Bizarre Last Wills and Testaments Quiz

Answer: Insisted his coffin be left open for 48 hours after his death

Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, (June 2nd 1740 - December 2nd 1814) was French writer noted for his erotic novels and short stories, many of which had violent aspects. In his last well, he demanded that his corpse should be kept in an open coffin for 48 hours, "at the end of which period the said coffin shall be nailed shut."

Answer: That she would lose all she inherited if she remarried

Yes, indeed, the good lady rejected his bizarre demands and married her cousin.
Patrick Henry (May 29th 1736 - June 6th 1799) was one of America's "founding fathers". That famous quote came from a speech in March 1775 in Richmond, Virginia, that convinced the local elders to support the colonists' cause in the Revolutionary War.

Answer: Samuel Houston

Samuel Houston (March 2nd 1793 - July 26th 1863) was one of the most revered figures in the history of Texas. He served as President of the Republic of Texas and as a Senator and Governor after the State joined the Union.

Answer: Gave birth to the most number of children in Toronto the 10 years after his death

The will caused a storm of fury and was contested by moral crusaders for 12 years after his death (in 1927). They claimed it promoted immorality. Newspapers called it "The Stork Derby". In 1938, the $568,000 estate was distributed among four women who each produced nine children in the 10-year period.

Answer: His mistress

Nelson's affair with Lady Hamilton was well known. His will left her to the state as "...a legacy to my King and country; that they will give her an ample provision to maintain her rank in life." These wishes were ignored.
Horatio Nelson was born on September 29th 1758 and died on October 21st 1805, shot by a French sailor at the height of the Battler of Trafalgar. He became regarded as of of Britain's greatest ever seamen.

Answer: George Washington

George Washington, America's first President, declared: "To emancipate them [the slaves] during her life, would, tho earnestly wished by me, be attended with such insuperable difficulties on account of their intermixture by marriages with the dower negroes, as to excite the most painful sensations, if not disagreeable consequences from the latter, while both descriptions are in the occupancy of the same proprietor." His will granted immediate freedom to his mulatto slave, William Lee.

Answer: That land proved to be worth more than the rest of the estate

Barnum had no sons but had a daughter, Helen. He was disappointed in her and changed his will. Previously she had been well provided for, but in his last will, he left her some property in the west he considered worthless. That property, at Denver Colorado, was found to have valuable mineral resources and brought her a wealth that exceeded all of her father's $4m estate.
Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5th 1810 - April 7th, 1891) was probably the greatest showman of his time and the circus he founded, Barnum & Bailey Circus, made him a millionaire.

Answer: William Shakespeare

There was no mention of what was to become of the best bed, but, to be fair, she did get the rest of the furniture too. Shakespeare was a wealthy man at the time of his death in 1616 and left the bulk of his considerable property holdings to his daughters, Susanna and Judith.
Shakespeare's exact birth date is unknown, but a baptismal record exists for April 26th 1564. He became regarded as one of the greatest English writers ever. (Let's not get into the claims that he did not actually write all the works that bear his name).

Answer: He made provision for the establishment of an orphanage

In his will he made provision for the "W. C. Fields College for Orphan White Boys and Girls". After his death in 1946, around $700,000 was allocated for distribution, but it was thought that almost as much again was lost because he had divided it up in various bank accounts that he kept no written record of and they went untraced.
William Claude Dukenfield (to give him his real name, was born on
January 29th, 1880 and died on December 25th 1946. Fields was one of the greatest American comics of his generation and worked hard at portraying an image of being a miserable curmudgeon.

Answer: Florence Nightingale

In her will of 1910, Florence Nightingale left £39,000 and insisted that she should not be buried at Westminster Abbey, but her remains used for medical science. That provision was ignored and she was interred in a family plot. Florence Nightingale, "The Lady With The Lamp", was born in Italy on May 12th 1820 and died in London August 13th 1910. During the Crimean War, she became appalled of reports of the state of medical care for soldiers injured in battle. Far too many had died because of the poor conditions, she believed.

She took a team of volunteer nurses to the war zone and it was through her observations and reports that changes were effected. She became a national hero.