Napoleon Bonaparte
While the man had a complex named after him, even though he wasn’t all that short. He was average for his day, but differences in measuring formats made the English think he was shorter, which they played up for politics. Yet he’s still remembered as a little shorty, and he definitely had his eccentricities.
In his last will and testament, for example, he requested that his head be shaved, and his hair be divided among friends. Now there’s a keepsake that is sure to raise some eyebrows. We wonder how much hair each person got. Were these four people? Or was this a hundred people each getting a single strand of worn-out hair?
Charles Dickens
He's the man we can thank for Christmas. When he wrote A Christmas Carol, Christmas celebrations weren't in vogue, and it was his triumphant and life-changing book that flipped the switch in England, setting off a culture change that still hasn't reversed. His odd life and unique sensibilities produced plenty of other notable works such as David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities, and his will also stands out.
He demanded that all mourners attending his services would not be allowed to wear scarves, cloaks, black bows, long hatbands or, as he put it, any other “revolting absurdity.” Come on, people. Smile.
Harry Houdini
No magician, illusionist, or escape artist has gotten as much fame as Houdini – his name has become code for someone who can't be tied down. There's another code associated with him, however. Toward the end of his life, he became interested in the spiritual and the afterlife, attending seances with his wife.
In his will, he left a code for his wife – if she was able to contact him after his death, he would give the code to prove it was really him. Every year on the date of his death (Halloween), she held seances, but was apparently never able to contact him. Which, let's be real, shocker.
Gene Roddenberry
He's the man who brought science-fiction into the public eye with "Star Trek," and his guiding hand made it possible for viewers and fans to see the stars in ways we had never imagined. Of course, Roddenberry wanted his final resting place to be beyond the surly bonds of Earth.
He requested that he “boldly go where no man has gone before.” He wanted his ashes scattered in space, and he got his final wish. After he died in 1997 his ashes got taken up to space via a satellite and were released. He's still up there, somewhere.
Phillip Seymour Hoffman
Known as one of the greatest actors of his generation, Hoffman knew the value of hard work. For this reason, he didn't want his children turning into “trust fund kids,” and so he left everything to his girlfriend instead. In addition, he stipulated that his son Cooper should be raised in three different cities: New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.
Why you might ask? We don't know why. Maybe he wanted the boy to have a rounded education, or maybe he just hated Los Angeles. One way or the other, it happened, which means Hoffman is smiling down from wherever he is.