27 Images Of Historical Icons Just Before Death
Emily Cortez
Updated on March 16, 2026
Reminding us of our own mortality, these last-known photographs of the world's most iconic figures are not to be missed.
Earhart disappeared on July 2 of the same year, when she attempted to fly around the world.
ImgurTragedy would strike 73 seconds into launch as the O-ring on the shuttle’s right booster failed, leading to the deaths of everyone on board the spacecraft.
ImgurWilliams committed suicide on August 11, 2014. It's suggested that he knew he was losing his mind, as a result of his rare brain disease, Lewy body dementia.
InstagramPart of the caption reads: “..Why is this man so happy? Is it because it's his 69th birthday or that he has released his 28th studio album today…”
InstagramThe shoot was to promote Nirvana’s newest album, In Utero. Kurt committed suicide in 1994.
ImgurHe would never finish filming the movie, as he overdosed on painkillers on January 22, 2008.
ImgurTwain died on April 21, 1910.
ImgurIt was taken on February 5th, 1865, a little more than two months before the infamous assassination at the hands of John Wilkes Booth.
WordpressWith Germany in ruins and defeat to the Allied forces looming, Hitler married his girlfriend Eva Braun and the couple then committed suicide.
Stunning BirdForensic pathologists determined that Winehouse died from accidental alcohol poisoning after the singer resumed drinking following a period of sobriety.
Huffington PostAfter hiding with their family from Nazi police, they were eventually captured and sent to punishment barracks for hard labor.
Photo VideWeighing a mere 77 pounds, Marley would succumb to cancer on May 11th, 1981.
MogulIt was later determined that Benoit had already murdered his wife as well as his seven-year-old son Daniel at the time this photo was taken. Chris would later hang himself, concluding the grisly murder suicide scenario.
Sports NewsLater that evening Presley would die from a massive heart attack while sitting on the toilet in his home.
Getty ImagesChapman, also pictured, would return to the musician’s apartment a few hours later and shoot him several times as Lennon returned home with wife Yoko Ono.
Getty ImagesThis photo was taken by a friend in the small village of Saint-Leud’Esserent.
Getty ImagesKnight would survive the shooting, but Tupac would not.
Getty ImagesThe adage goes that pictures are worth a thousand words — but could it be that last-known photographs are worth even more?
Even if you consider seeking out these kinds of photos to be a morbid pastime, these last-known photos serve as an apt reminder that even the best and brightest of us are not immune to the inevitable — and that even perpetrators of unspeakable crimes will see their end.
History Uncovered Podcast Episode 26: The Death Of Amy Winehouse Following a long downward spiral that often played out in the public eye, singer Amy Winehouse died tragically in 2011 at the age of just 27.Enjoy these photos? Then be sure to check out our story on how photojournalism destroyed Kevin Carter and haunting photographs of people the moment before they died. Finally, read the famous last words of important historical figures.
