|
|
|
| D'Annunzo,
Gabriele (1863-1938) |
|
"I'm bored. I'm bored." |
|
Gabrielle D'Annunzo was an Italian poet,
novelist,
playwright, playboy,
war hero, and fascist adventurer. For forty years he dominated
cultural
circles in Italy and often used his romantic liaisons as subject matter
for his literary works. He fled to Paris in 1910 to escape
indebtedness
created by his extravagant lifestyle, and once World War One began he
aggressively
lobbied for Italy's entry on the Allied side. During the war, he
achieved fame as a naval commander and ace pilot. Following the
armistice,
D'Annunzo and a band of one thousand occupied the Adriatic city of
Fiume
where he served as dictator until 1921 when he relinquished
control.
His political philosophy, a combination of libertarian, radical, and
rightist
ideals, formed the foundation for Italian fascism.
|
| Danton,
Georges Jacques (1759-1794) |
|
"Show my head to the people. It
is worth
seeing." |
|
Danton was a French radical who became the
acknowledged
leader of the
revolution following the storming of the Bastille in 1789.
Eventually
out-radicaled by Robespierre, Danton retired to his home in Arcis, but
returned to Paris in 1793. He should have stayed at his home, for
he was branded as "indulgent" of the monarchy and sentenced to
death.
When Danton was asked to formally reply to the revolutionary tribunal
that
sentenced him, he defiantly began, "My address will soon be
annihilation.
As for my name, you will find it in the pantheon of
history."
Later as he placed his neck in the guillotine, he gave his final
instructions
to the executioner.
|
| Darwin,
Charles (1809-1882) |
|
"I am not the least afraid to die." |
|
Charles Darwin's study of the diversity of
animal
species led him to
conclude that living things evolve from a process of natural
selection.
In 1859, following the publication of his book, On the Origin of
Species,
he and his work were attacked by religious fundamentalists who realized
the British naturalist's theory dealt a fatal blow to the Christian
belief
in literal biblical creation. Twelve years later, when he
published The
Descent of Man and applied his theory to humans, the assault
intensified.
In 1882, Darwin died peacefully in bed after speaking with his
son. |
|
In 1985, Jimmy Swaggart, an American
televangelist,
told his enthralled
listeners that Darwin had a change of heart on his deathbed, renounced
his scientific works, and asked for a Bible so that he could learn to
love
Jesus. Apparently this tale stems from a lie told by the wife of
Admiral of the Fleet Sir James Hope to seminary students in 1882.
She claimed that she was with Darwin at the end and that he professed
"How
I wish I had not expressed my theory of evolution as I have
done!"
Further, she added that he begged her to gather an audience so he could
"speak to them of Christ Jesus and His salvation. . . ." Darwin's
daughter soon debunked this fabrication, reporting that "Lady Hope was
not present during his last illness, or any illness. I believe he
never even saw her, but in any case she had no influence over him in
any
department of thought or belief. He never recanted any of his
scientific
views, either then or earlier. . . . The whole story has no
foundation
whatever." |
|
For more information:
|
| Dean,
James (1931-1955) |
|
"That guy's got to stop. . . .
He'll see us." |
|
When James Dean died only one of his
movies, East
of Eden,
had been released. The other two, Rebel Without a Cause
and Giant,
had not. In fact Dean had just finished filming on Giant
when
he and a stuntman jumped into his new Porsche, named "The Little
Bastard,"
and sped off to a weekend racing event in Salinas, California.
They
were stopped by a patrol car near Bakersfield, and Dean received a
ticket
for speeding. Two hours later, while on a two-lane highway, Dean
saw a car begin to turn onto the road ahead. When Dean's Porsche
slammed into the vehicle, it's driver's side was crushed. Dean
was
killed instantly, and his passenger was seriously injured when thrown
out
of the car. The driver of the other vehicle, a 23 year old
college
student, suffered only minor injuries. |
|
For more information:
|
| Decatur,
Stephen ( 1779-1820) |
|
"I am mortally wounded . . . I think" |
|
Stephen Decatur was an American naval hero
who
distinguished himself
during the War of 1812 and in the expeditions against the Barbary
States.
A skilled duelist, Decatur accepted a challenge from a disgraced Navy
Captain
on whose court-martial he had sat. Decatur lost. |
|
For more information:
|
| DeMolay,
Jacques (1244?-1313) |
|
"Let evil swiftly befall those who have
wrongly
condemned us - God
will avenge us." |
|
Jacques DeMolay was elected Master of the
Knights
Templar shortly after
the order had been defeated by the Muslims and expelled from the Holy
Land.
The Templars' headquarters was temporarily established in Cyprus, and
many
Templars returned to the continent while DeMolay sought support
throughout
Europe for a new Crusade. In 1306, he was summoned to
France
by Pope Clement V (who had been installed in French "captivity" by
Phillip
IV, "the Fair") to discuss combining the Templars with another order,
the
Knights Hospitaller. Clement informed DeMolay that Phillip, who
coveted
the extensive lands and treasure owned by the order, had made
horrendous
charges of Templar homosexuality, heresy, blasphemy, and
thievery.
Infuriated, DeMolay challenged the king to make the charges public, and
after many weeks of secret plotting Phillip surprised all of Europe by
arresting almost 5,000 Templars including DeMolay. Clement
initially
chose not to intervene, but eventually sided with the king. The next
seven
years of Templar imprisonment included a series of tortures,
confessions,
recantations, and executions until Phillip felt he had sufficient power
to eliminate the Master himself. DeMolay was was executed along
with
Geoffrey de Charney, the Temple Preceptor of Normandy. Phillip
had
both men taken to the Isle of Javiaux, a small island in the River
Seine
where they were slowly roasted to death over a hot, smokeless
fire.
Throughout the ordeal, DeMolay shouted out curses to Phillip and
Clement. |
|
Thirty-three days later, Pope Clement V
died painfully
from cancer,
abandoned by his friends. Seven months later, Philip the Fair
died
violently in a hunting accident. |
|
For more information:
|
| Diana
(Spencer), Princess of Wales (1961-1997) |
|
"My God. What's happened?" |
|
Diana and Prince Charles divorced in 1996,
shortly
after their mutual
public confessions of adultery and infidelity. Within the year,
Diana
had hooked up with the controversial international playboy and
millionaire
deadbeat, Dodi Al Fayed. After an evening of partying, Diana and
Dodi hopped into their automobile along with their bodyguard and
ordered
their drunk chauffeur to race through the streets of Paris in an
attempt
to outrun the following paparazzi. Thankfully, when the big
Mercedes
crashed in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel no innocent bystanders were killed
or injured. Princess Diana's last words were recorded in official
police files. |
|
For more information:
|
| Dickinson,
Emily (1830-1886) |
|
". . . the fog is rising" |
|
Emily Dickinson was one of the greatest
and most
prolific American
poets, yet she published only seven poems, all anonymously, during her
lifetime. She was born and died in the same house in Amherst,
Massachusetts.
In between, she left her hometown only a handful of times, and after
1872,
she seldom ventured out her house or yard. A rather outgoing
young
girl, she retreated in to a tighter circle of family and friends as she
grew older and communicated primarily through cryptic letters and
fragments
of poetry. Even during her terminal illness, Bright's Disease (a
old term that included a variety of kidney problems), she only
permitted
her physician to perform examinations by watching through a partially
closed
door. She died on May 15, 1886, after lapsing in and out of
consciousness
for several days. It is possible that her last words alluded to a
poem she wrote nearly twenty-five years earlier, I've seen a dying
eye. |
|
For more information:
|
| Dreiser,
Theodore (1871-1945) |
|
"Shakespeare, I come." |
|
Theodore Dreiser was an American novelist
whose best
known works are Sister
Carrie and An American Tragedy. He was a friend of
H.
L. Menken and asked him to serve as his literary executor during World
War One. At the time, he confided to Menken that he had already
decided
upon his last words, "Shakespeare, I come." Menken later
joked
that he did not know what Dreiser last words really were, but that he
had
heard he called for a "Seidel Helles." |
|
For more information:
|
| Dubroff,
Jessica (1989-1996) |
|
"Mom, do you hear the rain? Do
you hear the
rain? Mom,
I just want to take off in the plane. |
|
Jessica Dubroff was a four foot two inch,
42 lb, seven
year old child
who had been encouraged by her parents to set a record as the youngest
person to fly across the United States. After four months of
flight
training, Jessica, her father, and a flight instructor set off on their
highly publicized journey. Her plane plummeted to earth shortly
after
take-off following a stop at Cheyenne, Wyoming. All three were
killed.
As she prepared for take-off, Jessica spoke her last known words during
a phone call to her mother, Lisa Blair Hathaway.
|
| Duncan,
Angela "Isadora" (1878-1927) |
|
"Farewell, my friends. I go to
glory." |
|
Isadora Duncan was an American dancer who,
although
never very popular
in the United States, entertained throughout Europe, performing shows
featuring
a new style of dance she invented that was based on the figures found
on
Greek vases. She flaunted traditional mores and morality, and her
private life was subject to considerable scandal, especially following
the tragic drowning of her children in the Seine River. One
evening
after a party in Nice, Duncan hopped into a Buggati with a new male
friend
and shouted farewell to her friends standing nearby, "Adieu,
mes amis. Je vais la glorie.". She did not
notice that her trade-mark long scarf had fallen under one of the
vehicle's
rear wheels, and the cloth simultaneously
tightened
around her neck and wrapped around the axle. Duncan was yanked
violently
from the car and drug for several yards before the driver noticed what
had happened. She died almost instantly of a broken neck. |
|
For more information:
|
| Earhart,
Amelia (1897-1937) |
|
"KHAQQ calling Itasca. We must be
on you, but
cannot see you.
Gas is running low." |
|
Amelia Earhart was the first women to fly
solo across
the Atlantic
Ocean and holds many other aviation "firsts" as well. In 1937,
she
attempted an around-the-world flight along the equator with her co
pilot,
Frederick J. Noonan. Her plane mysteriously disappeared after
taking
off from New Guinea. Despite a large scale naval search, the
plane
was never found. |
|
For more information:
|
| Eastman,
George (1854-1932) |
|
"My work is done, why wait?" |
|
George Eastman, the American inventor,
first became
interested in amateur
photography while working at a bank in Rochester, New York. He
developed
a process that not only simplified the method of making photographic
plates,
but also allowed them to be mass produced with relative ease.
Realizing
that there was a large market for his plates among other photographers,
he went into business for himself, eventually introducing flexible film
in 1884 and the first mass produced camera for amateurs, the Kodak box
camera, in 1888. As his company thrived, Eastman made a fortune
and
donated vast sums to universities, dental clinics, and musical
institutions.
At the age of 77 and plagued by a painfully debilitating spinal
disease,
Eastman put his affairs in order, wrote a note, and committed suicide. |
|
For more information:
|
| Edison,
Thomas A. (1847-1931) |
|
"It's very beautiful over there." |
|
In the Spring of 1929, Thomas Edison
traveled from his
home and laboratory
at Menlo Park, New Jersey, to Dearborn, Michigan, to celebrate the 50th
anniversary of his invention of the electric light as well as the
opening
of both the Ford Museum and Greenfield Village. After being
introduced
by President Hoover, Edison delivered a brief banquet speech and then
collapsed.
The president's physician quickly rushed to Edison's aid and determined
that he was suffering from severe pneumonia. Edison returned to
Menlo
Park but never fully recovered. He collapsed again in August,
1931,
and was bedridden for the last two months of his life. He sank
into
semi-consciousness, and his second wife, Mina, remained by his
side.
On Edison's last day, she leaned close and asked, "Are you suffering?"
to which he replied, "No, just waiting." Edison then looked out
of
his bedroom window and softly spoke his last words. |
|
For more information:
|
| Edward
VII, King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1841-1910) |
|
"Yes, I have heard of it. I am
very glad." |
|
Edward VII did not become king until his
mother, Queen
Victoria, died
in 1901. She had previously denied him any role in ruling the
country,
so before assuming the crown, Edward devoted his energy to women,
drink,
food, tobacco, and gambling. He surprised many when he devoted
himself
to government after his coronation. Obese and addicted to huge
cigars,
Edward suffered a series of heart attacks and his doctors could to
nothing
except provide morphine to kill the pain. He continued to work
until
finally collapsing on the floor after walking to a cage of pet
canaries.
Later that evening, his son visited to report that one of the king's
horses,
Witch of the Air, had won the 4:15 race at Kempton Park. After
telling
the Duke of Windsor that he had already been informed by telegraph,
Edward
fainted and lapsed into a coma from which he never recovered. |
|
Edward's last words have also been
recorded as "No, I
shall go on.
I shall work to the end." While the king did say this, it was
much
earlier in the day.
|
| Eisenhower,
Dwight D. (1890-1969) |
|
"I've always loved my wife, my
children, and my
grandchildren, and
I've always loved my country. I want to go. God, take me" |
|
Dwight Eisenhower was the thirty-fourth
President of
the United States,
but he is perhaps even more famous as a military officer. During
World War Two, Eisenhower led the Allied invasions of North
Africa,
Italy, and France as the Supreme Allied Commander. Afterward, he
served a tour as the Army Chief of Staff and finished his career as the
first military commander of NATO. Following his presidency,
Eisenhower
retired to his farm in Gettysburg. He died at Walter Reed Army
Medical
Center in 1969. |
|
For more information:
|
| Elizabeth
I, Queen of England (1533-1603) |
|
"All my possessions for a moment of
time." |
|
Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII
and Anne
Boleyn, was the Queen
of England from 1558 until her death in 1603. Her reign is famous
for the glamour of her court as well as the success of her
policies.
By the end of her life she had outlived all of her friends, suitors,
and
enemies. She spent most of her last days in partial consciousness
in a pile of pillows on her chamber floor but finally consented to be
placed
in her bed just before she died. |
|
For more information:
|
| Euler,
Leonhard (1707-1783) |
|
"I die." |
|
Leonhard Euler was the most prolific
mathematician in
history producing
over 850 books and articles. Although Swiss, he spent most of his
adult life in Berlin and St. Petersburg. On the afternoon of his death
while amusing himself with mathematical puzzles and calculating the
orbit
of the newly discovered planet, Uranus, he asked that his young
grandson
be brought in. Euler stopped his work, finished his tea, and
began
to play with the child. Suddenly, his pipe dropped from his
mouth,
he announced his death, and fell to the floor. The backlog of
articles
that Euler had written was so large that the St. Petersburg Academy
continued
to publish them for the next fifty years. |
|
For more information:
|
| Fairbanks,
Douglas, Sr. (1883-1939) |
|
"Never felt better." |
|
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr., was the premier
swashbuckling
star of early
Hollywood whose feature films included Robin Hood, The
Thief
of Bagdad, The Three Musketeers, and The Mark of Zorro.
In December, 1939, after returning from a USC-UCLA football game,
Fairbanks
became ill. He skipped work the following morning with chest and
arm pain. A doctor prescribed total bed rest, a restricted diet,
and professional nursing care. Fairbanks slept on and off through
the morning and awakened in the afternoon asking his attendant to open
the window. "How are you?" the attendant asked. Fairbanks
answered
with a grin, rolled over, and went back to sleep. He died later
that
night with his dog, a 150 lb. mastiff, named Marco Polo, curled up at
the
foot of his bed. |
|
For more information:
|
| Favras,
Thomas de Mahay, Marquis de (1744-1790) |
|
"I see that you have made three
spelling
mistakes." |
|
The Marquis de Favras was caught by the
radicals of the
French Revolution
as he plotted to help Louis XVI escape. Convicted of treason
after
a two month trial, he was handed his official death sentence by the
court
clerk as he was led to the scaffold.
|
| Fetterman,
William J. (1833-1866) |
|
"Give me 80 men and I'll ride through
the whole
Sioux nation." |
|
In November, 1866, Captain William J.
Fetterman
reported in to the
18th U.S. Infantry at Fort Phil Kearney. At the time, the
regiment
was tasked with containing Red Cloud and his band of Sioux. Its
commander,
Colonel Carrington, found Fetterman to be a troublesome officer despite
an exemplary Civil War combat record. Several times during
December,
the Sioux launched forays against settlers and grazing herds in hopes
of
baiting the soldiers into a hot pursuit and subsequent ambush.
Each
time, officers commanding patrols sent out in response by Colonel
Carrington
recognized the traps before they could be sprung. The Sioux set
the
stage once more on December 21 when they pinned down a supply train not
far from the fort. Carrington identified an officer to lead the
80
man relief column, but Fetterman, although inexperienced in Indian
warfare,
demanded the assignment based upon seniority. Carrington
acquiesced
but gave Fetterman emphatically explicit instructions not to pursue any
Indians. A second patrol sent out later in the day found the
bodies
of Fetterman and all 80 of his men stripped of their clothing and
horribly
mutilated.
|
| Field,
John (1782-1837) |
|
"I am a pianist." |
|
John Fields was a British pianist and
composer whose
works were said
to have a major influence on Chopin. As he lay dying, his friends
thought a minister should be summoned. However, no one had ever
heard
Field mention his religion. "Are you a Papist or a Calvinist?"
one
whispered. "I am a pianist," Field answered.
|
| Fields,
W.C. (1880-1946) |
|
"God damn the whole fuckin' world and
everyone in
it but you, Carlotta." |
|
W. C. Fields was a vaudeville comedian who
became a big
star in movies
like Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. Fields, who drank
heavier in real life than in his movies--allegedly up to 2 quarts of
martinis
each day, developed cirrhosis as well as severe kidney and stomach
problems.
Even after entering a Pasadena sanitarium to dry out, he continued to
drink
two bottles of gin--smuggled to him by friends--each day. He woke
on Christmas morning in excruciating pain caused by a massive and
untreatable
stomach hemorrhage. Just before he died, he spoke his last words
to his long-time mistress, Carlotta Marti. |
|
Other far
less probable deathbed phrases have been suggested as well, including,
"On the whole, I'd rather be in Philadelphia," "So, I have enough money
to buy every child in New York a bicycle? Well, fuck'em," and "I'm
looking for loopholes" (when asked why he was reading a Bible).
|
|
For more information:
|
Fischer,
Adolf (1859-1887)
|
|
"This is the happiest moment of my
life." |
|
Adolf Fischer, a German anarchist, was a
principal
leader in the Chicago
branch of the International Working People's Association, better known
as the Black International. After organizing a walkout at the
McCormick
Harvester Works, gunfire broke out between anarchist supporters and
police.
Immediately, the Black International distributed a circular urging
workers
to "arm" themselves, assemble at Haymarket Square, and take
"revenge."
At the rally, Fischer and seven other anarchist leaders addressed the
three
thousand workers who showed up. After several hours of
rather
boring political oratory, the crowd became restless and most began to
go
home. Shortly thereafter, a police detachment arrived and
ordered
those who remained to disperse. The anarchist speakers objected,
and someone tossed a bomb into the middle of the police ranks, killing
one man and injuring about sixty others. The surviving police
opened
fire as did a number of anarchists and workers; another sixty men
were injured or killed. The person who threw the bomb was never
captured,
but the anarchists who spoke at the rally were arrested and charged as
accessories to murder. All were convicted. One was
sentenced
to fifteen years, the others to death. Fischer was hanged in
November
1887. The Haymarket rioters have long-since become martyrs and heroes
of international communism and anarchy, and leftist interpretations of
the event abound.
|
|
A similar scaffold pronouncement was made
by George
Eugel, another of the Haymarket anarchists, "Hurray for
Anarchy!
This is the happiest moment of my life." |
|
For more
information:
|
| Flegensheimer,
Arthur "Dutch Schultz" (?-1935) |
|
"Mother is the
best bet." |
|
Dutch Schultz was born in the Bronx around
the
turn of
the century
and quit school in the fourth grade to take up burglary. A
murderous
sociopath, Schultz became New York's "king of beer" in during the
Prohibition
and ran the Harlem numbers racket as well. Intensely disliked by
other gangsters, Schultz went too far when he threatened the life of a
federal prosecutor, Thomas Dewey. Lucky Luciano feared Schultz 's
instability would bring too much heat upon all of organized crime, so
he
contracted with Murder, Inc. to have Schultz eliminated. On 23
October
1935, Schultz, along with three of his henchmen, were massacred at a
Newark,
New Jersey, restaurant. Schultz took three machine gun rounds in
the stomach as he left the toilet and died two days later. |
|
Schultz babbled incoherently to the police
as he
lay dying. His last words have also been recorded as "Hey,
Jimmie! The Chimney Sweeps. Talk to the Sword. Shut up, you got
a big mouth! Please come help me up, Henny. Max come over here...
French Canadian bean soup...I want to pay, let them leave me alone."
|
|
For more
information:
|
| James
Forrestal (1892-1949) |
|
"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 was the Secretary of the
Navy
during
World War II.
After the war, President Truman appointed him as the first Secretary of
Defense. He became extremely frustrated when the other branches
of
Service, especially the Air Force, resisted his proposals. He
became
ineffective and depressed by their--and the press's--continuous
criticism
of his every decision. After Truman relieved him of his duties,
he
became paranoid as well. He told anyone who would listen that he
was victim of a vast conspiracy, and he searched closets everywhere,
thoroughly
convinced that enemies were hiding within. Forrestal was
eventualy
admitted to the distinguished visitor suite on the 16th floor of
Bethesda
Naval Hospital for observation on 2 April. He appeared to be
recovering,
but on 22 May, after tying one end of this bathrobe belt around his
neck
and the other to a radiator pipe, he jumped out the window. The
belt
snapped, and Forrestal fell, crashing onto a passageway roof thirteen
floors
below. The noise immediately alerted the nursing staff, who found
him dead when they arrived at the scene. Earlier that evening,
when
an attendant checked during his rounds, he found Forrestal copying
verse
from a book. It turned out to be the suicide note, a poem from
the Chorus
from Ajax by Sophocles.
|
| Fox,
Charles James (1749-1806) |
|
"I die happy." |
|
Charles James Fox spent the majority of
his
political
career in the
opposition. He was detested by King George III and consistently
challenged
the policies of William Pitt the Younger. Fox was a champion of
individual
liberties and was instrumental in abolishing the slave trade.
Often
reviled for his political opportunism and allegedly scandalous private
life, he none the less gave the Whig party a spirit of reform that it
would
bear throughout the 19th century.
|
| Franz
Ferdinand, Archduke (1863-1914) |
|
"It is nothing. It is nothing." |
|
Franz Ferdinand was a nephew of Emperor
Francis
Joseph
and became the
heir to the Austro-Hungarian thrones following the suicide of Archduke
Rudolf. He favored the reorganization of Austria-Hungary to
create
a third kingdom in Bosnia. This antagonized Serbian nationals who
wished to annex the area themselves. When the Archduke and his
wife,
Sophie, visited the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, a Serbian revolutionary,
Gavrilo Princip, shot them both as they were driven through the city
streets.
It was soon discovered that Princip was a member of a Pan-Slavic
radical
group and that the Serbian government had officially condoned and
possibly
funded the assassination. Austria responded by issuing an
ultimatum
to Serbia that demanded the suppression of all revolutionary activities
as well as direct Austrian participation in internal Serbian
affairs.
Both nations mobilized their armies, and Russia quickly did the same,
declaring
she would fight along side of Serbia. Germany mobilized her army
in response to the Russian buildup and demanded that France, a Russian
ally, not mobilize her forces. When France refused to respond to
the German demand, the German army began its march through Belgium, and
the Great War began. Clearly, Franz Ferdinand could not have been
more wrong about his mortal wound. |
|
It has also been recorded that as the car
sped to
the
hospital, he
murmured to his wife, "Sophie, Sophie, do not die. Live for
our
children."
|
| Frederick
William I (1688-1740) |
|
"No, not quite naked. I shall
have my
uniform
on." |
|
Frederick William I, King of Prussia and
father
of
Frederick the Great,
is best remembered for for turning Prussia in a powerful state with a
large,
modern standing army. On his deathbed, the priest who came to
console
the king was reading to him from the Book of Job. "Naked came I
out
of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither," read the
priest.
"No, not quite naked. I shall have my uniform on," replied the
king
with his last breath. |
|
Some have stated that the king's response
was to
a
gathering of friends
and family after they sang this verse in a bedside hymn.
|
| Friedell
(Friedmann), Egon (1878-1938) |
|
"Watch out, please." |
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Egon Friedell was a renowned Viennese
author,
critic,
and theater director
who opposed the Nazi annexation of Austria. He died while fleeing
Gestapo agents when he jumped out of an office window to avoid
capture.
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| Freud,
Sigmund (1856-1939) |
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"My dear Schur, you remember our first
talk.
You promised
to help me when I could no longer carry on. It is only torture
now,
and it has no longer any sense." |
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The founder of psychoanalysis was an
inveterate
smoker,
often consuming
20 cigars each day. He underwent over thirty operations to remove
tumors and fit protheses after being diagnosed with cancer of the jaw
in
1923. After specialists finally reported that it was useless to
operate
again, Freud remarked that "It is tragic when a man outlives his
body."
He was bedridden and in intense pain when he pressured his personal
physician
for relief and received several large doses of morphine. He
slipped
into a coma and died the next day. |
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It has also
been
recorded that Freud mumbled, "It's absurd." as he lost conciousness.
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For more information:
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| Frohman,
Charles (1860-1915) |
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"Why fear death? Death is only a
beautiful
adventure." |
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Charles Frohman was the preeminent
American
theatrical
manager between
1890 and 1915. He happened to be aboard the British passenger
ship,
Lusitania, when it was sunk by a German submarine in 1915. Nearly
1200 of the ship's 1900 passengers were drowned. Frohman was last
seen trying to encourage a group of passengers, shouting, "Why fear
death?
Death is only a beautiful adventure." If the phrase sounds
familiar,
it may be that you recognize it from J. M. Barrie's children's play, Peter
Pan: "To die will be an awfully big adventure." |
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For more information:
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