Historic and Famous Wills and the Stories They Tell

Halloween is a night of ghosts, séances, locked doors, and things that refuse to stay buried. It is hard to imagine a more appropriate day for Harry Houdini to have died. On October 31, 1926, Harry Houdini died at age 52. He had escaped from handcuffs, chains,...

William Shakespeare gave the world Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and some of the most famous words ever written in the English language. When it came time to make his own last statement about what should happen to his property, however, Shakespeare...

O.J. Simpson was once one of the most famous athletes in America. He won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Southern California, became an NFL superstar, and later built a successful second career as an actor, television personality, and advertising spokesman....

Most wills distribute property. Alfred Nobel’s will created something much larger. When Nobel died in 1896, the Swedish inventor and industrialist left most of his enormous fortune not to his family, but to a fund that would reward people whose work provided the...

Most unusual wills create family disputes. Peter Thellusson’s will did something much more remarkable: it helped cause the English Parliament to change the law. Thellusson was an extraordinarily wealthy eighteenth-century merchant and banker. When he died in 1797,...

When Elvis Presley died at Graceland on August 16, 1977, at only 42 years old, he left behind far more than a famous mansion. He left music royalties, contracts, personal property, real estate and one of the most valuable names in entertainment history. He also left a...

When billionaire hotel owner Leona Helmsley died in 2007, one provision in her will attracted more attention than anything else: she directed that $12 million be placed in trust for the care of her dog, Trouble. The bequest became one of the most famous examples of an...

Few wills in history are as fascinating as that of Napoleon Bonaparte. The former Emperor of the French did not merely distribute his property. He used his Last Will and Testament as one final political statement, a personal defense of his legacy, and, perhaps, one...

Few celebrities have left behind a larger cultural legacy than Michael Jackson. Known as the "King of Pop," Jackson revolutionized music, dance, and entertainment. Yet when he died unexpectedly on June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, he left behind not only grieving fans...

Thomas Jefferson is remembered as the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, the third President of the United States, the founder of the University of Virginia, and one of America's greatest political philosophers. Yet when Jefferson died on July 4,...