Final Testimony: 40 Gripping Deathbed Incidents & Unexpected Confessions

On his deathbed, French physicist Ampère ordered the inscription on his tombstone to be “Tandem Felix” (Happy at Last).

27. When Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen was on his deathbed, an aide came into the room and asked if he was doing better. He answered, “on the contrary” and then died.

28. Private 1st Class Edward H. Ahrens during World War 2 was found clutching a sword surrounded by 13 dead Japanese soldiers. His final words to his commanding officer on his deathbed were “I guess they didn't know I was a marine.”

29. Epicurus, the father of hedonism, died from a painful urinary blockage. On his deathbed, he still declared that he was happy because his "philosophical recollections counterbalances all these afflictions"

30. Poisoned former KGB spy, Alexander Litvinenko converted to Islam on his deathbed.

While on his deathbed, Alexander Graham Bell's wife (Mabel Gardiner Hubbard) begged him not to leave her. Bell's last word was, "No."

32. Evolutionary biologist and atheist Richard Dawkins has arranged for his final hour of life to be tape-recorded and to have witnesses present (as of March 2021). This is so nobody can say he had a death bed conversion to Christianity out of fear of burning in hell.

33. A man named Hiram Calder on his deathbed was discovered to have been born a woman, making him the first biological female to vote in Florida due to his participation in every election.

34. Not long before his death, Freddie Mercury, confined to his bed, got to see an advance copy of the "Wayne's World" scene with Wayne and Garth headbanging to "Bohemian Rhapsody". He loved it and approved of the song's use in the film. The movie, in part, helped launch Queen's comeback in the USA.

35. When aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal was on his deathbed after sustaining a fatal injury from a crash, his last words were “Small sacrifices must be made.”

On his deathbed, Walt Disney scrawled his final words on a piece of paper: "Kurt Russell."

37. When Roman soldiers stopped the late senator Cicero, his final words before dying were “There is nothing proper about what you are doing, soldier, but do try to kill me properly”. He then bowed to the soldiers and was promptly decapitated.

38. On his deathbed, the last words of the French Grammarian Dominique Bouhours was “Soon I shall, or soon I will die: both are correct.”

39. A gangster named Frank Gusenberg was shot 14 times in the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, but refused to identify his killer. His final words were, “I ain’t no copper.”

40. "Van Halen!" were the final words spoken by Dimebag Darrel (Darrell Abbott), former guitarist of Pantera and Damageplan moments before he was shot and killed on stage.