Sadists will remember you forever

The Marquis de Sade (Donatien Alphonse-François de Sade) died on this day in 1814.

The most famous name in pornography – he gave his name to the term sadism – spent much of his life in prison, and did most of his writing there. He spent the last 13 years of his life in an insane asylum in Charenton, France. There he wrote plays to be performed by the inmates for the public.

At Charenton he had an affair with Madeleine Leclerc, a 13-year-old employee of the establishment.

He was buried in Charenton. His skull was later removed from the grave for phrenological examination. His son had all his remaining unpublished manuscripts burned.

In his will he also wrote:

"Once the grave is filled in, acorns are to be scatted over it, so that in time the grave is again overgrown, and when the undergrowth is grown as it was before, the traces of my grave will vanish from the face of the earth as I like to think memory of me will be effaced from men's minds, save for the tiny band of those who were kind enough to be fond of me to the end and of whom I carry a very warm memory to the grave."