The Last Word Multiple Choice Quiz | Who Said It?

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Just before he was put to death in 1930 for killing twelve people, what unrepentant murderer's last words were "I wish the whole human race had one neck and I had my hands around it."

Answer: Carl Panzram

Charles Panzram (1891-1930) had confessed to having committed 22 acts of murder and over 100 acts of sodomy of boys and men. Whatever the cause of his misdeeds, he certainly did not die contrite. The other criminals mentioned here achieved infamy many years after this incident in 1930.

2. In 1618 this gentleman was standing on the scaffold eyeing the headsman who would remove his head from the rest of his body, and is quoted as saying "This is a sharp medicine. But a sure remedy for all evils". The capital of North Carolina is named after him. Who was he?

Answer: Sir Walter Raleigh

During the reign of Elizabeth I, Sir Walter Raleigh organized three major expeditions to North America, including the ill-fated Lost Colony of Roanoke. In 1603 he was implicated as a foe of King James I and was sentenced to death, a sentence which was later commuted.

In 1617 Raleigh was granted permission to conduct an expedition to Venezuela in search of the fabled El Dorado under the condition that he avoid any problems with Spain. But during the expedition a detachment of his men attacked a Spanish outpost and the enraged Spanish ambassador demanded his death sentence be reinstated. And it was.

3. In May of 1864 this Union general was directing artillery placements at Spotsylvania, Virginia. He was warned to be careful of Confederate sharpshooters, but he scoffed "They couldn't hit an elephant at this distance". Seconds later a sharpshooter's bullet struck him in the eye and ended his military career and his life. Who was he?

Answer: Major General John Sedgewick

General Sedgewick was one of only four Union major-generals to be killed during the Civil War. He had a distinguished career and a monument to him now stands at West Point Military Academy, NY. Too bad he didn't recognize good advice when he heard it.

4. This Arkansas lawyer is supposed to have committed suicide in Washington D.C. Inside his briefcase was found a letter that said, in part "The public will never believe the innocence of the Clintons and their loyal staff. ... Here ruining people is considered sport." Who was he?

Answer: Vincent Foster

Several questions surround the suicide of Vince Foster in Fort Marcy Park in McLean, Virginia in 1993 and conspiracy theories continue to this day. The other three names listed were also friends or confidants of the Clintons who met questionable ends.

5. In 1914 this journalist/author left for Mexico to cover the Mexican Revolution and perhaps interview Pancho Villa. Before he left he wrote his daughter and said, in part, "As to me, I leave here tomorrow for an unknown destination". To this day his destination remains unknown because he was never heard from again. Who was he?

Answer: Ambrose Bierce

Known today for his works of fiction, such as "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "The Devil's Dictionary", Ambrose Bierce was known in his own day primarily for his journalism. By the age of 71 he had no family relying on him, so he took a tour of Civil War battlefields.

After that it is presumed that he crossed from Texas into Mexico while the Mexican Revolution was raging. He wrote his daughter that "If you hear of my being stood up against a Mexican stone wall and shot to rags, please know that I think that a pretty good way to depart this life".

He may have gotten his wish.

6. In 1964 as he lay on his deathbed being attended by nuns, this Irish playwright and author is said to have told one of the nuns "Bless you Sister. May all your sons be Bishops".

Answer: Brendan Behan

Brendan Behan was born in Dublin in 1923. By age 14 he was already a member of the IRA. By age 19 he shot at a detective during an IRA parade and spent four years in prison. He began writing plays and became well known for his play "The Quare Fellow".

When he died in 1964 his funeral was described as the biggest since Michael Collins (1890-1922), who was appointed Chairman of the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State in January 1922. He was assassinated in August 1922 -- the Irish Free State was established in December 1922.

7. In 1931, as this Russian prima ballerina lay on her deathbed the night before she was supposed to perform, she told her maid "Get my swan costume ready". A trooper to the very end.

Answer: Anna Pavlova

Anna Pavlova was a Russian prima ballerina in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The performance that made her a star was the role she created in "The Dying Swan". While traveling in 1931, she became very sick from pneumonia and sent for her personal physician who told her that she required an operation and that she would never be able to dance again after the surgery.

She said that she would rather be dead than not be able to dance. Just past midnight on the day she was supposed to perform, she told her maid to "Get my 'Swan' costume ready".

But there was no need. She passed away shortly thereafter.

8. One of the most famous and most loved of all the English Queens was apparently ready to trade it all for a few more minutes of life. She is quoted as saying "All my possessions for a moment of time" on her deathbed. Who was she?

Answer: Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I ruled over England from 1558 to 1603. Like Richard III, she was apparently ready to trade it all for a more immediate need. And postponing the end of your life is certainly a more immediate need.

9. When the last Roman emperor in the Julio-Claudian dynasty knew that he was about to be overthrown and assassinated, he decided to take his own life instead. His last words were "What an artist the world is losing in me". Apparently, modesty was not one of his strong points. No one knows what became of his fiddle. Who was he?

Answer: Nero

To put it bluntly, Nero was not a nice guy. He had his own mother executed, and he enraged the upper classes with his high taxes to pay for his construction projects. When Nero learned that he had been tried in absentia and condemned to death as a public enemy, he fled barefoot in only his toga to a friend's villa.

There he took up two daggers, but lacked the courage to kill himself. He asked his courtiers to kill themselves first to show how it is done, but got no takers. When he heard the horsemen who had come to take him prisoner, he finally managed to slash his own throat as the soldiers rushed in.

10. When this Spanish general and statesman was on his deathbed in Madrid, Spain in 1868 he was asked to forgive his enemies. He replied "I do not have to forgive my enemies. I have had them all shot". Who was he?

Answer: Ramon Maria Narvaez

Ramon Maria Narvaez y Campos, 1st Duke of Velencia (1800-1868) became one of the supporters of Isabel II and served her several times as Prime Minister. He took this post the first time in 1844 but was forced to resign two years later. He took the post again the next year, but was again forced to resign the following year.

He served again in 1856 for a short time, and again in 1866 and it is during this term that he died in office.

Source: Author OldManJack

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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The Last Word Trivia Quiz

These are the last known words spoken by some famous, and not-so-famous people before they departed this Earthly plane. Whether famous or not their last words were certainly entertaining.

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