Perhaps they hold a touch of wisdom, a final joke, or even confirmation of who's getting what in the will.
In light of that, Business Insider put together a list of the reported last words of 18 famous historical figures.
Check them out below.
Karl Marx, philosopher.
"Last words are for fools who haven't said enough."
Richard Feynman, theoretical physicist.
"I'd hate to die twice. It's so boring."
Archimedes, mathematician.
"Stand away, fellow, from my diagram!"Archimedes was killed during the Second Punic War. According to the historian Plutarch, a soldier reportedly came up to the mathematician and told him to go with him to Marcellus. Archimedes, however, refused to do so until he finished the problem he was working on. Enraged, the soldier killed him.
Napoléon Bonaparte, French military and political leader.
"France, the army, the head of the army, Joséphine."
Humphrey Bogart, actor.
"I should never have switched from scotch to martinis."
Augustus Caesar, first Roman emperor.
To his subjects he reportedly said:
"I found Rome of clay; I leave it to you of marble."And to his friends who were with him throughout his reign he said: "Have I played the part well? Then applaud me as I exit."
Joe DiMaggio, baseball player.
"I finally get to see Marilyn."
Charles Darwin, best known for his contributions to evolutionary theory.
"I am not the least afraid to die."
Bob Marley, musician.
"Money can't buy life."
Leonardo da Vinci, inventor and painter.
"I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have."
Marie Antoinette, queen of France.
After accidentally stepping on her executioner's foot as she climbed the scaffold to the guillotine, she reportedly said:
"Pardon me. I didn't do it on purpose."
Michel de Nostradamus, French apothecary and alleged soothsayer.
He made one last — correct — prediction when he said:
"You will not find me alive at sunrise."
John Adams, second president of the US.
Adams and Thomas Jefferson started out as rivals, but they became friends later in life. As Adams lay on his deathbed, on July 4, his last words were:
"Thomas Jefferson survives."Jefferson had actually died some hours earlier, also on July 4.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, writer and physician best known for creating Sherlock Holmes.
He said to his wife:
"You are wonderful."
Ludwig van Beethoven, composer and pianist.
Some reports say Beethoven, who was deaf by the end of life, said:
"I will hear in heaven"while others suggest he said:
"Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est" (Applaud, friends, the comedy is finished)But still others say that after a publisher brought the composer 12 bottles of wine, his final words were:
"Pity, pity, too late!"
James Brown, singer.
"I'm going away tonight."
Thomas Edison, inventor and businessman.
Right before his death, Edison came out of a coma, opened his eyes, and reportedly said to his wife:
"It is very beautiful out there." He was probably referring to the view outside his window.
Leonard Nimoy, actor.
These may not be his last words, but Nimoy's last tweet was:
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory. LLAP."LLAP is short for "Live long and prosper," a saying made famous by Nimoy's "Star Trek" character Mr. Spock.
