Ancient, Curious, and Famous Wills (1911)

This collection of wills will be enjoyed by the layman, the lawyer and the scholar as a reflection of the individual cited and of their times. All sorts of wills from the sublime to the absurd are included, such as the will of a pig, clauses in wills concerning slaves, the wills that established the Nobel Prize and the Rhodes scholarship, and many more.

This fascinating volume contains the text of wills that are "ancient" Confucius' will, Solon's introduction of wills to the ancient Greeks; wills that are "curious" a will that attempts to bequeath property to the devil, bequests to pets; and wills of the "famous" well-known authors (Rabelais, Dickens, etc.), European royalty (Napoleon, Mary Queen of Scots, etc.) and U.S. presidents (George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, etc.). Well-indexed by subject and name.