Narvaez,
Ramon Maria (1800-1868) |
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"I do not have to forgive my enemies. I have had them all
shot." |
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Ramon Narvaez was a Spanish politician and general who served repeated
terms as prime minister during the mid-18th century. |
Nazi
War Criminals (various-16 October 1946) |
|
01:11 a.m. Joachim von Ribbentrop - "My last wish is that Germany
realize its entity and that an understanding be reached between East and
West. I wish peace to the world." |
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01:?? a.m. Field Marshal Keitel - "I call on God Almighty to have
mercy on the German people. More than two million German soldiers
went to their death for the fatherland before me. I follow now my
sons--all for Germany." |
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01:36 a.m. Ernest Kaltenbrunner - "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 this time my people were lead by men who were
not soldiers and that crimes were committed of which I had no knowledge.
Germany, good luck." |
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01:47 a.m. Alfred Rosenberg - "No." (when asked if he had any
last words) |
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01:?? a.m. Hans Frank - "I am thankful for the kind treatment during
my captivity and I ask God to accept me with mercy." |
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02:05 a.m. Wilhelm Frick - "Long live eternal Germany." |
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02:12 a.m. Julius Streicher - "Heil Hitler!" ("Ask the man his
name.") "You know my name well. Julius Streicher! . . .
Now it goes with God. . . . Purim Fest 1946! . . . The Bolsheviks will
hang you one day! . . . I am with God. Adele, my dear wife." |
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02:20 a.m. Fritz Sauckel - "I am dying innocent. The sentence
is wrong. God protect Germany and make Germany great again.
Long live Germany! God protect my family!" |
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02:?? a.m. Alfred Jodl - "My greetings to you, my Germany." |
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02:38 a.m. Artur Seyss-Inquart - "I hope that this execution is
the last act of tragedy of the Second World War and that the lesson taken
from this world war will be that peace and understanding should exist between
peoples. I believe in Germany." |
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For more information:
Nuremberg War
Crimes Trials |
|
Recommended reading:
Nuremberg:
Infamy on Trial by Joseph E. Persico
The
Trial of the Germans: An Account of the Twenty-Two Defendants Before the
International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg edited
by Eugene Davidson
The
Anatomy of the Nuremberg Trials: A Personal Memoir by Telford Taylor |
|
Recommended viewing:
Judgement
at Nuremberg starring Spencer Tracy |
Nelson,
Horatio, Vice Admiral the Viscount (1758-1805) |
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"God bless you, Hardy." |
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Horatio Nelson is the most famous of all British admirals. He
was appointed as commander of the Mediterranean forces at the beginning
of the Napoleonic wars and lost an eye at Calvi and and arm at Tenerife.
After destroying the French fleet at the Nile, he rested in Naples were
he began a scandalous affair with the wife of a British envoy, Lady Emma
Hamilton. He was victorious once more at the battle of Copenhagen,
and when a revitalized French fleet broke through a blockade at Toulon,
he crushed them again at Trafalgar. During the battle, Nelson was
mortally wounded, but not before sending his famous last signal to the
fleet, "England expects every man will do his duty." Taken below
deck, Nelson lingered in pain for several hours. He summoned the
Captain of his flagship, Thomas Hardy, and ordered "Don't throw me overboard.
. . .Take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy; take care of poor Lady
Hamilton. Kiss me, Hardy." Hardy knelt down and kissed Nelson's
cheek. "Now I am satisfied," said Nelson, "Thank God, I have done
my duty." Hardy knelt once more and kissed Nelson's forehead.
Nelson looked up, blessed Hardy, and died. |
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The surgeon who treated Nelson for his wounds recorded his last words
as: "And take care of my dear Lady Hamilton, Hardy. Take care of
poor Lady Hamilton. Kiss me, Hardy. . . . Remember that I leave
lady Hamilton and my daughter, Horatia, as a legacy to my country--and
never forget Horatia." |
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For more information;
Fact File: Horatio
Nelson 1758-1805 |
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Recommended reading:
Nelson:
A Personal History by Christopher Hibbert |
Nostradamus
(Michel de Notre Dame) 1503-1566 |
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"Tomorrow, I shall no longer be here." |
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Nostradamus was a cryptic prophet whose verse has been credited by
some as foretelling future events despite its vague language and
lack of any chronological reference. His predictions achieved local
recognition after he claimed to have discovered a cure for the plague.
Word of one of his prophesies eventually reached Catherine de Medici, the
superstitious
wife of Henry II, who believed it was about her husband: "The young
lion will surpass the old one in national field by a single duel.
He will pierce his eyes in a golden cage two blows at once, to die a grievous
death." After Henry was killed in 1559 during a tournament when a
lance, yielded by a younger opponent, pierced his eye, Nostradamus achieved
true fame. |
|
One evening, in 1566, Nostradamus's assistant found him writing at
his bench and bid him good night saying "Tomorrow, master?" After
Nostradamus replied, the assistant left the room. When he returned
the next day, he found Nostradamus dead and a note on the desk: "Upon the
return of the Embassy, the King's gift put in place, Nothing more will
be done. He will have gone to God's nearest relatives, friends, blood
brothers, Found quite dead near bed and bench." |
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For more information:
Nostradamus
Skeptic's
Dictionary: Nostradamus |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Mask of Nostradamus: The Prophecies of the World's Most Famous Seer
by James Randi |
Oates,
Lawrence Edward Grace, Captain (?-1912) |
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"I am just going outside and may be some time." |
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Captain Oates was a member of Captain Robert
Falcon Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1911-12.
Despite broken equipment and severe weather, Scott and his party reached
the South Pole on 18 January only to find that Roald Amundsen had reached
it a month sooner. Severe weather and lack of food and water threatened
the return trip to the base camp. Oates will always be remembered
as the man who left the party and walked willingly to his death in
order that his comrades might have a better chance to live. No member
of Scott's expedition survived. |
|
For more information:
The Terra Nova Expedition
1910-1912 |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Worst Journey in the World by Apsley Cherry-Garrard |
O'Neill,
Eugene (1888-1953) |
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"Born in a hotel room--and God damn it--died in a hotel room." |
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Eugene O'Neill, thought by many critics to have been the most important
American dramatist, earned one Nobel and four Pulitzer Prizes during his
lifetime. He was born in a New York City Broadway hotel room, the
son of an Irish-American actor. For much of his life he suffered
from a debilitating Parkinson's-like disease. When he died in 1953,
it was--much to his chagrin--also in a hotel room. |
|
For more information:
The Literature
Nook Presents Eugene O'Neill |
|
Recommended reading:
Eugene
O'Neill: Complete Plays 1932-1943 by Eugene O'Neill |
O'Neill,
William "Buckey" (?-1998) |
|
"Sergeant, the Spanish bullet isn't made that will kill me." (See
John Sedgwick) |
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Buckey O'Neill was a Arizona lawyer, miner, cowboy, gambler, newspaperman,
sheriff, and congressman. He was also one of the most important members
of Teddy Roosevelt's Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War, having
recruited many of the volunteers and supervised their training while in
San Antonio waiting to be deployed. |
|
Just prior to the famous charge up Kettle (not San Juan) Hill, O'Neill
was standing up, smoking a cigarette, and joking with his troops while
under withering fire from the ridge. One of his sergeants shouted
to him above the noise, "Captain, a bullet is sure to hit you!" to which
O'Neill shouted back his reply. O'Neill then calmly turned to another
officer. As he started to speak, a bullet struck him in the mouth.
Private Tuttle, who was standing nearby, later recalled, "I heard the bullet.
You usually can if you're close enough, you know. It makes a sort
of 'spat.' He was dead before he hit the ground." |
|
For more information:
Buckey O'Neill:
Sheriff, Mayor, Rough Rider, American Hero
The Buckey
O'Neill Statue
TNT's
Rough Riders Site |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Boys of '98: Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders by Dale L.
Walker
The
Rough Riders by Theodore Roosevelt |
|
Recommended viewing:
Rough
Riders starring Tom Berenger (Sam Elliot plays Buckey O'Neill) |
Oswald,
Lee Harvey |
|
"I will be glad to discuss this proposition with my attorney, and
that after I talk with one, we could either discuss it with him or discuss
it with my attorney if the attorney thinnks it is a wise thing to do, but
at the present time I have nothing more to say to you." |
|
On 22 November 1963, Lee Harvey Oswald shot and killed President
Kennedy from a window of the Texas Book Depository in Dallas.
Later that afternoon, he shot Officer Trippit of the Dallas Police and
was shortly thereafter apprehended inside the Texas Theater. Two
days later, he addressed his last words to Inspector Thomas Kelly of the
U.S. Secret Service just before he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby. |
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For more information:
The Kennedy Assasination
Homepage |
|
Recommended reading;
Conspiracy
of One: The Definitive Book on the Kennedy Assassination by Jim
Moore |
Perugino,
Pietro (Pietro di Cristoforo Vannucci) (1446-1523) |
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"I am curious to see what happens in the next world to one who dies
unshriven." |
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Perugino was one of the Italian master painters who was hired to paint
the frescoes of the Sistine Chapel. His most famous pupil was Raphael.
On his deathbed, Perugino refused to send for a priest to administer the
last rites. |
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For more information:
Perugino: Master of the
Italian Renaissance |
Picasso,
Pablo (1881-1973) |
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"Drink to me!" |
|
Pablo Picasso was a Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramist, who developed
Cubism, one of the most influential modern painting styles. |
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For more information
Picasso Official Web
Site |
|
Recommended reading:
Life
with Picasso by Francoise Gilot |
Pitt,
William (1759-1806) |
|
"Oh, my country! how I leave my country!" |
|
William Pitt was a British Prime Minister, and faced repeated crises
in India and Ireland. He lead the diplomatic offensive against revolutionary
France and Napoleon. He died in office, primarily as a result of
overwork, desperately aware of England's perilous situation following
Napoleon's victory at Austerlitz. |
|
Pitt's last words were also recorded as "Oh, my country, how I love
my country," and "I think I could eat one of Bellamy's veal pies."
Bellamy was, I believe, a House of Commons courier. |
Poe,
Edgar Allan (1809-1849) |
|
"Lord help my poor soul." |
|
Edgar Allan Poe was a famous American poet and author. He achieved
national fame after publishing The Raven in 1845 and wrote many
excellent and macabre short stories. His chronically poor health
was compounded by alcohol abuse, and he suffered what some considered to
be a nervous breakdown after the death of his wife in 1847. |
|
Poe's last word has also been recorded as "Nevermore" in answer to
a deathbed question, "Would you like to see your friends?" |
|
Recommended reading:
The
Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allan Poe |
Pompadour,
Jeanne-Antoinette Poisson, Marquise d'Etoiles (1721-1764) |
|
"Wait a second." |
|
Madame de Pompadour was a lady of the French court and mistress to
Louis XV. She was a major influence on French politics of the mid-18th
century. As she died, Madame de Pompadour called on God to "Wait
a second." When He did, she quickly applied rouge to her cheeks. |
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