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. |
|
For more information:
Revolution and After:
Tragedy and Farce |
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:
Charles
Darwin and Darwiniana |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882 by Charles Darwin
Darwin
: A Life in Science by Michael White and John R. Gribbin |
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:
James Dean |
|
Recommended reading:
James
Dean: The Biography by Val Holley |
|
Recommended viewing:
East
of Eden
Rebel
Without a Cause
Giant |
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;
Stephen Decatur |
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:
The
Story of Jacques DeMolay - I, II,
III
The Knights Templar
The
Knights Templar Preceptory |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Knights Templar and Their Myth by Peter Partner
Dungeon
Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades by John J.
Robinson |
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:
Dianazine
Princess
Diana Archives at People Magazine |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Day Diana Died by Christopher P. Andersen
Diana:
Her True Story by Andrew Morton |
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:
Emily
Dickinson
The Emily Dickinson International
Society
I've
seen a dying eye |
|
Recommended readings:
Complete
Poems of Emily Dickinson
The
Life of Emily Dickinson by Richard B. Sewall |
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:
Theodore Dreiser |
|
Recommended readings:
Theodore
Dreiser: An American Journey by Richard Lingeman
Sister
Carrie: Unexpurgated Version by Theodore Dreiser
An
American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser |
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. |
|
For more information:
"Fly
Till I Die" - Time Magazine, 22 April 96
The
Tragic Flight of Jessica Dubroff - San Francisco Examiner, 14
April 96 |
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. She did not
notice that her trade-mark long scarf had fallen under one of the vehicle's
rear wheels. As the driver sped off, 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:
Duncan,
Isadora |
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:
Amelia Earhart |
|
Recommended readings:
Amelia
Earhart: A Biography by Doris L. Rich
Amelia:
The Centennial Biography of an Aviation Pioneer by Donald M. Goldstein
and Katherine V. Dillon |
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:
George
Eastman . . . The Man |
|
Recommended reading:
George
Eastman: A Biography by Elizabeth Brayer |
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:
Thomas
Edison's Invention Web |
|
Recommended reading:
Edison:
A Biography by Matthew Josephson
Edison:
Inventing the Century by Neil Baldwin |
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. |
|
For more information:
Edward
VII |
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:
The
Eisenhower Center
The
Eisenhower Presidential Library |
|
Recommended readings:
Crusade
in Europe by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Eisenhower
: Soldier and President by Stephen E. Ambrose |
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:
Elizabeth I |
|
Recommended readings:
Elizabeth
I by Anne Somerset
Elizabeth
I; The Shrewdness of Virtue by Jasper Ridley |
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:
Euler,
Leonhard (1707-1783) |
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:
Douglas Fairbanks: An
Appreciation
The
Photos of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. |
|
Recommended viewing:
The
Mark of Zorro
The
Thief of Bagdad
The
Three Musketeers
Robin
Hood |
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 friggin' 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. |
|
For more information:
The Larcenous
Life and Work of W.C. Fields |
|
Recommended reading:
Man
on the Flying Trapeze: the Life and Times of W.C. Fields |
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. |
|
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:
Chicago
Historical Information: 1886, May 4: Haymarket Tragedy |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Haymarket Tragedy by Paul Avrich |
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's last words have also been recorded as "French Canadian bean
soup. I want to pay. Let them leave me alone." |
|
Recommended reading:
Kill
the Dutchman!: The Story of Dutch Schultz by Paul Sann and Pete
Hamill |
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." |
|
For more information:
Assassination in Sarajevo |
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) |
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"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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For more information:
Egon Friedell |
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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For more information:
Sigmund Freud Museum
Vienna |
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Recommended reading:
Dr.
Freud: A Life by Paul Ferris
An
Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud |
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:
Completely
Unauthoritative J.M. Barrie Homepage |
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Recommended reading:
Peter
Pan by J.M. Barrie |
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Recommended viewing:
Peter
Pan (television screenplay) starring Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard
Peter
Pan (Disney animation) |
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