Princess Diana Last Will and Testament

Download this free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Alfred Nobel (1833-1896).

• Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm, Sweden. His family was descended from Olof Rudbeck, the best-known technical genius of Sweden's 17th century era as a great power in northern Europe.
• Nobel invented dynamite in 1866.
• In 1895, Nobel signed his last will providing for the establishment of the Nobel Prize. He died in San Remo, Italy on December 10, 1896.

Download a free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Charles II of Spain (1661-1700).

• Charles II was the last Habsburg King of Spain and the ruler of large parts of Italy, the Spanish territories in the Southern Low Countries, and Spain's overseas Empire, stretching from Mexico to the Philippines.
• Charles was noteworthy for his extensive physical, intellectual, and emotional problems - which contributed to his ineffectual rule - as well as his role in the developments preceding the War of the Spanish Succession.
• Historians Will and Ariel Durant wrote that Charles II was "short, lame, epileptic, senile, and completely bald before thirty-five, he was always on the verge of death, but repeatedly baffled Christendom by continuing to live."
• Towards the end of his life Charles became increasingly strange, at one point demanding that the bodies of his family be exhumed so he could look upon their corpses.

Source of biographical information: Wikipedia.org.

Download a free copy of the Last Will and Testament of Darius I (550BCE-486BCE), king of Persia.

• Darius I (also known as Darius the Great) was the third king of kings of the Achaemenid Empire. Darius held the empire at its peak, then including Egypt, and parts of Greece. The decay and downfall of the empire commenced with his death and the coronation of his son, Xerxes I.
• Darius ascended the throne by assassinating his predecessor Gaumata with the help of six other Persian noble families; Darius was crowned the following morning. The new emperor met with rebellions throughout his kingdom, and quelled them each time.
• A major event in Darius' life was his expedition to punish Athens and Eretria and subjugate Greece - an attempt which failed.
• Darius expanded his empire by conquering Thrace and Macedon, and invading the Saka, Iranian tribes who had invaded Medes and even killed Cyrus the Great.
• Darius organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and installing governors to govern each region. He organized a new monetary system, and made Aramaic the official language of the empire. Darius also worked on construction projects throughout the empire, particularly in Susa, Babylon, and Egypt. Darius created a codification of laws for Egypt.

Biographical information taken from Wikipedia.org

Download this free copy of the Last Will and Testament of heiress Doris Duke.

• Doris Duke (1912-1993) was an American heiress, horticulturalist, art collector and philanthropist.
• When Doris was just 12 years old, her father died and left her a fortune estimated at about $100 million. At the age of 14, she took her mother to court and successfully prevented her from selling the family's 2,700 acre estate.
• When Duke came of age, she used her wealth to pursue a variety of interests, including extensive world travel and the arts. During World War II, she worked in a canteen for sailors in Egypt, taking a salary of one dollar a year. She apparently spoke nine languages.
• In 1945, Duke began a short-lived career as a foreign correspondent for the International News Service, reporting from different cities across the war-ravaged Europe. After the war, she moved to Paris and wrote for the magazine Harper's Bazaar.
• While living in Hawaii, Duke became the first woman to take up competition surfing. A lover of animals, in particular her dogs and pet camels, in her later years Duke became a wildlife refuge supporter, an environmental conservationist, and a patron of historic preservation.

Biographical material taken from Wikipedia.com.

Elizabeth Edwards (1949-2010), best-selling author and US health care activist, was also the wife of North Carolina Senator John Edwards. This is a copy of her Last Will and Testament.

• Elizabeth obtained a law degree from UNC and practiced law until 1996.
• Edwards was well known for her support of universal health care and gay marriage, and her opposition to the war in Iraq, which were points of disagreement between her and her husband. She was a staunch advocate for women's health, especially cancer patients.
• Senator Edwards' revelations about his extramarital affair caused many Americans to rally around in support of his wife. She separated from him in 2010, and died of cancer later that year.

Download this free copy of the last will and testament of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994).

• Jacqueline Lee Bouvier Kennedy Onassis was the wife of the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, and served as First Lady during his presidency from 1961 until his assassination in 1963.
• The Kennedys had two children, Caroline and John Jr. Like any First Lady, Jacqueline was thrust into the spotlight and while she did not mind giving interviews or being photographed, she preferred to maintain as much privacy as possible for herself and her children.
• She was later married to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis from 1968 until his death in 1975.
• In later years she had a successful career as a book editor. She is remembered for her contributions to the arts and historic preservation, her unique sense of style and elegance, and her public stoicism in the wake of President Kennedy's assassination.

Biographical material taken from Wikipedia.com.

Download this free copy of the Last Will of Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962).

• Marilyn Monroe, an American actress, singer and model, was born Norma Jeane Mortenson, but baptized Norma Jeane Baker.
• After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946. Her early roles were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950) were well received.
• She was praised for her comedic ability in such films as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Marry a Millionaire, Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch, and became one of Hollywood's most popular and glamorous performers.
• The typecasting of Monroe's "dumb blonde" persona limited her career prospects, so she broadened her range. She studied at the Actors Studio and formed Marilyn Monroe Productions. Her dramatic performance in William Inge's Bus Stop was hailed by critics, and she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like it Hot.
• The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for being unreliable and difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide," the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as the possibility of homicide, have not been ruled out.
• In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

Biographical material taken from Wikipedia.com.