The Last Words and Final Moments of 39 U.S. Presidents

Among the presidents of the United States, some have been known as magnificent orators, always ready with a profound maxim or erudite joke. Others would be applauded just for uttering a complete sentence. Here are the final thoughts 39 presidents.

1. George Washington // d. 1799

According to his secretary, Tobias Lear, the first president’s final words were “I am just going! Have me decently buried; and do not let my body be put into the vault less than three days after I am dead.” Later, he cried, “Do you understand me? ... ‘Tis well!” He was buried on the grounds of Mount Vernon.

2. John Adams // d. 1826

John Quincy Adams recorded in his diary that the dying words of his father, John Adams, were “Thomas Jefferson survives.” What Adams didn't know was that Jefferson, his onetime frenemy, had actually passed away several hours earlier.

3. Thomas Jefferson // d. 1826

Thomas Jefferson’s last recorded words are “No, doctor, nothing more.” However, three people present at the time of his death noted that he either stated or asked about the date shortly before his death. It was July 4, of course—and the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

4. James Madison // d. 1836

When one of James Madison’s nieces asked, “What is the matter?” the fourth president is said to have replied, “Nothing more than a change of mind, my dear. I always talk better lying down.”

5. James Monroe // d. 1831

Many sources claim James Monroe’s final words were “I regret that I should leave this world without again beholding him”—referring to James Madison, one of his best friends. But according to the University of Mary Washington, where Monroe’s papers are held, that story is probably apocryphal. Monroe had written to Madison on April 11, 1831, regretting “there is no prospect of our ever meeting again, since so long have we been connected, & in the most friendly intercourse, in publick & private life, that a final separation is among the most distressing incidents that cod occur.” Monroe died less than three months later, and these sentiments were later construed to be his final words.

6. John Quincy Adams // d. 1848

John Quincy Adams—formerly president, then elected to Congress—suffered a stroke on the floor of the House of Representatives and died two days later in the Speaker's Room in the Capitol Building. His final thought: “This is the last of earth. I am content.”

7. Andrew Jackson // d. 1845

It seems like Andrew Jackson knew what was coming and had a statement prepared. The last words of the seventh president were, “I hope to meet each of you in heaven. Be good, children, all of you, and strive to be ready when the change comes.”

8. Martin Van Buren // d. 1862

A minister who was present as Martin Van Buren expired told mourners the president’s last words were “There is but one reliance.” This obtuse phrase confused some newspaper editors, who took the liberty of completing his thought: “There is but one reliance, and that is upon Christ, the free mediator for us all.”

9. William Henry Harrison // d. 1841

William Henry Harrison bears the dubious honor of being the first president to die in office. Just one month after his inauguration, he lay on his deathbed and told Vice President John Tyler, “Sir, I wish you to understand the true principles of government; I wish them carried out, I ask nothing more.”

10. John Tyler // d. 1862

His Accidency was ready to go: His last words were “Perhaps it is best.”

11. James K. Polk // d. 1849

As he lay dying of cholera just a few weeks after he left office, James K. Polk told his wife, “I love you, Sarah. For all eternity, I love you.” Former first lady Sarah Childress Polk lived another 42 years.

12. Zachary Taylor // d. 1850

“I regret nothing, but I am sorry to leave my friends,” the second president to die in office said. What he probably meant was, “I regret nothing, except for eating those cherries.”

13. Millard Fillmore // d. 1874

Millard Fillmore, commenting on soup he had just sampled, said something like “The nourishment is palatable.”

14. Franklin Pierce // d. 1869

No last words seem to have been recorded for Franklin Pierce—though, given his tragic life, perhaps they were words of relief that it was finally ending.

15. James Buchanan // d. 1868

Despite being one of history’s worst presidents, James Buchanan still mustered a lofty final cry: “Oh, Lord God Almighty, as thou wilt!”

16. Abraham Lincoln // d. 1865

“She won’t think anything about it,” Abraham Lincoln said. His remark was to Mary Todd Lincoln, who was wondering what their female theater companion would think if she saw the first lady “hanging” on her husband. Sadly, the conversation was then cut short by John Wilkes Booth.

17. Andrew Johnson // d. 1875

Allegedly, Andrew Johnson’s last spoken thought was “Oh, do not cry. Be good children and we shall meet in heaven.”

18. Ulysses S. Grant // d. 1885

Ulysses S. Grant was suffering from throat cancer and couldn’t speak much, but he did write something poignant shortly before his death: “There was never one more willing to go than I am.” However, his actual last word was “water.”

19. Rutherford B. Hayes // d. 1893

Rutherford B. Hayes said, “I know I am going where Lucy is.” His wife, the former first lady Lucy Webb Hayes, had died four years earlier.

20. James Garfield // d. 1881

James Garfield, who had been shot by a would-be assassin and had endured months of agonizing, questionable treatments, was sleeping in his room in the company of his good friends, General David Swaim and Colonel A.F. Rockwell. About 15 minutes into his nap, Garfield awoke, clutching his heart, and spoke his final words to the general: “Swaim, can’t you stop the pain?”

21. Chester A. Arthur // d. 1886

Chester A. Arthur’s final words are not recorded, though some sources suggest they were along the lines of “Life is not worth living.” Arthur had been suffering for several years from Bright’s disease, which was then an incurable kidney condition.

22. Grover Cleveland // d. 1908

Suffering from painful gastrointestinal disease, Grover Cleveland put on a brave face with his final thought: “I have tried so hard to do right.”

23. Benjamin Harrison // d. 1901

“Are the doctors here? Doctor, my lungs.” Benjamin Harrison died of pneumonia.

24. William McKinley // d. 1901

While attending a reception at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, New York, William McKinley was greeting a line of visitors when anarchist Leon Czogolsz shot him in the chest. He lingered for a little over a week, then passed away from the wound, saying, “Goodbye, all, goodbye. It is God’s way. His will be done, not ours.”

25. Theodore Roosevelt // d. 1919

TR said to his valet, “James, will you please put out the light?” right before he went to sleep. He died sometime during the night.

26. William Howard Taft // d. 1930

William Howard Taft’s final words were not recorded for posterity, but rumors about his bathtub continue to swirl.

27. Woodrow Wilson // d. 1924

Debilitated by the effects of a stroke, Woodrow Wilson said at the end of his life, “I am a broken piece of machinery. When the machine is broken … I am ready.”

28. Warren G. Harding // d. 1923

While he recovered from a suspected heart problem, Warren G. Harding and his wife Florence were spending a quiet night in a San Francisco hotel. She read out loud from a flattering article about him in the Saturday Evening Post, and he said, “That’s good. Go on, read some more.” Moments later, he died of a massive heart attack.

29. Calvin Coolidge // d. 1933

Calvin Coolidge greeted a carpenter working on his house with a cheery “Good morning, Robert.” He died of coronary thrombosis shortly thereafter.

What he told a friend not long before his death is perhaps more fitting: “I feel I no longer fit in with these times.”

30. Herbert Hoover // d. 1964

Herbert Hoover’s last spoken words are not recorded, but the last words he is known to have written were a get well message to Harry Truman, who hit his head on the bathtub after slipping in his bathroom. In a telegram, Hoover wrote, “Bathtubs are a menace to ex-presidents for as you may recall a bathtub rose up and fractured my vertebrae when I was in Venezuela on your world famine mission in 1946. My warmest sympathy and best wishes for your speedy recovery.”

31. Franklin Delano Roosevelt // d. 1945

While sitting for a portrait painter, FDR said, “I have a terrific headache.” He suffered an intracerebral hemorrhage a few minutes later and never regained consciousness.

32. Harry Truman // d. 1972

Truman’s words are unknown, but his vice president, Alben W. Barkley, had his last words caught on tape. While giving a keynote address, Barkley had just said the words, “I’m glad to sit on the back row, for I would rather be a servant in the House of the Lord than to sit in the seats of the mighty,” when a heart attack struck him on stage.

33. Dwight D. Eisenhower // d. 1969

The former Supreme Allied Commander Europe during World War II didn’t mince words: “I want to go. God take me.”

34. John F. Kennedy // d. 1963

President John F. Kennedy, first lady Jacqueline Kennedy, Texas Governor John Connally, and his wife Nellie Connolly rode together in a motorcade through downtown Dallas on November 22, 1963. “You certainly can’t say that the people of Dallas haven’t given you a nice welcome, Mr. President,” Nellie Connally remarked. “No, you certainly can’t,” Kennedy said, seconds before he was assassinated.

35. Lyndon B. Johnson // d. 1973

“Send Mike immediately,” Lyndon B. Johnson said. Mike was his Secret Service agent who was housed in a compound 100 yards away from the main house at Johnson’s Texas ranch. When agents arrived in the former president’s bedroom, he was already dead.

36. Richard M. Nixon // d. 1994

Richard Nixon yelled “Help“ to summon his housekeeper as he experienced a stroke in 1994. Though he remained alert for a period of time after he was taken to the hospital, he was unable to speak.

37. Gerald Ford // d. 2006

Gerald Ford’s last words are not known.

38. Ronald Reagan // d. 2004

Ronald Reagan’s last words have not been shared with the public, but his daughter Patti Davis shared his final moments: ”At the last moment when his breathing told us this was it, he opened his eyes and looked straight at my mother. Eyes that hadn‘t opened for days, did. And they weren‘t chalky or vague. They were clear, and blue, and full of love. If a death can be lovely, his was.”

39. George H. W. Bush // d. 2018

In the 41st president’s last moments, his son George W. Bush spoke to him through speakerphone and told him he loved him. “I love you, too,” the elder man said not long before passing away at the age of 94.

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A version of this story was published in 2013; it has been updated for 2024.