Famous Last Words
Michel de Nostredame (known by his Latinized name Nostradamus)
Salon-de-Provence, Provence, France
July 2, 1566
“You will not find me alive at sunrise.”
Nostradamus, famed astrologer and author of 942 poetic quatrains which supposedly predicted the future, had been inflicted with gout during the last few years of his life. In 1566, the gout eventually caused edema, a condition in which fluid builds up between the skin and body cavities, causing extreme pain. He died at the age of 62 and, knowing his end was fast approaching, told his secretary on July 1, 1566 “you will not find me alive at sunrise.” His body was found the next morning.
