, you got a big mouth! Please help me up, Henry. Max, come over here. French-Canadian bean soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone." :() :– Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet (30 November 1935), to the nurse who treated him ;"But I have so little time." :—George V, king of the United Kingdom (20 January 1936), to a nurse giving him a sedative. The King was euthanized on the orders of his doctor, Bertrand Dawson, 1st Viscount Dawson of Penn. ;"I think I'm going to make it." :—A. E. Housman, English classical scholar and poet (30 April 1936), to his doctor, who had just told a risqué joke ;"All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre. The feast is over, and the lamps expire." :—Robert E. Howard, American author and creator of Conan the Barbarian (11 June 1936); his suicide note, a quotation from "The House of Cæsar" by Viola Garvin ;"The issue is now clear. It is between light and darkness, and everyone must choose his side." :() :—Toni Kurz, German mountain climber (22 July 1936), dying on the Eiger north face ;"I am starting to believe you are not intending to count me among your friends!" :—Amelia Earhart, American aviation pioneer ( 2 July 1937), reporting to her headquarters in her last known radio transmission shortly before her disappearance ;"I'm going, but I'm going in the name of the Lord." :() :—Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, President of Turkey (10 November 1938) ;"I am sick – I have a fever..." :() :—Paul Morgan, Austrian actor and cabaret performer (10 December 1938), said prior to collapsing and dying of exhaustion in Buchenwald concentration camp ;"Do not blame anyone. It's my fault." :—Valery Chkalov, Soviet test pilot (15 December 1938), fatally injured in crash of Polikarpov I-180 fighter prototype ;"I'm all shot to hell!" :—Nicholas Comper, English aviator and aircraft designer (17 June 1939), dying in hospital after being knocked down while lighting a firework in Hythe, Kent, by a passer-by to whom he claimed he was an IRA man planning to blow up the town hall ;"I was going too fast for the conditions – it was entirely my own fault – I am sorry." :—Richard Seaman, British racing driver (25 June 1939), on his deathbed after being fatally burned in a racing crash ;"The meager satisfaction that man can extract from reality leaves him starving." :—Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis (23 September 1939) ;"Never felt better." :—Douglas Fairbanks, American actor and filmmaker (12 December 1939), to an attendant who asked how he was ==1940–1949==

;"I am only asking for one thing—let me finish my work." :("Per Catalunya!") :—Lluís Companys, President of the Government of Catalonia (15 October 1940), prior to execution by firing squad ;"I've finished a 109—Whoopee!" :—John Dundas, Second World War British fighter ace (28 November 1940), prior to being shot down and killed ;"Hershey bars will be :—James Joyce, Irish novelist, author of Ulysses and Finnegans Wake (13 January 1941) ;"We'll capture the objective." :—Richhpal Ram , Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (12 February 1941), mortally wounded at Keren, Eritrea ;"Spain, My God!" :() :—Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor (4 June 1941), dying of a pulmonary embolism at Huis Doorn ;"My love of God is greater than my fear of death." :—Cecil Pugh, GC, MA, Congregational Church minister (5 July 1941), asking to be lowered into the hold of the sinking SS Anselm, where injured airmen were trapped. Pugh then prayed with the men until the ship sank. ;"Love the immaculate, love the immaculate, love the immaculate." :—Maximilian Kolbe, Polish Catholic priest, promoter of veneration of the Immaculate Virgin Mary (14 August 1941), injected with carbolic acid after two weeks of starvation in Auschwitz concentration camp. He had offered himself for starvation in the place of an inmate with a family. ;"Did I get Jimmy out?" :—Karl Gravell, , Royal Canadian Air Force Leading Aircraftman (10 November 1941), after unsuccessful attempt to rescue Flying Officer James Robinson from wreckage of crashed Tiger Moth ;"Farewell, comrades! Fight, do not be afraid! Stalin is with us! Stalin will come!" :() :—Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Soviet partisan (29 November 1941), prior to her execution by Germans in Petrishchevo for arson in there ;"Leave me alone! I am done for. Get out of here before the magazines go off." :—Herbert C. Jones, United States Navy officer and Medal of Honor recipient (7 December 1941), mortally wounded aboard USS California (BB-44) during the attack on Pearl Harbor ;"As long as I can give these people air, I'm sticking." :—Simon Dubnow, Jewish-born Russian historian, writer and activist (8 December 1941), prior to his murder in the Riga ghetto at the time of the Rumbula massacre ;"Going outside to fight it out." :—John K. Lawson, Canadian Army officer (19 December 1941), over the radio to his commanders prior to leaving his headquarters building during the Battle of Hong Kong ;"I am sorry that we cause you yet more effort beyond death, and I am convinced that you are doing what you do (which perhaps is not very much). Forgive us our desertion! We wish you and all our friends to experience better times. Your truly devoted Felix Hausdorff" :() :—Felix Hausdorff, German mathematician (26 January 1942); the conclusion of his suicide letter to his lawyer. Hausdorff, his wife and his sister-in-law committed suicide rather than be deported to the Endenich camp. ;"No surrender for me." :—Walter Brown, , Australian World War I recipient of the Victoria Cross (15 February 1942), before walking toward Japanese lines carrying grenades during the Battle of Singapore ;"Here Olena Teliha was sitting until she was shot." :—Olena Teliha, Ukrainian poet and activist (21 February 1942); inscription written on the wall of her prison cell prior to her execution by the Gestapo ;"I think it better to conclude in good time and in erect bearing a life in which intellectual labour meant the purest joy and personal freedom the highest good on Earth." :—Stefan Zweig, Austrian writer (22 February 1942), in his last testament before committing suicide with his wife, Lotte Altmann ;"I have lost my mind by spells and I do not dare think what I may do in those spells. May God forgive me and I hope everyone else will forgive me even if they cannot understand. My position is too awful to endure and nobody realizes it. What an end to a life in which I tried always to do my best." :—Lucy Maud Montgomery , Canadian author (24 April 1942); conclusion of note found on her bedside table after her death. It may or may not have been a suicide note. ;"Take good care of your mother, your brother, and sisters. Tell them to live up to our name. God bless you, my son." :—José Abad Santos, fifth Chief Justice of the Philippines, Acting President of the Commonwealth of the Philippines (2 May 1942), bidding farewell to his son Pepito prior to execution by occupying Japanese forces. Abad Santos subsequently refused to be blindfolded for his execution and he declined the final cigarette which was offered to him. ;"Death to fascism! Freedom to the people!" :() :—Stjepan Filipović, Yugoslav communist (22 May 1942), seconds before execution by hanging ;"You heard me, Mike." :—Félix Cadras, French lace designer and communist militant (French Communist Party) (30 May 1942), during execution by firing squad ;"Oh Mother, how beautiful it is!" :—Adam Czerniaków, Polish engineer and senator, head of the Warsaw Ghetto Jewish Council (Judenrat) (23 July 1942), writing to his wife prior to his suicide. The SS had ordered the Judenrat and the Jewish Ghetto Police to begin supplying 6000 people per day, including children, for deportation. ;"The bastards tried to come over me last night – I guess they didn't know I was a Marine." :—Edward H. Ahrens, United States Marine Raider (8 August 1942), found mortally wounded during the Guadalcanal campaign surrounded by 13 dead Japanese soldiers ;"Come, we are going for our people!" :—Edith Stein, German Jewish philosopher and Discalced Carmelite nun (9 August 1942), to her sister Rosa prior to their deportation to the Auschwitz concentration camp, where they were killed in a mass gas chamber ;"Did they get off?" :—Douglas Albert Munro, United States Coast Guardsman and Medal of Honor recipient (27 September 1942), to his friend Raymond Evans after using his Higgins boat to direct fire away from evacuating American troops ;"I bow to thee, Mother." :() :—Matangini Hazra, Indian revolutionary (29 September 1942), repeatedly chanting words from protest song while being shot by British Indian police at the age of 72 ;"Look after Agnes." :—Sophie Scholl, member of White Rose anti-Nazi resistance movement, sister of Hans Scholl (22 February 1943), before she was taken for beheading by guillotine ;"Long live freedom!" :() :—Hans Scholl, co-founder of White Rose resistance movement (22 February 1943), a moment before he was beheaded by guillotine ;"Yes." :—Alexander Schmorell, Russian-German student and member of the White Rose resistance movement (13 July 1943), on being asked if his name was Alexander Schmorell prior to his execution via guillotine ;"What a life!" :—William D. Hawkins, United States Marine Corps officer and Medal of Honor recipient (21 November 1943), mortally wounded at the Battle of Tarawa ;"I've a 3-month-old baby at home. I certainly would like to see my baby." :—Kay Kopl Vesole, United States Navy officer (December 1943), mortally wounded while rescuing survivors from the sinking of SS John Bascom ;"Reorganise the post, I will give covering fire." :() :—Abdul Hafiz , Indian recipient of the Victoria Cross (6 April 1944), mortally wounded at the Battle of Imphal ;"No." :—George Stinney, African-American child and youngest American with an exact age executed by the United States (16 June 1944), on whether he had any final words before his wrongful execution via electric chair. 14-year-old Stinney was tried and sentenced to death by Judge Philip H. Stoll in under three hours on 14 April after an all-white jury declared him guilty for double murder after only ten minutes of deliberation. ;"Don't give them a damned inch!" :—William J. O'Brien, United States Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (7 July 1944), during Banzai charge on his battalion at the Battle of Saipan ;"I'm going to hold these guys off as long as I can. I'll see you later." :—Ben L. Salomon, United States Army dental officer and Medal of Honor recipient (7 July 1944), preparing to cover evacuation of wounded from aid station with M1917 Browning machine gun during the Battle of Saipan ;"If it doesn't work this time, then please help me." :() :—Claus von Stauffenberg, German army officer (21 July 1944), before being executed by the Nazis for his involvement in the failed 20 July plot ;"If I die, do not blame anyone because I am starving. I was making a living by playing piano in a movie theater. Now I can not find this job either. You bury me as a Muslim." :() :—Şehzade Ahmed Nuri, Ottoman prince (7 August 1944), note found in his pocket after he starved to death in a French public park ;"Spade Flush." :—Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., United States Navy lieutenant (12 August 1944), radioing code phrase prior to explosion of plane on Operation Aphrodite mission ;"I'm going down..." :—Alexandru Șerbănescu, Second World War Romanian fighter ace (18 August 1944), crashing after being shot down ;"Put an end, Lord, to all our sufferings." :—Winston Ide, Australian rugby union player (12 September 1944), responding to requests to save himself during the sinking of the ;"" :—Noor Inayat Khan, , British spy in the Special Operations Executive (13 September 1944), prior to execution by firing squad at Dachau concentration camp ;"I'm on fire." :—Walter Nowotny, Second World War German fighter ace (8 November 1944), crashing due to engine failure after combat with United States Army Air Force planes ;"To Harald, may God forgive you and forgive me too but I prefer to take my life away and our baby's before I bring him with shame or killing him, Lupe." :—Eddie Slovik, American soldier (31 January 1945), to the attending military chaplain, before his execution for desertion. ;"C'mon you guys! Let's get these guns off the beach." :—Harlon Block, United States Marine Corps corporal (1 March 1945), mortally wounded at the Battle of Iwo Jima ;"What I done, I did in self-defense, or I would have been killed myself. Where I was I could not overcome it. God has forgiven me. I have nothing against anyone. I picked cotton for Mr. Pritchett, and he has been good to me. I am ready to go. I am one in the number. I am ready to meet my God. :—Jack Lummus, professional football player, United States Marine Corps officer and Medal of Honor recipient (8 March 1945), after losing his legs to a land mine at the Battle of Iwo Jima ;"I die, because it was ordered. I had always wanted only the best for Germany." :—Friedrich Fromm, German general (12 March 1945), prior to being executed as part of the post-conspiracy purge after the failure of the 20 July plot ;"I have a terrific headache." :—Franklin D. Roosevelt, president of the United States (12 April 1945), before dying of intracerebral hemorrhage ;"I shoot better!" :() :—Hannie Schaft, Dutch Resistance Fighter (17 April 1945), mocking her two executioners after the first shot grazed off her. ;"Are you all right?" :—Ernie Pyle, American war correspondent (18 April 1945), to Lt. Col. Joseph B. Coolidge before being fatally shot on Iejima during the Battle of Okinawa ;"Shoot me in the chest!" :() :—Benito Mussolini, Italian fascist statesman (28 April 1945), facing a partisan leader . ;"Above all, I charge the leadership of the nation and their followers with the strict observance of the racial laws and with merciless resistance against the universal poisoners of all peoples, international Jewry." :() :—Adolf Hitler, German Nazi statesman (30 April 1945), closing his last will before committing joint suicide with his wife Eva , May 1945 ;"I am Heinrich Himmler." :—Heinrich Himmler, German Nazi officer (23 May 1945), last words said during his suicide shortly after biting into a hidden potassium cyanide pill before collapsing dead onto the floor of the headquarters of the Second British Army in Lüneburg. ;"I'm shot...it's over." :—Vidkun Quisling, Norwegian politician (24 October 1945), prior to execution by firing squad for murder and high treason ;"No. (And supposing you were?)" :—Charles Carroll Taylor, United States Naval Reserve lieutenant (5 December 1945), last transmission before Flight 19 disappeared over Bermuda Triangle ;"Quick." :() :—Irma Grese, SS concentration camp guard (13 December 1945), prior to her execution by hanging ;"Whatever you would like me to have." :—George S. Patton, United States Army general (21 December 1945), paralyzed from neck down after automobile collision ;"Shakespeare, I come." :—Joachim von Ribbentrop, German politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nazi Germany (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions) ;"" :—Wilhelm Keitel, German field marshal (16 October 1946), during his execution by hanging for war crimes and crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions) ;"I have loved my German people and my fatherland with a warm heart. I have done my duty by the laws of my people and I am sorry my people were led this time by men who were not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge. Germany, good luck." :() :—Julius Streicher, Nazi politician, founder and publisher of Der Stürmer (16 October 1946), prior to his execution by hanging for crimes against humanity (Nuremberg executions) ;"I am dying innocent. The sentence is wrong. God protect Germany and make Germany great again. Long live Germany! God protect my family." :—George Atcheson Jr., American diplomat (17 August 1947), aboard plane going down in Pacific Ocean near Hawaii ;"You ass-face!" :() :—Vicente Huidobro, Chilean poet (2 January 1948); after regaining consciousness, he confessed to his loved ones that he was afraid and made his friend Henriette Petit cry when he stared at her and shouted this expression ;"The object is directly ahead of and above me now, moving at about half my speed... It appears to be a metallic object or possibly reflection of Sun from a metallic object, and it is of tremendous size... I'm still climbing... I'm trying to close in for a better look." :—Thomas F. Mantell, Kentucky Air National Guard captain (7 January 1948), during fatal pursuit of UFO ;"Oh God!" :() :—Mahatma Gandhi, Indian revolutionary and pacifist (30 January 1948), shortly after being shot by Hindu nationalist Nathuram Godse ;"The man was by the door. I got his identity card and name. I do not know if it is right. He shot me in the legs with three shots. The pocket book is in my inside pocket." :—Nathanael Edgar, British police officer (13 February 1948), describing the circumstances of his being mortally wounded in the line of duty ;"To the General Secretary of the Arab League in Cairo: I lay full blame on your shoulders for leaving my soldiers, in the zenith of victory, without aid or weaponry. Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni." :() :—Abd al-Qadir al-Husayni, Palestinian leader and fighter (8 April 1948), in a note to Abdul Rahman Hassan Azzam written shortly before his death during the Battle of Qastal ;"I'm going over the valley." ;"I'll need it." :—Folke Bernadotte, Swedish nobleman and diplomat (17 September 1948), on being wished good luck by a journalist prior to his assassination ;"Frenzy hath seized thy dearest son, / Who from thy shores in glory came / The first in valor and in fame; / Thy deeds that he hath done / Seem hostile all to hostile eyes.... / Better to die, and sleep / The never waking sleep, than linger on, / And dare to live, when the soul's life is gone." :—James Forrestal, United States Secretary of Defense (22 May 1949); his suicide note, a quotation from the play Ajax by Sophocles ;"I would give anything just to have written this." :—Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor (8 September 1949), holding a copy of Mozart's Clarinet Concerto ;"Doctor, if I put this here guitar down now, I ain't never gonna wake up." :—Lead Belly, American folk and blues singer, musician and songwriter (6 December 1949) ==1950–1959==

;"Mama!" :() :—Milada Horáková, Czech politician (27 June 1950), prior to execution by hanging on fabricated charges of conspiracy and treason ;"No, I'll never make it. I'm going back and get that bastard." :—Louis J. Sebille, United States Air Force fighter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient (5 August 1950), when urged by one of his wingmen to head for an emergency landing strip after being wounded during the Battle of Pusan Perimeter in the Korean War. Sebille then deliberately crashed into a North Korean convoy. ;"The Gooks will never drive the Argylls off this hill." :—Kenneth Muir , British Army officer (23 September 1950), mortally wounded by automatic weapon fire during Battle of Hill 282 in the Korean War ;"This is it! I'm going. I'm going." :—Jesse L. Brown, United States Naval Aviator (4 December 1950), mentioning his wife while trapped and dying in cockpit after being shot down during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War. Thomas J. Hudner Jr. received the Medal of Honor for his unsuccessful attempt to rescue Brown. ;"Get back ... I'll cover you." :—John U. D. Page, United States Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (11 December 1950), prior to being killed in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in the Korean War ;"Say goodbye to my wife and kids." :—Ray Wetmore, American World War II flying ace (14 February 1951), prior to fatal crash of F-86 Sabre ;"It is well." :—Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (29 April 1951), upon being told that his close friends would come to visit him the next day ;"As you see, I am crying too, not tears of pain but tears of joy, because I'll be with my God in a short time." :—Emil Kapaun, United States Army Roman Catholic chaplain and Medal of Honor recipient (23 May 1951), dying in prisoner of war camp during the Korean War ;"Harmony." :—Anthony T. Kahoʻohanohano, United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (1 September 1951), prior to being killed in action in the Korean War ;"You go. I'll cover you." :—Joseph Vittori, United States Marine and Medal of Honor recipient (16 September 1951), prior to being killed in action at the Battle of the Punchbowl in the Korean War ;"If they are not, blame me." :—Owen Roberts, British Royal Air Force officer and aviator (10 April 1953), when his flight attendant question the safeness of the Lockheed Lodestar prior to the aircraft he piloted crashed during takeoff ;"This must be an awful bore for you." :– Hilaire Belloc, French-English author and Member of Parliament (16 July 1953), after being given a blanket and propped up with a pillow by his daughter and grandson ;"Life is still full of joy. Thumbs up for joy and adventure." It is tasteless to prolong life artificially. I have done my share, it is time to go. I will do it elegantly." :—James Dean, American actor (30 September 1955), to his friend Rolf Wütherich, moments before the car crash ;"I am happy, because I am going to Heaven." :—Alexandrina of Balazar (born Alexandrina Maria da Costa), Portuguese Roman Catholic mystic, victim soul and blessed (13 October 1955) ;"It's tasty." :() :– Sadako Sasaki, Japanese 12-year-old victim of the United States' atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki known for folding a thousand paper cranes (25 October 1955), to her family after tasting her final meal, tea on rice. ;"I am wiling to be a junior. :—Alben W. Barkley, vice-president of the United States (30 April 1956), alluding to Psalms 84:10 just before dying of a heart attack while giving keynote address at the 1956 Washington and Lee Mock Convention ;"No. :—Tom Gastall, American baseball player (20 September 1956), final radio transmission before crash of his ERCO Ercoupe into Chesapeake Bay ;"There she goes!" :—Milburn G. Apt, American test pilot (27 September 1956), final radio transmission while losing control of Bell X-2 ;"Goodbye, kid. Hurry back." :—Humphrey Bogart, American actor (14 January 1957), to his wife Lauren as she left to collect their children, after which he entered a fatal coma ;" a midair collision – midair collision, 10 How we are going in-uncontrollable – uncontrollable – we are...we've had it boy – poor jet too – told you we should take chutes – say goodbye to everybody." :—Archie R. Twitchell, American actor and aviator (31 January 1957), radio transmission after 1957 Pacoima mid-air collision ;"Mind your business!" :—Donald E. Montgomery, American economist (11 October 1957), calling police before committing suicide ;"A quick haircut." :—Tony Morabito, founder of the San Francisco 49ers, to the priest who gave him final absolution (27 October 1957) ;"Nothing matters. Nothing matters." :—Iven Carl Kincheloe Jr., American test pilot (26 July 1958), final radio transmission prior to failed ejection from Lockheed F-104A ;"Dear Hef, When you read this I shall be dead. I cannot go on living with myself and hurting those dear to me. What I do has nothing to do with you." :—Jack Cole, American cartoonist, creator of Plastic Man (13 August 1958), in his suicide note to Hugh Hefner ;"Pray. Pray that this regrettable situation for the Church may end." :—Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (3 March 1959), asking a nurse to change his position in bed ;"Little Virgin: How much I love You! When are You coming for me?" :() :—Montserrat Grases, Spanish Catholic laywoman and venerable (26 March 1959) ;"I'm tired. I'm going back to bed." :—Boris Vian, French polymath (23 June 1959), while watching film adaptation of his novel I Spit on Your Graves ;"I should have had the pickle." :—Max Baer, American boxer (21 November 1959), dying of a heart attack ;"Beautifully done." :—Stanley Spencer, CBE RA, English painter (14 December 1959), to a nurse who had given him an injection ==1960–1969==

;"Someone else can arrange this." :—Constance Spry , British educator, florist and author (3 January 1960), dying after slipping on stairs while arranging flowers ;"He is safe! He is safe! Oh, joy!" :() :—Leonard Warren, American operatic baritone (4 March 1960), performing in La Forza del Destino at the Metropolitan Opera before dying on stage ;"There's that pain again! I can feel it in my arm and in my head." :—James W. Rodgers, American murderer (30 March 1960), facing a firing squad ;"Why am I hemorrhaging?" :—Knud Enemark Jensen, Danish cyclist (26 August 1960), shortly before collapsing to the pavement while competing in the 1960 Summer Olympics ;"I am so bored." :—St John Philby, British Arabist and intelligence officer (30 September 1960) ;"It's...It's coming out." :—Howard Glenn, Titans of New York offensive guard (9 October 1960), in locker room after fatal in-game injury ;"During the election, they keep policies that would be unpopular with the public a secret, and then once they have won a majority in the election, they will... " :() :—Inejirō Asanuma, then-chairman of the Japan Socialist Party (12 October 1960), criticizing the LDP, seconds before being stabbed with a wakizashi by 17-year-old Otoya Yamaguchi. ;"Tillman, you know, God has been very good to me." :—Johnny Horton, American country, honky tonk and rockabilly musician (5 November 1960), to his manager Tillman Franks shortly before he was killed in a car accident. ;"You're the only one I like." :—Valentin Bondarenko, Soviet cosmonaut (23 March 1961), fatally burned in altitude chamber fire ;"I'm not afraid any more." :—Adolf Eichmann, German-Austrian SS-Obersturmbannführer (1 June 1962), mumbling prior to execution by hanging for war crimes ;"You're not going to see anything." :—Joseph Roland Ernst, American convicted murderer, neo-Nazi, and the second-to-last person to be executed by the state of New Jersey (31 July 1962) ;"Say goodbye to Pat, say goodbye to the president and say goodbye to yourself, because you're a nice guy... I'll see... I'll see." :—Marilyn Monroe, American actress (4 August 1962), over the phone to Peter Lawford, John F. Kennedy's brother-in-law ;"I'm going to stop now, but I'm going to sharpen the ax before I put it up, dear." :() :—Pyotr Dolgov, Soviet Air Force colonel and balloonist (1 November 1962), to Yevgeni Nikolayevich Andreyev prior to jumping from a Volga balloon gondola at an altitude of . Dolgov was killed when his pressure suit depressurized; Andreyev successfully reached the ground. ;"Yes." :—Ian James Campbell, American police officer (9 March 1963), just before being fatally shot, in response to his killer asking if he had heard of the Little Lindbergh Law ;"An olive, with a pit..." ;"No, you certainly can't." :—John F. Kennedy, president of the United States (22 November 1963), replying to co-passenger Nellie Connally saying, ''"You certainly can't say Dallas doesn't love you, Mr. President"'' while travelling through Dallas in a motorcade, shortly before he was fatally shot ;"Thank you." :—C.S. Lewis, a British author of The Chronicles of Narnia, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian (22 November 1963) of kidney failure, at age 64. He was diagnosed with end-stage kidney failure in mid-November. He collapsed in his bedroom at 5:30 pm on 22 November, at age 64, and died a few minutes later. ;"10–4." :—J. D. Tippit, American police officer (22 November 1963), over his police radio shortly before being shot and killed, less than one hour after the Kennedy assassination ;"LSD, 100 μg, im" :—Aldous Huxley, philosopher, writer (22 November 1963), to his wife Laura ("im" being an abbreviation for intramuscular) ;"I want to see the American Civil Liberties Union." :—Lee Harvey Oswald, accused of killing Kennedy and Tippit (24 November 1963), shortly before he was shot by Jack Ruby ;"You made one mistake. You married me." :—Charles L. Kelly, United States Army helicopter pilot and medical evacuation unit commander (1 July 1964), responding to warning to leave a dangerous landing zone during a Vietnam War rescue mission. Kelly was then struck by a bullet. ;"My God, Ned, help me! I'm on fire!" :—Fireball Roberts, American stock car racer (2 July 1964), inside his burning car after 24 May 1964 wreck during the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Roberts survived for six weeks before dying of his injuries. ;"I am sorry to trouble you chaps. I don't know how you get along so fast with the traffic on the road these days." :—Lou Everett, American test pilot (27 April 1965), prior to failed ejection from Ryan XV-5 Vertifan ;"Well, Jan, we were lucky at that." :—D. N. Aidit, Indonesian communist and Communist Party of Indonesia leader (22 November 1965), prior to being summarily executed by Jasir Hadibroto and other executioners from the army. It was said that his last words were 30 minutes of inflaming speech against the army, resulting in the executioners shortly firing lethal shots after he shouted "Long live, PKI!" ;"Dying is a very dull, dreary affair. And my advice to you is to have nothing whatever to do with it." :—Lal Bahadur Shastri, Prime Minister of India (11 January 1966), to his doctors ;"Why can't I give up at last?" :—Buster Keaton, American actor, comedian and filmmaker (1 February 1966) ;"It's the best I can do." :—James A. Gardner, United States Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (7 February 1966), killed while destroying enemy bunkers during the Vietnam War ;"Final ILS two four." :—Elliot See, American astronaut (28 February 1966), prior to plane crash that killed him and fellow astronaut Charles Bassett ;"Absolutely not!" :—James French, American murderer (10 August 1966), when asked if he had any last words before his death by electric chair 's National Air and Space Museum. ;"Emerg—" :—Nick Piantanida, American parachutist (29 August 1966), making emergency transmission from Strato Jump III balloon during decompression accident on 1 May 1966; the accident left him in a coma until his death ;"A party! Let's have a party." :—Walt Disney, American animation pioneer and businessman (15 December 1966), written on the bottom of a page ;"The water's dark green and I can't see a bloody thing. Hallo the bow is up. I'm going. I'm on my back. I'm gone." :—Donald Campbell, British racer (4 January 1967), just before fatal crash of Bluebird K7 hydroplane while trying to set new world water speed record ;"How are we going to get to the moon if we can't talk between two or three buildings?" :—Gus Grissom, American astronaut (27 January 1967), during Apollo 1 launch rehearsal test moments before a deadly fire broke out ;"We've got a bad fire! Let's get out... We're burning up!" :—Ronald Ryan, Australian criminal (3 February 1967), to the hangman. Ryan was the last person to be executed in Australia prior to the abolition of the death penalty in 1985. ;"We've reached one of our phase lines after the fire fight and it smells bad—meaning it's a little bit suspicious...Could be an amb—" :—Bernard B. Fall, American war correspondent and historian (21 February 1967); spoken into tape recorder just before stepping on land mine that killed him and U.S. Marine Byron G. Highland during the Vietnam War ;"To leave this life, to me, is a sweet prospect. When you read this I will be quite dead and no answer will be possible. All I can say is that I offered you love, and the best I could. All I got in return in the end was a kick in the teeth. Thus I die alone and unloved. As you sowed, so shall you reap." Ferrie's autopsy concluded that he had died of natural causes. ;"Grenades. Grenades." :—Ruppert L. Sargent, United States Army officer and Medal of Honor recipient (15 March 1967), prior to falling on two grenades during the Vietnam War ;"I've loved you very much Franca, very much." :() :—Antonio De Curtis (alias Totò), Italian actor, comedian, screenwriter, dramatist, poet, singer and lyricist (15 April 1967), cause of heart attack when he spoke his last words to his wife, Franca Faldini, who has been called the true love of his life before he passed away. ;"No reason to weep." :() :—Konrad Adenauer, Chancellor of West Germany (19 April 1967) ;"Thank you for transmitting all of that. [Separation] occurred. [garbled]" :—Vladimir Komarov, Soviet cosmonaut (24 April 1967), final transmission before fatal crash of Soyuz 1 spacecraft ;"Excuse my dust." :—Tom Simpson, British cyclist (13 July 1967), asking to be put back on his bike prior to his death on Mont Ventoux during the 1967 Tour de France ;"Stay quiet, Marine. You will be okay. Someone will be here to help you soon. God is with us all this day." :—Clifton Williams, American astronaut (5 October 1967), prior to unsuccessful ejection from crashing airplane ;"Hullo, Griff. How are you getting on?" :() :—Che Guevara, Argentinean statesman and socialist revolutionary (9 October 1967), facing his captors ;"Dear Ted, what has happened to us? I don't know. I feel myself in a spiral, going down down down, into a black hole from which there is no escape, no brightness. And loud in my ears from every side I hear, 'failure, failure, failure...' I love you so much ... I am too old and enmeshed in everything you do and are, that I cannot conceive of life without you ... My going will leave quite a rumor but you can say I was overworked and overwrought. Your reputation with your friends and fans will not be harmed ... Sometimes think of the fun we had all thru the years ..." :—Helen Palmer, American children's author, editor and philanthropist (23 October 1967), in her suicide note, addressed to her husband, Theodor "Dr. Seuss" Geisel ;"I'm in a spin." :—Michael J. Adams, American astronaut (15 November 1967), prior to crash of North American X-15 spaceplane ;"I know this beach like the back of my hand." :—Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia (17 December 1967), prior to disappearing while swimming at Cheviot Beach ;"Never again, never again." :—Bill Masterton, Canadian American ice hockey player (15 January 1968), after sustaining fatal head injury in NHL game ;"Mary Gaston, get my shoes; I must go to preach." :—Lance Sijan, United States Air Force fighter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient (22 January 1968), dying in Hỏa Lò Prison during the Vietnam War ;"I am going over. We are laying over. Help me. I am going over. Give my love and the crew's love to the wives and families." :—Phil Gay, captain of fishing trawler Ross Cleveland (4 February 1968), final radio message before ship sank . ;"Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty." :—Martin Luther King Jr., American civil rights activist (4 April 1968), speaking to musician Ben Branch shortly before being assassinated ;"Don't lift me." :—Robert F. Kennedy, American politician (6 June 1968), speaking to medical attendants who lifted him onto a stretcher several minutes after he was fatally shot and lost consciousness shortly thereafter ;"I'm awful tired now, Hank. I've got to go to bed." :—Red Foley, American country music singer (19 September 1968) ;"God sits in the regiments! That is why I am not afraid. Stay confident in also the darkest moments! Let us hope not fall, the hope for all people, for all the peoples of the world. God let us not fall, not a single one of us and all of us together. It is governed." :—Tallulah Bankhead, American actress (12 December 1968) ;"Somebody's got to care." :—Garfield M. Langhorn, United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (15 January 1969), prior to falling on a grenade to protect wounded soldiers during the Vietnam War ;"Don't worry, be happy." :—Boris Karloff, English actor (2 February 1969), before dying of pneumonia ;"I've always loved my wife, my children, and my grandchildren, and I've always loved my country. :—Félix Conde Falcón, United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (4 April 1969), mortally wounded during the Vietnam War ;"I'm doing all right, I'm doing all right, uh." :—Paul Meyer, United States Air Force airman (23 May 1969), final transmission before crashing into the English Channel in a stolen aircraft ;"How nice, if I were to die now I would be happy..." :() :—C. F. Powell, FRS, British physicist (9 August 1969), before dying in Casargo, Italy on balcony with scenic view ;"Please — please don't kill me. I don't want to die. I want to live. I want to have my baby. I want to have my baby." :—Sharon Tate, American actress (9 August 1969), confirmed by confessed murderer Susan Atkins (one of the members of the Manson family led by Charles Manson) during the murders to be among the pregnant actress' last words. ==1970–1979==

;"Mommy, promise you won't leave me, will you, Mommy?" :—Edwarda O'Bara, American high school student (3 January 1970), after being slipped into a diabetic coma while talking to her mother before losing consciousness, she lived until she died on 21 November 2012 ;"Anyway, I can get a good rest in the morning. There's no rehearsal till three." :—Vince Lombardi, American football coach (3 September 1970), to his wife ;"Roger." :—William Schaffner, United States Air Force pilot (8 September 1970), prior to his BAC Lightning crashing into the North Sea; some commentators would allege that a UFO was involved in the incident ;"I need help bad, man." :—Jimi Hendrix, American musician, singer, and songwriter (18 September 1970), to his manager, Chas Chandler, in an answering machine message he left for him ;"I feel pain here." :() :—Charles de Gaulle, French statesman (9 November 1970), pointing at his neck seconds before he unexpectedly died from an aneurysm ;"Human life is limited; but I would like to live forever." :() :—Coco Chanel, French fashion businesswoman (10 January 1971), to her maid . ;"I am beginning the descent procedure." :—Georgy Dobrovolsky, Soviet cosmonaut (30 June 1971), prior to fatal reentry of Soyuz 11 ;"Prepare cognac, see you tomorrow!" :—Gerry Richardson, , British police officer (23 August 1971), to PC Carl Walker, , referring to armed robber Frederick Joseph Sewell, who had shot both of them. Walker survived. ;"Mama, if I get through this, I swear I'll be a better man." :—George Sanders, British actor (25 April 1972); one of his suicide notes ;"Blame only the regime for my death." :() :—Romas Kalanta, Lithuanian high school student (14 May 1972), prior to committing suicide by self-immolation to protest the Soviet regime in Lithuania ;"How did the Mets do today?" :—Moe Berg, American baseball player (29 May 1972), to his nurse ;"You have destroyed the beauty of the world!" :() :- Huguette Gaulin, Canadian Novelist (June 6, 1972), who committed suicide by burning herself. ;"I have got that woman. We are all right." :—Adrian McGill, Glasgow Fire Service Sub Officer (18 November 1972), shouting to other firefighters from the top floor of a burning building. The woman whom McGill died trying to save also died. ;"Send Mike immediately." :—J. R. R. Tolkien, English writer and academic (2 September 1973), postscript of letter to his daughter Priscilla ;"These are my last words, and I am certain that my sacrifice will not be in vain. I am certain that, at the very least, it will be a moral lesson that will punish felony, cowardice and treason." :—Jim Croce, American folk and rock singer-songwriter (20 September 1973), in a letter written to his wife Ingrid shortly before he boarded a plane that killed him ;"Throw it, just throw it." :—Christine Chubbuck, American news anchor for WWSB (formerly known as WXLT) (15 July 1974), just before shooting herself in the head on air ;"I don't want my jeans to get dirty..." :() :—Anatoli Kozhemyakin, Soviet footballer (13 October 1974), trying to exit a stuck elevator before it began moving, crushing him to death ;"Pull now ... pull, that's it." :—Walter A. Zadra, first officer of Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231 (1 December 1974), before plane crashed in Harriman State Park (New York) ;"Oh, you young people act like old men. You are no fun." :—Pete Ham, Welsh musician and songwriter (24 April 1975), written on a suicide note before hanging himself ;"You can't kill this tough Jew." :—Vaughn Bodē, American cartoonist and illustrator (18 July 1975), to his son ;"We are holding our own." :—Ernest M. McSorley, Canadian sailor and captain of SS Edmund Fitzgerald (10 November 1975), last transmission before ship went down in storm on Lake Superior ;"When I meet God, I am going to ask him two questions: Why relativity? And why turbulence? I really believe he will have an answer for the first." :() :—Mao Zedong, Chinese statesman and revolutionary (9 September 1976) ;"Let's do it!" :—Gary Gilmore, American criminal (17 January 1977), prior to execution by firing squad ;"I must end it. There's no hope left. I'll be at peace. No one had anything to do with this. My decision totally." :—Freddie Prinze, American stand-up comedian and actor (29 January 1977), as his suicide note, before shooting himself in the head ;"There's nothing more to say. It's all in the film." :—Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, American socialite (5 February 1977), to her daughter, Edith Bouvier Beale, referring to the documentary Grey Gardens ; "Oh yes." :—Jacob Veldhuyzen van Zanten, pilot of KLM Flight 4805 (27 March 1977), shortly before colliding with Pan Am Flight 1736. ;"Bless me, Father, for I have sinned." :—Robert Nairac , British Army intelligence officer (15 May 1977), abducted and shot to death by the Provisional Irish Republican Army. His last words were addressed to one of his abductors, who posed as a priest in an attempt to gain information through Nairac's confession. ;"A certain butterfly is already on the wing." :—Francis Gary Powers, American pilot (1 August 1977), last radio transmission before a helicopter crash killed him and cameraman George Spears ;"I'm going to the bathroom to read." :—Groucho Marx, American actor and comedian (19 August 1977) ;"Horrible. Horrible!" :—MacKinlay Kantor, American author (11 October 1977), to his grandson, Tom Shroder ;"That was a great game of golf, fellas. :—Bing Crosby, American singer and actor (14 October 1977), moments before collapsing and dying of a heart attack ;"Why not? After all, it belongs to him." :—Terry Kath, American lead singer and guitarist for Chicago (23 January 1978), before accidentally shooting himself ;"Don't worry, I can do it. I can get to land." :—Keith Moon, English drummer for the rock band the Who (7 September 1978), to his girlfriend Annette Walter-Lax ; "This is it, baby! Brace yourself." :—Captain James McFeron, pilot of Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182 (25 September 1978), as the Boeing 727 crashed after colliding with a Cessna 172 over San Diego ;"Tomorrow, we will see each other, if the Lord still wishes it, and we will celebrate Mass together." :—Frederick Valentich, Australian aviator (21 October 1978), last transmission before disappearing after possibly sighting a UFO ;"We didn't commit suicide, we committed an act of revolutionary suicide protesting the conditions of an inhumane world." :—Jim Jones, American cult leader and mass murderer (18 November 1978), speaking to his followers, shortly after they had all been poisoned with cyanide. Jones died of a possibly self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, while his followers died of cyanide poisoning. ;"All stop." :—Tony Prangley, British commercial diver (26 November 1978), prior to anchor chain severing diving bell connections to MS Star Canopus, causing bell containing Prangley and fellow diver Michael Ward to plummet to the sea floor ;"Leave the shower curtain on the inside of the tub." :—Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan (4 April 1979), prior to execution by hanging ;"It wasn't supposed to end like this." :—Amir-Abbas Hoveyda, Prime Minister of Iran (7 April 1979), during execution after the Iranian Revolution ;"Capital punishment; them without the capital get the punishment." :—Thurman Munson, American baseball player (2 August 1979), trapped in crashed plane, to his two passengers, who survived ;"Do you really think the IRA would think me a worthwhile target?" :—Park Chung Hee, 3rd President of South Korea (26 October 1979), in response to Cha Ji Cheol and a woman next to him asking if he was all right after being shot by Kim Jae-gyu, prior to being fatally shot in the head ;"Oh, Jesus Christ!" :—Captain Charles Gilbert (31 October 1979), pilot of Western Airlines Flight 2605, before the plane crashed into a hangar. His last words were captured on a black box. ;"Go-around power please." :– Captain Thomas James "Jim" Collins (28 November 1979), New Zealand pilot of Air New Zealand Flight 901, before the plane crashed onto the slopes of Mount Erebus on a sightseeing Antarctic flight. ==1980–1989==

;"May God have mercy on the assassins." :—Óscar Romero, Salvadoran Roman Catholic prelate (24 March 1980), assassinated while giving a sermon ;"I love you very much, my dear Beaver." :() :—Nicolas Jaeger, French physician and alpinist (27 April 1980), prior to disappearing on Lhotse Shar in Nepal ;"One never knows the ending. One has to die to know exactly what happens after death, although Catholics have their hopes." :—David A. Johnston, American volcanologist (18 May 1980), reporting the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens from observation post ;"At this very moment, I wish I were dead. I just can't cope anymore." :—Ian Curtis, English musician (18 May 1980) written on a note before hanging himself ;"Iran is Iran." (repeatedly) :() :—Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, last Shah of Iran (27 July 1980), before slipping into a coma ;"I don't know where animators go when they die, but I guess there must be a lot of them. They could probably use a good director though." :—Tex Avery, American animator (26 August 1980), to an animator while watching a baseball game, according to Chuck Jones ;"My life, my leather, my love goes to Bosco." :—Darby Crash, American musician (7 December 1980), writing a note to his friend David "Bosco" Davenport while dying of a heroin overdose ;"I'm shot! I'm shot!" :—John Lennon, English musician (8 December 1980), moments after being fatally shot by Mark David Chapman ;"This is where the real fun starts." :—Natalie Wood, American actress (29 November 1981), crying for help from drowning ;"I know!" :—Captain Larry Wheaton, pilot of Air Florida Flight 90 (13 January 1982), before it was impacted to Potomac River after took off from Washington National Airport upon talking to the flight's first officer, Roger Pettit ;"Just don't leave me alone." :—John Belushi, American actor and comedian (5 March 1982), before dying of drug overdose ;"I can't face it anymore." :—Vic Morrow, American actor (23 July 1982), prior to being killed along with two child actors during filming in the Twilight Zone accident ;"I am going." :—Captain William S. Todd (11 January 1983), pilot of United Airlines Flight 2885, just before the plane crashed after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport ;"I love you." :—Ninoy Aquino, Filipino politician (21 August 1983), moments just arrived in the Philippines after his 3-year self-exile along with his brother-in-law Ken Kashiwahara by his side, prior to his assassination at Manila International Airport ;"Korean Air flight zero zero seven, we are experiencing rapid decompression descend to eleven thousand." :—Captain Chun Byung-in, pilot of Korean Air Lines Flight 007 (1 September 1983), as it was being shot by Soviet Air Defense Forces due to a navigational error when it entered onto a restricted airspace over Soviet Union ;"Everything is fine, I'm ready to go." :—Ken Carter, Canadian stunt driver (5 September 1983), prior to fatal pond jump in rocket-powered car ;"It's all been rather lovely." :—Ronald Clark O'Bryan, American optician who killed his son with poisoned Halloween candy for life insurance money (31 March 1984), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"Mother, I'm going to get my things and get out of this house. Father hates me and I'm never coming back." :– Tommy Cooper, Welsh magician and comedian (15 April 1984), to his assistant before collapsing due to a heart attack in front of a television audience of 12 million. The assistant smiled and the audience laughed, mistakenly believing it was part of the act. ;"I've got to get out, I'm out of control." :—Robert M. Bond, United States Air Force lieutenant general (26 April 1984), prior to failed ejection from Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 jet fighter-bomber ;"Oh, there's more. You're trying to hide from me you bastards!" :—James Huberty, perpetrator of the San Ysidro McDonald's massacre (18 July 1984), taunting employees hiding in the kitchen ;"Mama— Mama— Mama." :() :– Jerzy Popiełuszko, Polish Roman Catholic priest (19 October 1984), his well-known last word in public during the Bydgoszcz mass hours before his assassination. ;"Namaste..." :—Indira Gandhi, Indian politician and stateswoman (31 October 1984), prior to her assassination ; "I know that everybody has gone through a lot of pain, all the families connected, and I am sorry, and I want to thank everybody who have been supporting me all these six years." :—Velma Barfield, American serial killer (2 November 1984), right before her execution ;"I am about to die for a murder that I did not commit, that someone else committed ... I love the Lord and hope that God takes me into his kingdom, and goodbye, mother." :—Karel Soucek, Czech-Canadian stuntman (20 January 1985), prior to fatal barrel drop from ceiling of Houston Astrodome ;"I can't anymore." :—Rudolph Przydzial "Rudy" Price Jr. (2 August 1985), First Officer of Delta Air Lines Flight 191, reacting to the first impact of the Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar. ;"It's... the end!" :() :—Captain Masami Takahama (12 August 1985), pilot of Japan Air Lines Flight 123, just before the Boeing 747 crashed into a mountain ;"I have a problem, I have a real problem." :—Art Scholl, American aerobatic pilot (16 September 1985), after his plane entered a flat inverted spin during filming of Top Gun ;"No, I don't believe so." :—Francis R. Scobee, American astronaut (28 January 1986), last recorded transmission of Space Shuttle Challenger to air-to-ground voice loop from capsule communicator Richard O. Covey, who was stationed in Houston ;*"Uh oh." :—Benny Goodman, American clarinetist (13 June 1986), to his friend Carol Smith, who discovered him pale and slumped on his couch after suffering an apparent heart attack ;"My name is Jerome Bowden, and I would just like to state that my execution is about to be carried out. And I would like to thank the people at this institution for taking such good care of me in the way that they did. And I hope that by my execution being carried out, that it may bring some light to this thing that is wrong. And I would like to have a final prayer with Chaplain Lizzel if that is possible. Thank you very much." :—Jerome Bowden, American convicted murderer (24 June 1986), prior to execution by electrocution ;"Freedom. Freedom at last, man. It's been a real good one." :—Jerry Smith, American professional football player who was a tight end for the National Football League (15 October 1986), dying of AIDS ;"Hit the water! Hit the water! Hit the water!" :—Jane Dornacker, American rock musician and traffic reporter (22 October 1986), prior to fatal crash of WNBC Radio helicopter into Hudson River ;"I love you Barbara...don't worry." :—R. Budd Dwyer, American politician (22 January 1987), to the reporters who tried to stop him from shooting himself during a press conference ;"Yeah, country music." :() :—Dalida, Italian-French singer and actress (3 May 1987); writing her suicide note ;"I guess no one's going to call." I'd rather be fishing." :—Jackie Gleason, American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor (24 June 1987) ;"It's funny. I killed all those people, but I haven't the guts to blow my own brains out." :—Michael Ryan, perpetrator of the Hungerford massacre (19 August 1987), speaking to police shortly before committing suicide ;"Kay." :—Captain Dawid Jacobus Uys, pilot of South African Airways Flight 295 (28 November 1987), just after declared an emergency following an in-flight fire before planning to head to Mauritius for an emergency attempt ;"I'm bored." :—Pete Maravich, American basketball player (5 January 1988), before dying of undiagnosed heart defect during pickup game ;"I love you." :—Heather O'Rourke, American child actress (1 February 1988), to her mother, shortly before dying of septic shock ;"I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring." :—Kenneth Williams, British actor and comedian (15 April 1988), the last words he wrote in his diary ;"I want to offer again my most profound and heartfelt apologies to my victims' families. I am truly sorry. I have tried my best to empathize with their grief and devastation and I hope they come to know of my concerns and prayers for them." :—Arthur Gary Bishop, American convicted sex offender and serial killer (10 June 1988), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"I know, I love you, bro." :—Hillel Slovak, Israeli-American musician (25 June 1988), in a phone conversation with his brother before dying of a heroin overdose ;"Thank you, good day." :—Captain Mohsen Rezaian, pilot of Iran Air Flight 655 (3 July 1988), just as it was shot on a missile fired by USS Vincennes over Strait of Hormuz being mistaken as a fighter jet ;"Oh, to die in Italy!" :—Captain James MacQuarrie, pilot of Pan Am Flight 103 (21 December 1988), just entered Scottish airspace while turning to oceanic route across the Atlantic Ocean prior it was exploded by a terrorist bombing ;"I think I'll go now." :—Oliver L. Austin, American ornithologist (31 December 1988), to his wife ;″I believe that the image of walking through, these turbulent times live on people's hearts for a long time. :() :—Emperor Hirohito of Japan, (7 January 1989), a last message to Shoichi Fujimori, commissioner of Imperial Household Agency ;"Where is my clock?" :—Ted Bundy, American serial killer (24 January 1989), prior to execution by electrocution ;"I'm begging you, let me work!" :() :—Osamu Tezuka, Japanese cartoonist (9 February 1989), to a nurse who tried to take away his drawing equipment ;"I did what I could." :—Aubrey Dennis Adams, Jr., American convicted child murderer (4 May 1989), prior to execution by electrocution ;"Help me out of here. I've got to get out of here." :—Gilda Radner, American actress and comedian (20 May 1989), to her husband Gene Wilder before she went into a coma ;"I love you, Noel." :—Mel Blanc, American voice actor and radio personality (10 July 1989), spoken in the voice of Yosemite Sam to his son Noel ;"This isn't Hamlet, you know, it's not meant to go into the bloody ear." :—Laurence Olivier, English actor and director (11 July 1989), to a nurse when she spilled water on him while moistening his lips ;"Why? Why?" :—Rebecca Schaeffer, American actress and model (18 July 1989), spoken to the neighbors after being shot at her apartment doorsteps by stalker Robert John Bardo ;"No bloody doctors." :—Graham Chapman, English comedian, writer, actor, and author (4 October 1989), to a nurse who stuck a needle in his arm ;"I'm so tired." :—Bette Davis, American actress (6 October 1989), spoken to a nurse before she died ;"Ah, shit." :—Marc Lépine, Canadian perpetrator of the École Polytechnique massacre (6 December 1989), in which he killed fourteen women, before fatally shooting himself ;"Long Live the Socialist Republic of Romania, independent and free." :() :—Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian communist politician, dictator and president of the Romanian Communist Party from 1965 to 1989 (25 December 1989), executed by firing squad along with his wife Elena ==1990–2000==

;"I don't want to lay down." :—Hank Gathers, American basketball player (4 March 1990), after collapsing during game ;"See you later, I feel like I'm in good hands." :—Jim Henson, American puppeteer (16 May 1990), to his ex-wife Jane ;"What is this?" :—Leonard Bernstein, American composer and conductor (14 October 1990), on receiving an injection ;"Ow, fuck!" :—Roald Dahl, British author (23 November 1990), after a nurse pricked him with a needle ;"Miss, I got what I really went for..." :—Jeremy Wade Delle, American high school student (8 January 1991), to his teacher shortly before committing suicide. Delle's suicide would inspire the song Jeremy by Pearl Jam. ;"Okay air speed's alive. Engines are stabilized, power's set for departure. Fuel's even kind'a balanced. One hundred knots. V1. Rotate. V2. Plus ten. Positive rate. Watch out. Watch out. Watch out." :—David Reay, captain of Ryan International Airlines Flight 590 (17 February 1991), just before plane crashed on takeoff from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport ;"Will it be an interesting experience? Will I find out what lies beyond the barrier? Why does it take so long to come?" :—Jerzy Kosiński, Polish-American novelist (3 May 1991), in his suicide note ;"Don't worry. Relax." :—Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India (21 May 1991), spoken to a policewoman at his assassination ;"Can you get a shot of this gun?" :—Harry Collinson, English planning officer (20 June 1991), asking for the cameraman to get a picture of Albert Dryden, who had brandished a revolver and shot him moments after ;"You're right. It's time. I love you all." :—Donald Henry Gaskins, American serial killer (6 September 1991), prior to execution by electrocution ;"Yes. I'm not going to die tomorrow." :—Dr. Seuss, American children's author, political cartoonist, illustrator, poet, animator, and filmmaker (24 September 1991) ;"No, I'm going to kill more people." :—George Hennard, perpetrator of the Luby's shooting (16 October 1991), to first responders before committing suicide ;"She's comin' on, boys, and she's comin' on strong." :—Captain Frank W. "Billy" Tyne Jr., American captain of the F/V Andrea Gail (28 October 1991), final radio transmission to Captain Linda Greenlaw of the F/V Hannah Boden before his ship capsized during the 1991 Perfect Storm. ;"Lock and load. Let's do it, man." :—Freddie Mercury, British lead vocalist of Queen (24 November 1991), to his assistant Peter Freestone, before he slipped into a coma and died shortly thereafter. ;"Michelle did it." :—Laurie Show, American high school student (20 December 1991), after being stabbed by her two classmates at her home on the hands of her mother and died shortly thereafter ;"I'd like to thank my family for loving me and taking care of me, and the rest of the world can kiss my ass." :—Donald Harding, American convicted murderer (6 April 1992). His asphyxiation in the gas chamber took 11 minutes before death was finally confirmed, and Harding spent his last moments cursing Arizona's state attorney general Grant Woods and giving him the middle finger. ;"I don't want to die; I don't want to die. But why? Okay, okay, okay." :—Sam Kinison, American comic (10 April 1992), spoken after a fatal car accident caused by a teen who had been drinking alcohol. ;"You can be a king or a street sweeper, but everyone dances with the Grim Reaper." My last words are to the woman I love. Love is eternal. My love for you will last forever. I love you, Sharon." :—Chris McCandless, American hiker (18 August 1992), final note written before dying of starvation ;"I'm dying. Tell Sue I'm sorry and that I love her." :—Chris Rouse, American scuba diver (12 October 1992), dying from decompression sickness after wreck dive aboard German submarine U-869 ;"I am innocent, innocent, innocent. Make no mistake about this. I owe society nothing. :—River Phoenix, American actor, musician, and activist (31 October 1993) ;"I want the world to be filled with white fluffy duckies." Frances and Courtney, I'll be at your altar. Please keep going Courtney, for Frances. For her life, which will be so much happier without me. I LOVE YOU, I LOVE YOU!" :—Ayrton Senna, Brazilian Formula One driver (1 May 1994), prior to fatal crash at 1994 San Marino Grand Prix ;"Kiss my ass." :—John Wayne Gacy, American serial killer and sex offender (10 May 1994), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"Adios." :—John Thanos, American murderer (17 May 1994), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"Don't cry for me. I'm going to be with your father now." :—Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, former First Lady of the United States (19 May 1994), to her daughter Caroline and son John ;"I'm really, really sorry. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy does not exist... depressed... without phone... money for rent... money for child support... money for debts... money!!!... I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings & corpses & anger & pain... of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners... I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky." :—Kevin Carter, South African photojournalist (27 July 1994), in his suicide note, before killing himself from carbon monoxide poisoning ;"Are you sure?" :—Sonja Davis, American stunt performer (November 1994), calling down to stunt coordinator prior to fatal fall onto airbag on the set of Vampire in Brooklyn ;"Give me a fucking pre-med you fuckers, I'm a personal friend of Sir Lancelot Spratt." :—Vivian MacKerrell, British actor (2 March 1995) ;"Now, I'm in the biggest fight of my life and it ain't easy. But I want to say much love to those who have been down with me and thanks for all your support. Just remember, It's your real time and your real life." :—Eric "Eazy-E" Wright, American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records (16 March 1995), written as part of his final message to his fans while dying of AIDS. He slipped into a coma not long afterwards and died on March 26. ;"I did not get my Spaghetti-Os. I got spaghetti. I want the press to know this." :—Selena Quintanilla-Pérez, American singer (31 March 1995), explaining her murderer's name and room number to the hotel staff shortly after being shot by Yolanda Saldívar ;"I'm the happiest man in the world! I'm not afraid to die! I'm not crazy! I'm going to be reaching that white house tonight!" :—Yitzhak Rabin, Israeli Prime Minister (4 November 1995), prior to his assassination ;"Okay. Report Tuluá, twenty-one miles and five thousand feet, American nine six five." :—Captain Nicholas Tafuri, pilot of American Airlines Flight 965 (20 December 1995), on a last recorded transmission to air traffic controllers in Colombia, it was due to land at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali prior to the crash ;"You only live so long." :—Richard Versalle, American operatic tenor (5 January 1996), performing in The Makropulos Case at the Metropolitan Opera before dying on stage ;"Mom, do you hear the rain? Do you hear the rain? ;"No, not here!" :—Anthony Nightingale, victim of the Port Arthur massacre (28 April 1996), reacting to Martin Bryant pointing his weapon at him ;"I love you. Sleep well, my sweetheart. Please don't worry too much." :—Rob Hall, New Zealand mountaineer (11 May 1996), speaking to his wife by satellite phone before dying on Mount Everest ;"One four zero." :—First officer Richard Hazen, pilot of ValuJet Flight 592 (11 May 1996), talking to air traffic controllers following a fire onboard, attempted to return to Miami International Airport ;"Why? Why not?" :—Flight engineer Richard Campbell, pilot of TWA Flight 800 (17 July 1996), as it was cruising over Long Island prior to breaking up ;"This is for you!" :—Ricardo López, Uruguayan-born American pest controller (12 September 1996), before committing suicide with a gun after he mailed a bomb to Icelandic musician Björk, attempting to kill her ;"Fuck you." :—Tupac "2Pac" Shakur, American rapper (13 September 1996), to the first responder police officer at the scene of his murder ;"No, I'm not!" :—Tiny Tim, American musician, ukulele player and musical archivist (30 November 1996), to his wife after she asked if he was alright, right before collapsing on stage during a performance of "Tip-Toe Through the Tulips". ;"Please don't kill me." :—Cara LoPiccolo, American citizen and assistant manager of the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen in New Orleans, Louisiana (1 December 1996), to her murderer Phillip Anthony ;"Goodbye, Ann." :—Carl Sagan, American astronomer and scientist (20 December 1996), while talking to his wife Ann on a hospital bed ;"Toodle-oo!" :—Kenneth Edward Gentry, American criminal (16 April 1997), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"Forgive me, but I don't want to live anymore. The pain is too bad. There's no point in trying to prolong this agony." :—Brian Keith, American actor (24 June 1997), to his wife Victoria ;"I'm going to be with Gloria now." :—James Stewart, American actor (2 July 1997), referring to his late wife ;"My God, what's happened?" :—Diana, former princess consort of Charles, Prince of Wales (31 August 1997), shortly after being fatally injured in a car accident ;"Do you have it now?" :—John Denver, American singer-songwriter (12 October 1997), asking if he had transmitted a four-digit code properly prior to crash of his experimental Rutan Long-EZ aircraft ;"And where do you come from?" :—Kyle Dinkheller, American sheriff's deputy (12 January 1998), while being shot to death by Andrew Howard Brannan ;"[Mo]nday Jan 26; 1998 08am. To anyone can help us: We have been abandoned on A[gin]court Reef by MV Outer Edge 25 Jan 98 3pm. Please help us to rescue us before we die. Help!!!" :—Tom Lonergan, American scuba diver (26 January 1998), message written on dive slate. Lonergan and his wife Eileen disappeared in the Coral Sea off northeast Australia after being unintentionally abandoned by their dive boat. ;"Yes sir, I would like to say to all of you-the Thornton Family and Jerry Dean's family that I am so sorry. I hope God will give you peace with this. Baby, I love you. Ron, give Peggy a hug for me. Everybody has been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I am going to be face to face with Jesus now. Warden Baggett, thank all of you so much. You have been so good to me. I love all of you very much. I will see you all when you get there. I will wait for you." :—Karla Faye Tucker, American double murderer who converted to Christianity in prison (3 February 1998), prior to execution by lethal injection ;"Oh shit!" :—Cozy Powell, English drummer (5 April 1998), to his girlfriend on the phone shortly before he was killed in a car crash ;"The act of taking my own life is not something I am doing without a lot of thought. I don't believe that people should take their own lives without deep and thoughtful reflection over a considerable period of time. :—Daniel V. Jones, American citizen (30 April 1998); on his last home video before committing suicide on live television ;"I'm losing it." :—Phil Hartman, Canadian-American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and graphic designer (28 May 1998), a note that he had left behind for his wife hours before she would murder him ;"And we are declaring emergency now, Swissair one eleven!" :—Captain Urs Zimmermann, pilot of Swissair Flight 111 (2 September 1998), as it was diverted to Halifax, Nova Scotia after declaring an emergency following electrical fire before losing control and rapid descent ;"Don't mess with my money." :—Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (8 March 1999) ;"Oooh, the Godfather, just saying his name makes my blue blood boil. OHHH! The Godfather, my arch nemesis, he represents everything that's wrong with the WWF. But fear not, because I, the Blue Blazer, will always triumph over evil doers, and you know why, because I always take my vitamins, say my prayers, and drink my milk, WHOOO!" :—Owen Hart, Canadian-American professional wrestler (23 May 1999), being interviewed on camera prior to fatal fall into ring at Over the Edge (1999) ;"I rely on God." :() :—Gameel Al-Batouti, pilot of EgyptAir Flight 990 (31 October 1999), final air control transmission from the airplane before spiraling down to the Atlantic Ocean ;"You crawl out of your mother's womb, you crawl across open country under fire, and drop into your grave." :—Bob Collins, American radio disc jockey (8 February 2000), final radio transmission during 2000 Zion mid-air collision ;"Keep going, finish your book." :—Charles M. Schulz, American cartoonist (12 February 2000), to his son Monte ;"I love my family. I love all my friends and my rabbi" :—Terry Melvin Sims, American convicted murderer (23 February 2000), before his execution ;"I just want you to know from the bottom of my heart that I am truly sorry. I mean it. I'm not saying it." :—Timothy Gribble, American serial killer (15 March 2000), before his execution ;"No." :—Candace Newmaker, American child murder victim (18 April 2000), when asked if she wanted to be "reborn" by her murderers ;"There is no way words can express how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies. Now I can be with my babies, as I always intended. I love you my babies." :—Dmitry Kolesnikov, Russian Navy officer (12 August 2000); final note written before dying aboard sunken submarine Kursk ;"Somebody needs to kill my trial attorney." :—Daniel Hittle, American serial killer (6 December 2000), prior to his execution ==Notes==