The magician and escape artist Harry Houdini’s last words were supposedly, “I’m tired of fighting.” He had been punched in the stomach by a student who had heard that Houdini could withstand any blow to his abdomen. The punch aggravated his appendicitis, leading to his death a few days later.
The novelist Jane Austen’s last words, spoken to her sister Cassandra, were, “I want nothing but death.” She had been ill for some time and was expressing her desire for release from her suffering.
Bertrand Russell passed away on February 2, 1970, at the age of 97. He died of influenza complicated by pneumonia, at his home in Penrhyndeudraeth, Merioneth, Wales. Despite his age, Russell remained intellectually active until the end of his life, continuing to write and contribute to various fields, including philosophy, politics, and social issues. his last words were, “I should have drunk more champagne.”
The astronomer Tycho Brahe, known for his eccentric behavior, supposedly died from a bladder condition after refusing to leave a banquet to relieve himself, as it would have been a breach of etiquette. His last words were allegedly, “Let me not seem to have lived in vain.”
Legend has it that Aeschylus, Greek playwright, met his demise when an eagle, mistaking his bald head for a rock, dropped a tortoise on it to crack open the shell. The impact allegedly killed the renowned tragedian.
According to ancient sources, Chrysippus, Greek philosopher died of laughter after watching a donkey eat his figs. He found the sight of the donkey being given wine to wash down the figs so hilarious that he laughed uncontrollably, leading to his death.
The last words of Voltaire, the French Enlightenment writer and philosopher, were reportedly, “This is no time to make new enemies,” when asked by a priest to renounce Satan.
…The candles sputter, mirroring my own fading life. A tiresome affair, this dying. No dramatic lightning strike, just the slow creep of shadows. Pious pronouncements surround me – friends, foes, even a priest urging a deathbed conversion. The good man forgets, Satan’s merely a character in the farce of religion. Perhaps a lively debate awaits on the other side.
My body, once a vessel for wit, now betrays me. Age, the most irrational foe, claims its victory. Yet, defiance lingers. The world spins with its absurdities, and somewhere, I trust, a young Voltaire is born, ready to wield reason and laughter against tyranny. That is immortality – to inspire others long after your own flame flickers out.
No grand pronouncements, just a life lived on my own terms. Let them judge me for my words, my ideas, my fight for enlightenment. The play is done, but the fight continues. Let the laughter echo, the questions be asked. That is my legacy. Farewell.
Harmonia Macrocosmica
This celestial chart depicts a 3-dimensional view of the earth, centered on the eastern hemisphere, surrounded by a band depicting the signs of the zodiac.
The chart represents a pre-Copernican view of the relationship between the earth and the sun, in which the sun was believed to rotate around the earth in spiral revolutions. The drape-style title cartouche floats in the sky, with clouds and putti holding birds tethered to ribbons in the background.
On 18 September 1783, Euler was enjoying a lunch with his family in St. Petersburg. After the lunch, Euler engaged in a discussion with his colleague and friend, Anders Johan Lexell, a Swedish mathematician and astronomer who had been a close collaborator of Euler’s at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
The topic of their conversation was the newly discovered planet Uranus, which had been observed for the first time by William Herschel in 1781. The discovery of Uranus was a significant event in the scientific community, as it expanded the known boundaries of the solar system and challenged prevailing theories about the formation and structure of the universe.
Lexell, who was deeply interested in celestial mechanics, had been working on calculating the orbit of Uranus based on the available observational data. It is likely that he and Euler were discussing the implications of this new discovery and the challenges of determining the precise path of this distant planet.
In the midst of this intellectually stimulating discussion, Euler suddenly collapsed. He had suffered a brain hemorrhage, a severe and often fatal condition caused by bleeding in the brain. Despite the best efforts of his family and colleagues to revive him, Euler passed away shortly thereafter.
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