Misattributed quotes

I am one of those who think like Nobel, that humanity will draw more good than evil from new discoveries.

This is actually is the last sentence of the Nobel lecture of her husband Pierre Curie. Read the full notes

I hate the word homophobia. It's not a phobia. You are not scared. You are an asshole.

@MorgonFreeman on Twitter, a now-defunct account also known as "Tweets from God". This Twitter account was never written or controlled by Freeman, and was a parody of his character in the films Bruce Almighty and Evan Almighty. snopes.com… Read the full notes

Candour is the brightest gem of criticism.

Isaac D'Israeli, The Curiosities of Literature, "Literary Journals". Read the full notes

Anyone who would go to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined!

Reported in Paul F. Boller, John George, They Never Said It (1990), p. 42. A similar quote appears in the landmark book by Hollingshead and Redlich, Social Class and Mental Illness (1958), p. 237: The old saw, 'Anyone who goes to a… Read the full notes

Tolerance will reach such a level that intelligent people will be banned from thinking so as not to offend the imbeciles.

Though attributed to Dostoevsky on social media, there is no record of him making such a statement. Read the full notes

You can't just let nature run wild.

Walter Joseph Hickel, on the killing of wolves, as quoted in Living With Wolves (2005) by James Dutcher. p. 8 Read the full notes

That flag and I are twins, born in the same hour from the same womb of destiny. We cannot be parted in life or in death.

This statement was attributed to Jones in a 1900 biography by Augustus C. Buell which contains much material now believed to have been fabricated by Buell. Read the full notes

Never believe the speech of all men, nor all the things that you hear sung.

The Proverbs of Alfred, st. 19, as published in The Dialogue of Salomon and Saturnus (1848), edited by John Mitchell Kemble, p. 237. Read the full notes

It is by acts and not by ideas that people live.

Anatole France, as quoted in The Ironic Temper : Anatole France and His Time (1932) Read the full notes

I will study and get ready, and perhaps my chance will come.

Attributed in Laura Haddock (1931), Steps Upward in Personality Read the full notes

Those who hammer their guns into plows will plow for those who do not.

According to the Jefferson Library, this is misattributed to Jefferson. Read the full notes

All whites are created equal with certain rights, among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of dead niggers.

At a February 10, 1956 rally of the White Citizens' Council in the Montgomery Agricultural Coliseum, as quoted in Robert Caro’s Master of the Senate. However, it actually came from the handbill "Declaration of Segregation" handed out… Read the full notes

I see myself as Rhoda, not Mary Tyler Moore.

Not Iris Murdoch, but the actress and comedian Rosie O'Donnell. See George Mair Rosie O'Donnell: Her True Story (1997) p. 81. Read the full notes

Numerous remarks that were previously attributed (in some cases correctly) to Dan Quayle

See, for example, Margo Kingston (2000-11-20), "From the lips of a likely leader of the free world ...", Sydney Morning Herald. Read the full notes

The musicians play their instruments. I play the orchestra.

Commonly quoted but merely appears in the film "Jobs." But probably not based on a real source? Read the full notes

The worst mistake a boss can make is not to say "well done".

John Ashcroft, a British business executive (born 1948), as quoted in Sunday Telegraph (5 June 1988) Read the full notes

Widespread poverty and concentrated wealth cannot long endure side by side in a democracy

Attributed to Jefferson in speeches by FDR and JFK, but actually a quote about Jefferson by Charles A. Beard in 1936. Read the full notes

Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.

Though Patton commissioned this prayer and ordered 250,000 copies of it printed with his signature, it was actually composed by Chief Chaplain James H. O'Neill Review of the News (6 October 1971) Read the full notes

… the use of nuclear weapons is Iran's right.

correct translation: "Iran has the right to nuclear energy." | "CNN allowed to resume work in Iran after apology", Reuters, 17 January 2006 Read the full notes

Whoever controls the volume of money in any country is absolute master of all industry and commerce.... And when you realize the entire system is very easily controlled, one way or another, by a few powerful men at the top, you will not have to be told how periods of inflation and depression originate.

The first sentence, attributed to Garfield since the 1890s, is almost certainly a paraphrase of Garfield's "absolute dictator" quote, above. The second part is a late 20th-century commentary misattributed to Garfield. Read the full notes