Modern
57 figures from the Modern and their final words
Artists & Writers 1960
Albert Camus
“He died instantly in a car crash. His unused train ticket was found in his pocket.”
Car accident Age 46
Artists & Writers 1960
Albert Camus
“He died instantly in a car crash. His unused train ticket was found in his pocket.”
Car accident Age 46
Musicians & Composers 1965
Albert Schweitzer
“He died peacefully at his hospital in Africa.”
Natural causes Age 90
Artists & Writers 1997
Allen Ginsberg
“He died peacefully surrounded by friends in his apartment.”
Liver cancer and heart failure Age 70
Leaders & Politicians 1981
Anwar Sadat
“He was shot before he could speak.”
Assassination — shot by military soldiers during parade Age 62
Musicians & Composers 2018
Aretha Franklin
“She died peacefully surrounded by family.”
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor Age 76
Musicians & Composers 2018
Aretha Franklin
“She died peacefully at home in Detroit.”
Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor Age 76
Artists & Writers 2005
Arthur Miller
“He died peacefully at home.”
Heart failure Age 89
Artists & Writers 1982
Ayn Rand
“She died with her wheelchair next to her bed.”
Heart failure Age 77
Leaders & Politicians 1993
Cesar Chavez
“He died peacefully in his sleep.”
Heart failure Age 66
Leaders & Politicians 1993
Cesar Chavez
“He died peacefully in his sleep.”
Heart failure Age 66
Military & Warriors 1970
Charles de Gaulle
“It hurts.”
Rupture of a blood vessel — aortic aneurysm Age 79
Outlaws & Criminals 2017
Charles Manson
“He died in prison of natural causes.”
Cardiac arrest and respiratory failure Age 83
Musicians & Composers 1979
Charles Mingus
“He died in Mexico while seeking treatment for his illness.”
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) Age 56
Artists & Writers 2011
Christopher Hitchens
“Capitalism. Downfall.”
Pneumonia from esophageal cancer Age 62
Leaders & Politicians 1997
Deng Xiaoping
“He died without regaining consciousness after a respiratory infection.”
Respiratory failure from Parkinson's disease Age 92
Leaders & Politicians 1997
Deng Xiaoping
“He died without regaining consciousness.”
Respiratory failure from Parkinson's disease Age 92
Leaders & Politicians 1969
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“I've always loved you. I've always loved you.”
Congestive heart failure Age 78
Musicians & Composers 1996
Ella Fitzgerald
“She died peacefully at home.”
Diabetes complications following stroke Age 79
Artists & Writers 1986
Frank Herbert
“He died following surgery for pancreatic cancer.”
Pulmonary embolism following surgery for pancreatic cancer Age 65
Leaders & Politicians 2018
George H.W. Bush
“I love you too.”
Septic shock Age 94
Musicians & Composers 2001
George Harrison
“Love one another.”
Lung cancer metastasized to brain Age 58
Leaders & Politicians 2006
Gerald Ford
“He died peacefully at home surrounded by family.”
Arteriosclerotic cerebrovascular disease Age 93
Religious Figures 1978
Golda Meir
“She died peacefully in Jerusalem.”
Lymphoma Age 80
Leaders & Politicians 2012
Gore Vidal
“He died peacefully at his Hollywood Hills home.”
Pneumonia Age 86
Leaders & Politicians 1972
Harry S. Truman
“He died peacefully at home with his family.”
Organ failure — pneumonia and kidney failure Age 88
Artists & Writers 2005
Hunter S. Thompson
“No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50.…”
Self-inflicted gunshot wound Age 67
Leaders & Politicians 2003
Idi Amin
“He died in exile in Saudi Arabia.”
Kidney failure Age 78
Scientists & Inventors 1992
Isaac Asimov
“He died peacefully surrounded by family.”
Heart and kidney failure from HIV contracted from a blood transfusion Age 72
Outlaws & Criminals 1994
Jeffrey Dahmer
“I don't care if I live or die. Go ahead and kill me.”
Beaten to death by fellow inmate Age 34
Leaders & Politicians 2024
Jimmy Carter
“He died peacefully at home in Plains, Georgia.”
Natural causes Age 100
Musicians & Composers 1967
John Coltrane
“He was found dead in his Long Island home.”
Liver cancer Age 40
Outlaws & Criminals 2002
John Gotti
“He died in a prison medical center.”
Throat cancer Age 61
Artists & Writers 1999
Joseph Heller
“He died peacefully at his East Hampton home.”
Heart attack Age 76
Artists & Writers 2007
Kurt Vonnegut
“He died following a brain injury from a fall.”
Brain injury from a fall Age 84
Musicians & Composers 2007
Luciano Pavarotti
“He died peacefully at his home in Modena.”
Pancreatic cancer Age 71
Leaders & Politicians 1973
Lyndon B. Johnson
“Send Mike immediately!”
Myocardial infarction Age 64
Leaders & Politicians 1976
Mao Zedong
“He was too ill to speak coherently in his final days.”
ALS complications and multiple organ failure Age 82
Religious Figures 2013
Margaret Thatcher
“She died peacefully following a stroke.”
Stroke Age 87
Musicians & Composers 1977
Maria Callas
“She died alone in her Paris apartment.”
Myocardial infarction Age 53
Musicians & Composers 1997
Michael Hutchence
“He was found dead in his Sydney hotel room.”
Suicide by hanging Age 37
Royalty & Nobility 2011
Muammar Gaddafi
“Don't shoot! Don't shoot!”
Execution by rebel forces Age 69
Business & Tech 2011
Osama bin Laden
“He was shot dead during a raid on his compound.”
Shot by U.S. Navy SEALs Age 54
Outlaws & Criminals 1993
Pablo Escobar
“He was shot dead by Colombian security forces on a Medellín rooftop.”
Gunshot wounds Age 44
Artists & Writers 1998
Pol Pot
“I came to carry out the struggle, not to kill people. Even now, and you can look at me: am I a savage person?”
Heart failure while under house arrest Age 72
Artists & Writers 2012
Ray Bradbury
“He died peacefully at home.”
Natural causes Age 91
Leaders & Politicians 1994
Richard Nixon
“Please don't call an ambulance. I don't want to go to the hospital.”
Stroke Age 81
Actors & Entertainers 2004
Ronald Reagan
“He died peacefully surrounded by family.”
Pneumonia related to Alzheimer's disease Age 93
Musicians & Composers 1990
Sammy Davis Jr.
“He died at home surrounded by family.”
Throat cancer Age 64
Leaders & Politicians 2006
Slobodan Milosevic
“He was found dead in his cell before his war crimes trial concluded.”
Heart attack in his cell at The Hague Age 64
Artists & Writers 2018
Stan Lee
“He died at Cedars-Sinai with his daughter at his side.”
Cardiac arrest and respiratory failure Age 95
Outlaws & Criminals 1989
Ted Bundy
“I'd like you to give my love to my family and friends.”
Execution by electric chair Age 42
Artists & Writers 1983
Tennessee Williams
“He choked on a bottle cap.”
Choked on a bottle cap from eye drops Age 71
Musicians & Composers 2012
Whitney Houston
“She was found dead in her hotel bathtub.”
Accidental drowning and cocaine use Age 48
Artists & Writers 1997
William S. Burroughs
“Love? What is it? Most natural painkiller what there is.”
Heart attack Age 83
Leaders & Politicians 2004
Yasser Arafat
“He died in a coma in Paris.”
Disputed — possibly stroke following suspected poisoning Age 75
Military & Warriors 1968
Yuri Gagarin
“I see Earth! It is so beautiful!”
Fighter jet crash during training Age 34