Robert E. Howard dreamed of becoming an adventure writer since
he was a child. At age 23, his dream came true. He created the character Conan
the Barbarian. One of the best-selling fantasy writers of all time, his works
are still reprinted to this day.
In June 1936, Howard’s mother was gravely ill and had slipped
into her final coma. Howard, who had been sitting vigil at her bedside, left
the hospital and, while sitting in his car in the parking lot, shot himself in
the head. While his wounds were grave, he did hold on for another eight hours
before he passed away. His final words read, “All fled, all done, so lift me on
the pyre, the feast is over and the lamps expire.”
Hunter S. Thompson was the founder of the gonzo
journalism movement. Thompson grappled with depression for most of his life,
his then-recent hip replacement and broken leg caused him weeks of pain and
immobility. On February 20, 2005, while on the phone with his wife Anita, Thompson
shot himself to death. He left a note entitled “Football Season Is Over” which
read, “No More Games. No More Bombs. No More Walking. No More Fun. No More
Swimming. 67. That is 17 years past 50. 17 more than I needed or wanted.
Boring. I am always bitchy. No Fun – for anybody. 67. You are getting Greedy.
Act your old age. Relax – This won't hurt.”
Charlotte Perkins Gilman was a utopian feminist born in 1860. A
humanist, she spread her beliefs through her novels, short stories, poetry, and
as a lecturer for social reform.
In January 1932, Gilman received the news that she had been
diagnosed with incurable breast cancer. As an advocate of euthanasia, it was
her firm belief that people should be allowed to die in peace without
suffering. On August 17, 1935, she committed suicide by overdosing on
chloroform, leaving behind her final words, “When all the usefulness is over,
when one is assured of an unavoidable and imminent death, it is the simplest of
human rights to choose a quick and easy death in place of a slow and horrible
one.”
Nicholas-Sebastian Chamfort was a French writer best known for
his epigrams, aphorisms, and stimulating conversation. He became a radicalized
Republican during the French Revolution and his criticisms eventually landing
him in prison.
After his release, he was threatened with additional jail time
which he could not tolerate. Instead of facing a court, Chamfort shot himself
in the face. His suicide note read, “I, Sebastien-Roch Nicolas de Chamfort,
hereby declare my wish to die a free man rather than to continue to live as a
slave in a prison."
Poet Sara Teasdale released four collections of poetry, one of which earned her a Pulitzer Prize. Although she and Vachel Lindsay were in love, she married Ernst Filsinger who left her feeling lonely as he was away from home the majority of the time. Two years after Lindsay’s suicide of Lindsay, Teasdale also took her life by overdosing on sleeping pills. Her suicide note entitled I Shall Not Care read, “When I am dead and over me bright April Shakes out her rain-drenched hair, Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted, I shall not care. I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful, When rain bends down the bough, And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted Than you are now.”