Frequently Documented "lasts"
Most commonly documented lasts include a last surviving veteran of a war, last speakers of extinct languages, or generally last surviving members of any type of formal, professional or cultural group. These are often brought to public attention at the time of death in an obituary or news story; frequently the facts that a person is a "last" of a group is the only obvious reason that their obituary or death notice would get national or international attention—a cultural phenomenon that underscores the interest in last. When such events occur they are often tagged with the phrase "end of an era . . . ." In terms of objects, last examples of architecture or building use or building architect are one potential criterion for inclusion in a State and National Register of Historic Places. Museums will often display last examples of particular objects, the last known work of a noted artist, or the stuffed remains of the last example of a species that has reached extinction.
Read more about this topic: Notable Last Facts
Famous quotes containing the words frequently and/or lasts:
“We are frequently told that talents and genius are natural gifts; and so indeed they are, to the same extent that the productions of the garden and the field are natural gifts.”
—U. R., U.S. women’s magazine contributor. American Ladies Magazine, pp. 317-19 (June, 1829)
“We saw the machinery where murderers are now executed. Seven have been executed. The plan is better than the old one. It is quietly done. Only a few, at the most about thirty or forty, can witness [an execution]. It excites nobody outside of the list permitted to attend. I think the time for capital punishment has passed. I would abolish it. But while it lasts this is the best mode.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)