Idiom Origins - For whom the bell tolls - History of For whom the bell tolls

For whom the bell tolls

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Origin of: For whom the bell tolls

For whom the bell tolls

This phrase was coined by John Donne in Devotions written in 1623. The full quotation is, “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.” It was famously borrowed of course by Ernest Hemingway as a book title, For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940).