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None of us really know when our last moment on this planet will come or what we’ll say when it does—that is, if we manage to say anything at all. But some people have left behind final words so unforgettable that they’ve stayed with us long after they’re gone.

A few of these parting lines, from funny to touching, have even made their way into this popular Reddit thread. Scroll down to read them and upvote the ones you’d want to be remembered by!

This post may include affiliate links.

#1

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History I like my Gramma's last words.

"My, what a LOVELY party!!"

She was 102 and a half, at home, and the end was very near. Family and friends (including her cardiologist, a close friend of ours) were over for Christmas, and after dinner mom put Gramma to bed. Then everyone gathered in Gramma's room with bottles of wine and champagne, played Big Band music, sang, chatted, passed Gramma wine and bubbly. Eventually everyone retired, and as mom tucked her in, Gramma said "My, what a LOVELY party!" She never woke up. It was a good passing.

Flimsy_Fee8449 , Ron Lach Report

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#2

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Willem Arondeus. “Tell people that homosexuals are not cowards”. He was a Dutch anti-N*zi resistance fighter. Bad a*s.

boothy_qld , Unknown author , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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Serial pacifist
Serial pacifist
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1 week ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP, N a z i is a word that defines a context for God’s sake, we all know what it is and who the as5holes were.

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#3

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History My grandfather wasn't famous but I was with him when he passed. His last words were "Mary, I've missed you" and i tear up and am comforted every time i think of it. Mary was my grandmother's name, she passed about 15 years before him.

illpoet , cottonbro studio Report

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#4

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Just before hanging, French aristocrat Marquis de Favras read his death warrant and commented “I see that you have made 3 spelling errors.”

johnny_cash_money , Ivan Samkov Report

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#5

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History As Voliatire was on his deathbed, a priest performed the last rites and asked him if he "rejects Satan and all his deed?" Voltaire said: “MY goodman, now is not the time for making new enemies.”

Walterscottjur , Pavel Danilyuk Report

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#6

Oleksandr Matsievskiy was a Ukrainian sniper who was captured and executed by the russian invaders in late December of 2022. He was standing in what would be his grave. He said "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine) and the russians m*rdered him.

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#7

A 17 year old Yugoslavian girl, Lepa Radic, was caught fighting the N*zis. As they hung a noose around her neck they offered her a reprieve if she were to give up her co conspirators. 

She responded by telling them she was not a traitor, and that they would reveal themselves when they avenged her death.

"I am not a traitor of my people. Those whom you are asking about will reveal themselves when they have succeeded in wiping out all you evildoers, to the last man."

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#8

My battery is low and it’s getting dark. - Mars rover.

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#9

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History “How can we expect righteousness to prevail when there is hardly anyone willing to give himself up individually to a righteous cause? Such a fine, sunny day, and I have to go, but what does my death matter, if through us, thousands of people are awakened and stirred to action?” - Sophie Scholl

Sophie Scholl was an anti-n*zi political activist who was executed for treason at the age of 21. I highly recommend looking into her story.

ReptarsLawyer , Dage - Looking For Europe Report

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MauKini
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The white Rose! I live next to the university where she dumped those Flyers decades ago.

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#10

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History The almost final words of writer Roald Dahl, were "You know, I'm not frightened. It's just that I will miss you all so much" to his family. After appearing to fall unconscious the nurse then injected him with morphine to ease his passing and he said his actual last words:

“Ow, f**k!”.

The_AlphaLaser , Carl Van Vechten , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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#11

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Oscar Wilde: “My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. One or the other of us must go.”

Hectordoink , Napoleon Sarony , en.wikipedia.org Report

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#12

“Surprise me” - Bob Hope

His wife asked him where he wanted to be buried.

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#13

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have." - Leonardo da Vinci.

doublestitch , Bill Eccles Report

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Brittania Kelli
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's sad that even Da Vinci suffered from the voice of his inner critic.

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#14

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History “Let’s Roll” Todd Beamer, on board UA flight 93(9/11).

delilahviolet83 , Pixabay Report

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Jrog
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1 week ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A bit of backstory. Beamer's wife and a friend tried to profit off this, founding a charity and applying for copyright of the phrase "let's roll". The charity was supposed to "counsel kids who lost a parent from terrorist attacks". They started out with about 4 millions in assets, burned cash at the rate of over 1M/yr without many tangible results, rebranded to a new name and ultimately folded just 8 years later, with the new president (herself the wife of another victim of Flight93) complaining about lack of revenue and asking where the rest of the money have gone under the previous tenure. Their track record for the three years of full activity was abysmal, with less than 1/4th of the money going to programs, and 3/4th into fundraising and business expenses, with the "fundraising" costing far more than the actual funds recovered. Their actual programs expenses -from their fiscal documents- amounted to about 250k$/yr, in the form of group retreats with 50 kids at a time.

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#15

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History “If anyone has a message for the Devil, tell me now, for I shall be seeing him shortly.” -Lavinia Fisher, the first female serial k*ller in the US.

LadyGwyn12-22 , Farzad Sedaghat Report

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Ronstantin
Ronstantin
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*serial unaliver (Is it just me or is this censorship getting more and more ridiculous? 😄)

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#16

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "More weight." - Giles Corey, as he was pressed to death for refusing to confess to witchcraft.

A5CH3NT3 , Nick Ares Report

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lovemy suffolk
lovemy suffolk
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A hero! And stubborn. He refused to enter a plea pf guilt because he didn't want the a holes torturing him to get his property and land as per the law regarding the distribution of a guilty persons property at the time Because he didn't plea to anything, h8s children got his land and wealth, not the 'officials ".

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#17

"Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do!" - Groucho Marx.

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#18

During the sinking of the Titanic, a person named Benjamin Guggenheim was offered a life jacket. He refused, saying:

"No thank you, we are dressed in our best and are prepared to go down like gentlemen... But we would like a brandy".

He did not survive the sinking.

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Beak Hookage
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If I recall rightly they actually included this bit in the movie.

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#19

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "Don't let it end like this. Tell them I said something." - Pancho Villa.

StormSafe2 , Bain News Service, publisher. Photographer is unknown , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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#20

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History I find Marie Antoinette’s last words to be very tragic - on her way to the block she accidentally trod on the executioner’s foot and said “pardon me, sir, I did not mean to do it”.

NotACyclopsHonest , cottonbro studio Report

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TribbleThinking
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It may not just be simple manners. Everyone tended to be quite nice to executioners, including tipping them. There are many horror stories of botched executions, where the executioner had to make repeated attempts.

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#21

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance."

Union General John Sedgewick.

Hoppy_Croaklightly , Mathew Benjamin Brady , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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Ty Stratton-Quirk
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately for the General, they weren't aiming at an elephant.

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#22

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Last words are for fools who haven't said enough in life.

-Karl Marx.

Poorly-Drawn-Beagle , Maximilian Scheffler Report

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#23

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History “I’m well done on this side. Turn me over.”

-St. Lawrence (while being burned to death on a gridiron).

dumbinternetstuff , Pixabay Report

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#24

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Cop k*ller George Appel at the time of his execution in the electric chair, August 9th, 1928.

"Well, gentlemen, you are about to see a baked Appel."

xdark_realityx , Tim Menzies Report

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#25

" I die a queen, but I would rather die the wife of Culpepper." Katherine Howard, King Henry VIII teenage bride, who was beheaded for adultery.

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#26

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History I'm going out now. I may be some time.

-Lawrence Oates, on an Antarctic expedition, just before leaving the tent during a blizzard to sacrifice himself and give the other explorers a better chance at survival.

Poorly-Drawn-Beagle , Riccardo Chiarini Report

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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That was Scott's Terra Nova Expedition. They reached the South Pole only to discover that Amundsen beat them there. They all died one by one on the way back. Their diaries were preserved though.

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#27

My mom woke up for a moment toward the end, saw the people gathered to say goodbye and her last words were, "Holy s**t!".

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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In 2015 I found my mother unresponsive. I called for the EMTs and when they were taking her to the hospital, she woke up briefly and said, "what are you doing to me?" Then she faded out again. She died two days later without waking up. She had been talking to my dad for a week before this. (he died in 2013.). so I guess she was ready to go. Her last words still haunt me because I had to make the decision not to put her on life support.

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#28

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History “Lady, you shot me.” - Sam Cooke upon having been shot. By some lady.

Carrollmusician , Enrico Hänel Report

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#29

Not really last words last words, but last words to someone. And definitely a funny story imo.

So there used to be this supergroup called cream, consisting of jack Bruce, ginger Baker and Eric Clapton. Bruce and Baker famously hated each other. With a burning passion.

So when Bruce was a few hours from death in 2014, he phoned up close friends to say goodbye. When he called his ex-cream band mate Baker, he told him, “I’m dying, Ginger, f**k you!" and proceeded to then slam down the phone. Baker tried to call back several times, but obv Bruce wouldn’t pick up.

As Bruce always felt baker just had to have the last word in any conversation. So by doing this he knew baker would resent him even more because he could never get baker back.

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Serena Myers
Serena Myers
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Cream, Deep Purple, King Crimson, maybe others I've forgotten, many "colourful" band names in the late '60's.

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#30

Oscar-winning actor George Sanders committed s*icide at the age of 65. His suicide note read:
“Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored. I feel I have lived long enough. I am leaving you with your worries in this sweet cesspool. Good luck.”

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#31

When Warren Zevon, who knew he was dying, was asked by David Letterman if he had any advice for the rest of us, he said “Enjoy every sandwich”.

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#32

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History On his deathbed, Spanish Prime Minister Ramón María Narváez was asked to forgive his enemies, to which he replied:

"I don't need to forgive my enemies — I have had them all shot."

LexLuthorJr , Unknown Person (photographer) , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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#33

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History There is an apocryphal story about the last words of jazz drummer Buddy Rich. As he was being prepped for surgery the nurse asked him if there was anything he was allergic to, he replied "Yeah, country music." He never recovered from the surgery and died a couple weeks later.

MR_NIKAPOPOLOS , Paul Spürk , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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Robert T
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did they play country music in the operating theatre? /jk

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#34

Spike Milligan upon his death bed

“ I told you I was ill”.

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Lucy Covington
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Was definitely the epitaph on his gravestone, but not sure they were his last spoken words.

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#35

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "Eg er kvit or hjarterota, kongen har fødd oss vel", or in English: "There is fat around my heart, the king has fed us well”, said by Tormod Kolbrunarskald as he pulled an arrow out of his heart and saw fat on the arrowhead.

Internet_employee , Pixabay Report

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UncleJohn3000
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1 week ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm trying this one my next doctor's visit - "But some of that fat *protects* my heart!"

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#36

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History Galois’ last words “Dry your eyes brother I need all the courage I can have to die at 20”.

TallGuyPA , Yuriy Maturin Report

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Lyone Fein
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

He was an extraordinary mathematician who, nonetheless was foolish in love and died in a duel.

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#37

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "I've had 18 straight whiskies...... I think that's the record." - Dylan Thomas.

TallEnoughJones , Juliana Stein Report

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that_gay_snake
that_gay_snake
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

the blood alcohol levels must have been INSANE. ( also sounds like a fun way to go)

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#38

"Shoot straight, you bastards! Don't make a mess of it!”
-Breaker Morant.

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#39

There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to k*ll me properly.

Cicero.

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#40

I have always been intrigued by Steve Jobs’ last words “OH WOW. OH WOW.” I wonder what he was seeing.

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#41

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History  “How about this for a headline for tomorrow’s paper? French fries.”

James French convicted m*rderer before his execution by electric chair. ( not likely to be after it).

Shan-Chat , Mario Goebbels Report

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May
May
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Imagine if he ordered that as his last meal.

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#42

“I have a terrific headache.”- Franklin Delano Roosevelt seconds before dying of a hemorrhagic stroke.

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#43

”I am about to - or I am going to - die: either expression is acceptable.”

Dominique Bouhours (1628-1702) - Priest, essayist, critic and grammarian.

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Ace
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Probably an urban myth, popularised by Bill Bryson's 1990 book on the English language. All else apart, the original would have been in French, or possibly Latin, either of which would have used different grammatical constructs.

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#44

I like Julius Caesar's last words. In the Shakespeare play he says "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." The "et tu, Brute" part is based on what we historically think Caesar said, but he was thought to have said it in Greek, "kai su, teknon" which translates to "and thou, child."

However, kai su teknon at that time was used like slang or colloquially to mean "you too, *kid*" in an insulting or condescending manner.

So, it is possible that on being stabbed by his friend and ally and betrayed by his colleagues, Caesar was not lamenting and questioning this betrayal with a melancholy "even *you*, Brutus?" but more giving Brutus the middle finger.

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Spencer's slave no longer
Spencer's slave no longer
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1 week ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I suspect, being Roman and speaking Latin, the "et tu Brute" is Caesar's likely phrase rather than anything in Greek.

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#45

45 People Share The Most Iconic ‘Last Words’ In History "The city is fallen, and I am still alive." - Constantine XI Palaiologos before charging into battle against the Ottoman Empire.

Automatic_You4321 , Unknown author , commons.wikimedia.org Report

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Note: this post originally had 67 images. It’s been shortened to the top 45 images based on user votes.

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