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Unusual, unique, and uncommon facts about a diversity of subjects:

The End:
Famous Endings, the Last of Things

Last deaths	Last rulers	Entertainment "lasts"
Last animals	Sports "lasts"	Other lasts
"Last words"

Every thing ends - sooner or later ...

"Last" Deaths

LAST DEATH FROM SMALLPOX
In September, 1978, Janet Parker, an English medical photographer, was exposed to smallpox as the result of a laboratory accident. She subsequently died. On May 8, 1980, the World health Organization declared smallpox eradicated. Some samples remain in laboratories in Atlanta and Moscow. When scientists destroy the samples the smallpox virus will become the first life form intentionally eliminated from the earth.

LAST EXECUTION IN TOWER OF LONDON
The last execution in the Tower of London took place on Thursday, August 14, 1941, when Josef Jakobs, a German spy, was shot by an eight-man firing squad. Because he had suffered a broken ankle when he had parachuted into England on the night of January 31, 1941, he could not stand before the firing squad and he was, instead, seated in an old Windsor chair and tied up. Five of the eight shots pierced his heart.

LAST GUILLOTINE EXECUTION
The last public execution by guillotine was on June 17, 1939. Eugen Weidman was executed before a large crowd in Versailles, France.
The last nonpublic use of the guillotine in France, at Baumetes Prison, in Marsailles, was the execution of convicted murderer Hamida Djandoubi, a Tunisian immigrant, on September 10, 1977. France abolished capital punishment on September 9, 1981.

LAST PERSON BURNED AT THE STAKE
Phoebe Harrius was convicted of coining false money, a crime of high treason at that time, and was executed by being burned at the stake in front of Newgate Prison in England, in 1786.

LAST SURVIVING SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE
Charles Carroll was the last of the 59 men who signed the Declaration of Independence to die. He passed away in 1832 at the age of 95.

LAST SURVIVING US WAR VETERANS
American Revolution (1775–1783)
Last veteran, Daniel F. Bakeman, died 4/5/1869, age 109
Last widow, Catherine S. Damon, died 11/11/06, age 92
Last dependent, Phoebe M. Palmeter, died 4/25/11, age 90
War of 1812 (1812–1815)
Last veteran, Hiram Cronk, died 5/13/05, age 105
Last widow, Carolina King, died 6/28/36, age unknown
Last dependent, Esther A. H. Morgan, died 3/12/46, age 89
Indian Wars (c. 1861–1898)
Last veteran, Fredrak Fraske, died 6/18/73, age 101
Mexican War (1846–1848)
Last veteran, Owen Thomas Edgar, died 9/3/29, age 98
Last widow, Lena James Theobald, died 6/20/63, age 89
Last dependent, Jesse G. Bivens, died 11/1/62, age 94
Civil War (1861–1865)
Last Union veteran, Albert Woolson, died 8/2/56, age 109
Last Confederate veteran, John Salling, died 3/16/58, age 112
Spanish-American War (1898)
Last veteran, Nathan E. Cook, died 9/10/92, age 106

LAST US MUTINY HANGING
The last US Navy man hanged for mutiny was Midshipman Philip Spencer in 1842. The son of Secretary of War John C. Spencer, he had schemed with 2 others to turn his ship to piracy.

LAST US PIRATE HANGING
The last person hanged in the US for being a pirate was Capt. Nathaniel Gordon, in New York City on March 8, 1862. Gordon had been smuggling slaves into the US.

LAST US PUBLIC EXECUTION
The last public execution in America was the hanging of a 22-year-old black man named Rainey Bethea at Owensboro, KY, in 1936. Bethea had been convicted of the slaying of a 70-year-old white woman. By five o'clock the morning of the execution, 20,000 people were in the field, including over 200 sheriffs and deputies from various parts of the U.S. For complete details, see: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/6275.

LAST US SOLDIER EXECUTED FOR DESERTION
Private Eddie Slovik was tried by court-martial and sentenced to death for desertion during WWII. He was shot by his own unit, the 28th Infantry Division, in a small town in northeast France. There were 70 executions by firing squad during WWII, but Slovik's was the only one for desertion. The rest were for rape or murder.

LAST VIET NAM WAR DEATH
The last American soldier killed in the Vietnam War was Kelton Rena Turner, an 18-year old Marine. He was killed in action on May 15, 1975, two weeks after the evacuation of Saigon, in what became known as the Mayaguez incident.

LAST WITCHCRAFT HANGING
The last person hanged for witchcraft in the American colonies was executed on September 22, 1692.

LAST WOMAN HANGED IN ENGLAND
Ruth Ellis was executed by hanging in 1955; the suspension of capital punishment throughout England made her the last woman to be executed by this method.

LAST WWI DEATH
The last soldier killed in World War I was Pvt. Henry Gunther of Baltimore, MD. The official end of the shooting was supposed to coincide with the signing of the armistice at 11:00 a.m. on November 11, 1918. Pvt. Gunther was with Company A, 313th Infantry, 79th Division of the US Army as it advanced upon Metz near the German border. Gunther's platoon ran into an ambush. Enraged by the enemy machine-gun fire, Gunther charged the German position with fixed bayonet. At the very moment that a messenger arrived with word that the war was ending at 11:00 a.m., Gunther was shot through the left temple and left side, at 11:01. General Pershing's order of the day named him as the last American killed in the war. Posthumously, he received the Distinguished Service Cross.

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"Last words"

"Last" Rulers & Families

AFGHANISTAN
Mohammed Zahir Shah, the last king of Afghanistan, died at age 92 on July 23, 2007.

AUSTRIA / HUNGARY
Charles I, last emperor of Austria and king of Hungary, abdicated Nov. 11-13, 1918. He had ruled from 1916 to 1918. He died in 1922.

The last coronation of a Hungarian King took place on December 30th 1916 in the church of the Blessed Virgin in Buda Castle.

Zita of Bourbon-Parma, last empress of Austria-Hungary died on March 14, 1989.

AZTEC
The last Aztec emperor was Montezuma II, who reigned from 1502 to 1520. He allowed Hernando Cortes to enter the capital of Tenochtitlan without a battle and was taken prisoner. He died under mysterious circumstances.

BACH FAMILY
The last descendant of the prolific musical Bach family died on Christmas Day, 1845.

BONAPARTE FAMILY
The last member of the famous Bonaparte family, Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte, died in 1945, of injuries sustained from tripping over his dog's leash.

BRITISH VICEROY OF INDIA
India's last British viceroy, or governor-general, was Lord Louis Mountbatten, from August 1947 to June 1948.

CHINA
Henry Pu-yi, from 1908 to 1912, was the last emperor of China. This ended the reign of the last imperial dynasty to rule China, the Ch'Ing.

EGYPT
Cleopatra was the last of the Ptolemies to rule Egypt. When she committed suicide in 30 B.C., Rome annexed Egypt as a province.
On July 23, 1952, the military overthrew the government of King Farouk. Although he never reigned, his 17-year-old son succeeded him and became the last king of Egypt.

FRANCE
Louis Philippe, in 1848, was the last king of France.

GERMANY
Wilhelm II was the last Kaiser. He was forced to abdicate in 1918.

HAWAII
Queen Liliuokalani, the last royal ruler of Hawaii, was deposed in 1893.

INCA
In 1533, the last Incan King of Peru, Atahualpa, was murdered on orders from Spanish conqueror Francisco Pizarro.

IRAN
Reza Pahlevi, the last Shah Mohammed of Iran, fled Iran to Egypt in 1979. Iran was declared an Islamic Republic after more than 2,500 years as an independent monarchy.

ITALY
Victor Emmanuel III was the last royal king of Italy. He reigned 1900 to 1946.

LAST BRITISH MONARCH WHO ABDICATED
On December 11, 1937, Edward VIII of England abdicated, ending a reign of 325 days. He married Wallis Warfield Simpson on June 3, 1938.

LAST BRITISH MONARCH WHO COULDN'T SPEAK ENGLISH
George I, King of England from 1714 to 1727, was a German prince who succeeded to the throne at the age of 54. He could neither write nor speak the English language.

LINCOLN FAMILY (The family of US President Abraham Lincoln)
Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith died in 1985 and his death signaled the end of the Lincoln family lineage. Abraham Lincoln had one child, Robert Todd Lincoln, who had Mary, Abraham II and Jessie. Abraham II, the only son, died at the young age of 16. Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith was Jessie'sson by her first husband, Warren Beckwith.

MARRIED POPE
Adrian II (867-872) was the last married Catholic pope. He was actually married before he became pope, but refused to adopt celibacy or give up his wife when he ascended the papal throne.

MEDICI FAMILY
Gian Gastone de Medici, who died in 1737, was the last male member of de Medici family.

MISS CANADA
Nicole Dunsdon, the last Miss Canada, completed her reign in October 1992. In 1991 women's groups had successfully lobbied to have the Miss Canada contest canceled, claiming it was degrading to women.

MOHICAN
Uncas, son of Chingachgook, was the last of the Mohicans in James Fenimore Cooper's novel published in 1826.

ROMANIA
On December 30, 1947, King Michael, the last reigning monarch in Eastern Europe was forced from his throne by revolutionaries who established the People's Republic, with a constitution modeled after the Soviet Union's.

RUSSIA
Nicholas II, shot to death with his family in 1918, was the last of the czars of Russia, and of the Romanov dynasty, which had ruled Russia for more than 300 years.

RUSSIAN KGB
The last chairman of Russia's KGB was Vadim Viktorovich Bakatin in 1991.

POLAND
Stanislaw II August Poniatowski, last king of Poland, ruled from 1764 to 1795.

SIAM
During the reign of King Prajadhipok of the Chakri dynasty, a coup on June 24, 1932 put an end to Siam's absolute monarchy, establishing a constitutional monarchy dominated by the military.

SOVIET UNION
The Communist Party's 75-year controlling regime of the Soviet Union ended on August 29, 1991.

VENICE / GENOA
The last Venetian doge, Lodovico Manin, retired 1797 and the last Genoese doge in 1804. The doges were the Chief Magistrates in the ancient constitutions of Venice and Genoa. The first doge of Venice was appointed 697 with absolute power (modified 1297), and from his accession dates Venice's prominence in history.

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"Last words"

Last Animals

CALIFORNIA GRIZZLY
Although it is the central figure in the state's flag, the last grizzly in California was spotted in the Sierras in 1924.

CAROLINA PARAKEET
The last known Carolina parakeets were sighted on Lake Okeechobee in 1904 by ornithologist Dr. Frank Chapman.

DODO
The last dodo bird died in 1681.

GREAT AUK
The last great auk (Pinguinus impennis) was killed by collectors on Eldey Island in 1844.

MEXICAN SILVER GRIZZLY
The last Mexican Silver Grizzly was killed in 1964 by ranchers protecting their herds.

MONK SEAL
The last monk seal was seen off the Bahamas in 1959, in Inagua,.

PASSENGER PIGEON
The last passenger pigeon, named Martha, died in captivity in the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914. Her stuffed body is on permanent display at the Smithsonian Institution.

QUAGGA
The last wild quagga was probably shot in the late 1870’s, and the last specimen in captivity, a mare, died on August 12, 1883 at the Artis Magistra zoo in Amsterdam.

The quagga was a subspecies of the plains zebra, which was once found in great numbers in South Africa's Cape Province. It was distinguished from other zebras by having the usual vivid marks on the front part of the body only. In the mid-section, the stripes faded and the dark, inter-stripe spaces became wider, and the rear parts were a plain brown.

TASMANIAN TIGER/WOLF
In 1936 the last Tasmanian Tiger died in the Hobart, Tasmania zoo.

Was Thylacinus cynocephalus a wolf or a tiger? It was neither. This remarkable animal looked like wolf with tiger stripes on its back and tail, but it was more closely related to kangaroos than to either tigers or wolves. The Tasmanian tiger-wolf was a marsupial; it had a pouch for its young just like a kangaroo.

WOLF
The last wolf in Great Britain was killed in Scotland, in 1743. The wolf became extinct in England in 1486, Scotland in 1743, and Ireland in 1770.

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"Last words"

Entertainment "Lasts"

AGATHA CHRISTIE
The last novel published by Agatha Christie was "Murder from the Past." She wrote it around 1940 but specified in her will that it was to be published after her death. She died in 1976.

ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW
The last Andy Griffith Show was televised on September 16, 1968.

BEATLES
The Beatles last concert was at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, on August 29, 1966. The last song they played was "Long Tall Sally."
The Beatles recorded their last song together, "I Me Mine," in 1970.

BEETHOVEN
Beethoven's last symphony was his 9th.

BUDDY HOLLY
Buddy Holly's last performance was on February 2, 1959.
Buddy Holly's last record, "It Doesn't Matter," was released in 1959.

DIANA ROSS & THE SUPREMES
Diana Ross performed for the last time with the Supremes during a show in Las Vegas in 1970.

ED SULLIVAN SHOW
The last Ed Sullivan Show on CBS-TV was June 6, 1971. Running for more than 20 years, the Ed Sullivan Show was the longest running variety show on TV. The first show had been telecast on June 20, 1948.

ELVIS PRESLEY
The last song that Elvis ever performed publicly was "Bridge Over Troubled Water", at his final concert in Indianapolis in June, 1977.

FAR SIDE CARTOON
The last original "Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson was published in 1995. The first had appeared in 1980.

GRATEFUL DEAD
The Grateful Dead gave their last concert with leader Jerry Garcia at Chicago's Soldier Field in 1995. Jerry died a month later of a heart attack while in drug rehab.

LATE NIGHT WITH DAVID LETTERMAN
David Letterman's last show on NBC was on Friday, June 25, 1993. He moved to CBS in August 1993 to host "The Late Show with David Letterman."

LIFE MAGAZINE
The last weekly issue of "Life" magazine was issued December 29, 1972.

M*A*S*H
The final episode of M*A*S*H was broadcast on February 28, 1983, and was titled "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen."

MARILYN MONROE
The last line ever spoken by Marilyn Monroe on the silver screen was "How do you find your way back in the dark?" The line is from the 1961 film The Misfits with Clark Gable. She died in 1962.

MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW
The staff of WJM-TV had a going-away party, as the last episode of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" was broadcast on March 19, 1977 - Everyone was fired except the inept Ted Baxter. The show had been a popular hit for seven years.

MILTON BERLE SHOW
The last "Milton Berle Show" aired on ABC on January 6, 1967.

PEANUTS COMIC STRIP
The last original Peanuts Comic Strip was published February 13, 2000. Coincidentally, creator Charles M. Schultz died the night before.

PERRY MASON
Erle Stanley Gardner wrote 75 mysteries starring the fictional lawyer Perry Mason. The first was "The Case of the Velvet Claws" in 1933 and the last was "The Case of the Troubled Trustee" in 1956.

PLAYBOY
The last Playboy centerfold to have staples was published in 1985. Venice Kong was the model.
The last Playboy club in the US, in Lansing, Michigan, was closed on July 30, 1988.

SILENT MOVIE
The last U.S. feature-length movie released without any soundtrack
was THE POOR MILLIONAIRE (1930), starring Richard Talmadge and
Constance Howard. It was released by Biltmore Pictures in April 1930.

The last British feature-length movie released without any soundtrack
was PARADISE ALLEY (1931), starring John Argyle and Margaret Delane.
It was released by Argyle Art Pictures in March 1931.

The last silent feature from the Soviet Union was SCHASTYE
(HAPPINESS), released in 1935. The last seven Indian silent features
were released that same year. The last 15 Japanese silent features
were released in 1938.

STRADIVARIUS VIOLIN
Italian violin maker Antonius Stradivarius of Cremona made his finest instruments after 1700. His last surviving instrument was dated 1737, the year of his death.

TONIGHT SHOW
The last "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson as host was May 22, 1992.

Last deaths	Last rulers	Entertainment "lasts"
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"Last words"

Sports "Lasts"

BARE KNUCKLE FIGHT
The last bare-knuckle fight of pro boxing took place in 1889. John L. Sullivan ko'd Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds.

BASEBALL HOME RUN
Hank Aaron hit his 755th and last home run in Milwaukee on July 20, 1976.
Mickey Mantle hits final career homer, # 536, in 1968.
Babe Ruth hit his last 3 home runs in 1935 when the Boston Braves faced the Pirates.

DISCONTINUED OLYMPIC SPORTS
Cricket - last in Paris in 1900.
Croquet - last in Paris in 1900.
Golf: men - last in St. Louis in 1904.
Golf: women - last in Paris in 1900.
Lacrosse - last in London in 1908.
Polo - last in Paris in 1900.
Rugby - last in Paris in 1924.
Tug of War - last in Antwerp in 1920.

OLYMPIC LAST:
The 1912 Olympics was the last Olympics that gave out gold medals that were made entirely out of gold.

LAST MATADOR DEATH:
The last major matador to die in a bullfight was Miguel Cubero, known as Yiyo, who was gored in 1985.

WOODEN TENNIS RACQUET
A wooden racket was last used at Wimbledon in 1987.

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"Last words"

Other "Lasts"

ALCATRAZ PRISON
Alcatraz Federal Prison was closed in March of 1963. The facility had served as a US military prison from 1859 to 1933 and as a federal prison from 1933. Frank Wathernam was the last prisoner to leave Alcatraz prison on March 21, 1963.

ANNE FRANK
13-year-old Anne Frank made the last entry in her diary on August 1, 1944; a diary she had kept for two years while hiding with her family to escape Nazi deportation to a concentration camp. Three days later the Grune Polizei raided the secret annex in Amsterdam, Holland, where the Jewish family was in hiding. Anne died in Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at age 15.

AUTOMOBILE
The last Model T Ford came off the assembly line on May 26, 1927.
The 1550 Silver Spyder Porsche was the last car designed by Dr. Ferdinand Porsche.
The Studebacker-Packard Co. made the last Packard on August 19, 1958.

BRANDING FOR PUNISHMENT
Jonathan Walker, in 1844, was the last person branded in the US as punishment for a crime. He had the initials SS branded into the palm of his right hand as punishment for helping American slaves escape to the Bahamas. (The charge against him was slave stealing.)

CIGARETTE AD ON TELEVISION
On December 31, 1970, the last cigarette ad, a commercial for Virginia Slims, was aired on the "Tonight Show." Cigarette advertising was banned from radio and TV effective January 1, 1971.

CONCORDE FLIGHT
The last Transatlantic Concorde flight touched down in London on Friday, October 24, 2003. The last flight was piloted by Mike Bannister. The Concorde made its first commercial flight in January 1976.

DRIVER'S LICENSE
New York was the last state, in 1984, to put photographs on driver's licenses.

ELLIS ISLAND
In 1954, Ellis Island closed after processing more than 20 million immigrants since opening in New York Harbor in 1892.

LAST CALL
A bartender's announcement that customers may order one more drink before the bar closes is known as the last call.

LAST HORSEMAN
The last horseman of the Apocalypse is Death, according to Revelations 6:2-8.

LAST POST
The title of music played at military burials is called the last post.

LAST SUPPER
The Passover meal taken by Jesus and his disciples before his death.

LONDON TRAM
London's last tram ran July 6, 1952, as motor buses replaced streetcars.

MOON LASTS
US Astronaut Eugene Cernan is the last person to set foot on the moon - December 1972.

The last words spoken from the moon were from Eugene Cernan, Commander of the Apollo 17 Mission on 11 December 1972. "As we leave the Moon at Taurus-Littrow, we leave as we came, and, God willing, we shall return, with peace and hope for all mankind."

MORSE CODE
The last Coast Guard radio navigation station still using Morse code transmitted its last message on March 31, 1995 from Chesapeake, Virginia.

OLDSMOBILE
The last Oldsmobile rolled off a Lansing assembly line the week of April 27, 2004, ending production of an automobile line that began in 1897. The last Oldsmobile is an Alero, the only model still in production. General Motors slowly phased out other Olds models the past few years.

PROHIBITION
On December fifth, 1933, national Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.

RED DYE #2
The most frequently used dye in drugs, food and cosmetics, red dye No. 2, was banned by the US Food and Drug Administration on February 12, 1976, after studies indicated the dye was carcinogenic.

SLAVERY IN US
On December 18th, 1865, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery, was declared in effect.

US CIVIL WAR
All Confederate troops west of the Mississippi River surrendered on May 26, 1865.

US CURRENCY
Large-denomination U.S. bills ($500 and higher) were last printed in 1945.
They were officially withdrawn from circulation in 1969.
Gold coins were last circulated in 1933. The Gold Reserve Act of 1934 made it illegal for private persons to own gold bullion.
The last Indian Head or Buffalo nickel was issued in 1938 by the Denver Mint. Three men: Two Moons, Iron Tail, and John Big Tree had been used as models for the Indian head.
The last Lincoln cent with wheat ears on the reverse side was issued in 1958.
The last time US quarters and dimes actually had any silver content was 1964.

US INDIAN RESISTANCE
The last major American Indian resistance to white settlement was the 'Battle of Wounded Knee,' in 1890.

US PRESIDENT
The last "foreign" born US president was William Henry Harrison. He was born in 1773, in Virginia, before the USA was formed. The Constitution would later require that the president be a native-born citizen and a resident of the US for at least 14 years.
The last US President not born in a hospital was Lyndon B. Johnson. He was born in a farmhouse in Texas in 1908.
The last US President to be born in a log cabin was James Garfield. He was born on Nov. 19, 1831.
The last US President to own slaves was Ulysses S. Grant. In 1848, when he married Julia Dent, she already owned 1 slave. She received a second as a wedding gift, and later purchased a third one. Grant bought a slave named William Jones and later freed him.
The last US President to resign from office was Richard Nixon, on August 9, 1974.
The last US President to serve 4 terms was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In 1947, the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution limited future presidents to two terms.

WITCHCRAFT TRIAL IN ENGLAND
The last witchcraft trial in England was the trial of Jane Wenham in 1712. She was found innocent.

postscript: According to http://farshores.org/witch.htm, Helen Duncan, a medium, was arrested in Portsmouth in 1944 and was eventually tried at the Bailey under the Witchcraft Act of 1735. Duncan was originally arrested for the catch-all charge of vagrancy but as she came up for trial at the Old Bailey, the police suddenly added the charge of witchcraft.

TELESPHOBIA
The fear of being last.