The 20 Strangest Last Wishes of Historical Figures

The philosopher was so attached to his ideas that he asked for his body to be preserved and displayed in a wooden case. In fact, you can still visit him at University College London, where his skeleton is dressed in his old clothes and topped with a wax head. In short, he turned himself into a permanent piece of office furniture so he could keep an eye on his students.

The greatest magician in the history of show business did not want to leave the stage while he was still alive; so he had entrusted a secret password to his wife. If Houdini found a way to contact the living from the afterlife, he would say a specific phrase during a séance. His wife organized séances every year for a decade in the hope of hearing from him, but Harry remained silent the entire time.

The “gonzo” journalist didn’t want a quiet funeral in a church, so he made arrangements for his ashes to be fired from a huge cannon. He even made sure the cannon was shaped like a two-inch fist clutching a peyote button, in keeping with his brand image. It was a loud and explosive farewell, culminating in a colorful fireworks display that lit up the night sky above his Colorado ranch.

Roddenberry, the creator of “Star Trek,” had requested that his ashes be launched into space upon his death. A small portion of his ashes was placed aboard a missile and sent into orbit so that he could go where no man had gone before. You have to admit that orbiting the Earth is a pretty awesome way to spend your retirement far from the physical world.

The classic novelist detested the morbid nature of Victorian funerals; he therefore requested that there be no signs of mourning at his own funeral. Dickens asked that there be no scarves, no capes, no sad faces, and no black clothing at the ceremony. His funeral was to be intimate and attended by only a small group of people; he even went so far as to request that the time of his burial not be disclosed.

Old Ben Franklin loved a good joke, even after his death, and he left his daughter a gift that was original, to say the least. He bequeathed to her a portrait of Louis XVI encrusted with diamonds, on the strict condition that she never sell those precious stones. Franklin had expressly stated that he did not want his daughter to become vain or a spendthrift; that is why he gave her a diamond painting that she could not wear.

Like many people of his time, the first president was terrified at the thought of waking up in a coffin underground. He gave specific instructions that his body not be placed in a crypt until at least three days after his death. He simply wanted to be sure he was truly dead before they sealed the door behind him for good.

Marie Curie, a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, died with such a high concentration of radioactivity in her body that her corpse glowed. Staff had to wear lead suits to prepare her remains, and her coffin was lined with a layer of lead 1.9 cm thick. Her notebooks and her body remain radioactive to this day, and her grave is marked with radioactive pitchblende.

The French military leader loved his hair so much that he wanted it to be divided among his friends after his death. Napoleon Bonaparte’s body was to be shaved after his death, and his hair distributed among his friends. Much of Napoleon’s hair was turned into jewelry, which was a common macabre memento in the 19th century.

The Bard was apparently very attached to his final resting place and decided to inscribe a genuine curse on his tombstone. He warned that anyone who dared to move his remains would be cursed, while anyone who left them in peace would be blessed. It worked a treat, as researchers were too afraid to disturb his grave for more than four hundred years.

You probably don’t know his name, but you’re certainly familiar with the iconic Pringles can he designed. He was so proud of that packaging that he asked for some of his ashes to be buried inside it. His children honored his wish by stopping at a grocery store on their way to the funeral home to buy a classic red can of Original flavor.

Rock legend Janis Joplin had anticipated that her loved ones would want to celebrate after her death. She left $2,500 (a colossal sum in 1970) in her will so that her friends could throw a big party after her funeral. Her loved ones spent the night partying at her favorite club in her memory.

Although he had contributed to the dawn of aviation, Orville Wright hated what flying had become. Upon his death, he refused to allow anyone representing German interests to attend his funeral. Airplanes had begun bombing civilian populations during World War I, and Wright had had the word “aviator” removed from his certificate so that he could instead be identified as an inventor.

The famous satirist did not want to offend anyone during his lifetime; that is why he postponed the publication of his memoirs. Mark Twain’s autobiography was not to be published until a hundred years after his death, so as not to lose any friends. In 2010, more than a century later, his memoirs were an instant success.

Upon her death, the famous writer Dorothy Parker bequeathed her estate to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but left no instructions regarding her remains. Her ashes remained in her lawyer’s filing cabinet for fifteen years, as no one knew what to do with them. Dorothy Parker was eventually laid to rest at the Bronx Trust Garden, but only after her estate had been settled by the probate court.

Robert Louis Stevenson, the author of Treasure Island, loved Samoa so much that he asked to be buried there. At the request of those present at his funeral, Stevenson was buried at the summit of Mount Vaea, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. The villagers spent the night clearing a path through the jungle so they could carry Stevenson’s coffin to the summit.

Sinatra wanted to be ready for the afterlife, so his children made sure he had something to drink. The legendary crooner had asked that whiskey and a wad of dimes be placed in his pockets after his death. Apparently, Sinatra also believed there were pay phones in heaven, which is why he had asked for dimes.

A wealthy socialite from the 1970s didn’t just want to be buried with her cars—she wanted to be inside one of them. Sandra West asked to be buried in her blue Ferrari 330 America, wearing her favorite lace nightgown. The car was quickly encased in concrete after her death to prevent grave robbers from trying to steal it.

Iowa attorney Thomas Michael Zink did not think highly of women, as evidenced by his will. Zink bequeathed funds for the construction of a public library that barred women from entering. His daughter filed a lawsuit against her father’s estate and won the case; today, that sexist library no longer exists.

This Hollywood icon did not make this request herself, but she inspired one that has endured for decades. Her ex-husband, Joe DiMaggio, had promised her during their marriage that he would place flowers on her grave if she were to pass away before him. He kept his word and had a dozen red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week for twenty years straight.