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10 Bizarre Deaths in History
We know that death comes to everyone sooner or later and it’s not something that many would like to ponder on. Many times, death comes in very unusual ways. Here are some strange deaths that have happened throughout history.
Tennessee Williams (1911 – 1983): Death by Bottle Cap
Williams was a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning American playwright known for psychological dramas such as “The Glass Menagerie” (1945), “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1948), and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” (1955). Williams died in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York after accidentally choking on a bottle cap. He would customarily open the eyedrop bottle with his mouth, and then lean backwards to place eyedrops in each eye. According to the police report, his lack of gag response was largely the result of drugs and alcohol abuse.
Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889 – 1944): Death by Strings and Pulleys
Midgley was an American mechanical engineer turned chemist best known for his controversial discoveries of tetra-ethyl lead (TEL), a gasoline additive dubbed as ethyl by General Motors to avoid any mention of the highly toxic substance lead that prevents internal combustion engine from knocking; and Freon, a chlorinated fluorocarbon (CFC) used as a non-toxic refrigerant in household appliances. In 1941, Midgley contracted polio that left him severely handicapped, so he devised an intricate network of strings and pulleys to assist others lift him from bed. This system became the ultimate cause of his death when he got himself entangled and died of strangulation in 1944, some three decades prior to the discovery of the destructive effects of CFC on the ozone layer.
Attila the Hun (c.405 – 453): Death from Nosebleed
Attila, the leader of the Huns, earned the nickname the “Scourge of God” for his brutality and rapacity. Under his leadership, his army conquered large areas of central and eastern Europe and ravaged Italy in the declining years of the Roman Empire. In spite of his fearsome reputation, Attila was well-known for being a light eater during large banquets. However, on his very own latest wedding feast, he let himself loose, stuffing himself heavily with food and drink. He suffered a severe nosebleed sometime during the night and drowned in his own blood in a stupor.
Tycho Brahe (1546 – 1601): Death from Failure to Heed Nature’s Call
Brahe was a Danish nobleman credited for the most accurate astronomical and planetary observations of his time, a remarkable achievement in the days before telescopes. Brahe, known for his immoderate drinking habits, already had bladder problems but was not able to relieve himself before the banquet started. However, he made his condition worse by drinking excessively during dinner that he had to hold his pee for the entire duration of the unusually long banquet for it was taken as an extreme insult to the host to leave an unfinished meal. His actions resulted in an infection caused by a severely strained bladder, ultimately leading to his painful death 11 days later.
Li Bai (701 – 762 AD): Death by Embracing the Moon’s Reflection
Li, considered as one of the greatest poets in the history of China, was well known for his love for alcoholic beverages and often created in his best poetries while intoxicated. One evening, Li Bai drowned in the Yangtze River, having fallen off his boat in his drunken attempt to embrace the moon’s reflection in the water.
Adolf Frederick (1710 – 1771): Death by Favorite Dessert
Adolf Frederick was the King of Sweden from 1751 until his death due to indigestion, after having overindulged himself with more than a dozen servings of his favorite dessert, semla served in a bowl of hot milk, on top of a meal comprising of lobster, sauerkraut, caviar, smoked herring and champagne. Accordingly, he is most remembered as “the king who ate himself to death” by Swedish schoolchildren.
Clement Vallandigham (1820 – 1871): Death by Court Demonstration
Vallandigham was a controversial Ohio politician who resumed his successful law practice after the American Civil War. He was one of the defense attorneys representing the murder suspect Thomas McGehan in a case for killing a certain Tom Myers during a barroom scuffle. He sought to demonstrate to the jury of the possibility that Myers accidentally killed himself while attempting to draw his pistol from a kneeling position. He reenacted the scene grabbing a gun he thought to be unloaded and ended up shooting himself. Though he died from his wound, he succeeded in convincing the jury and got his client acquitted.
Franz Reichelt (18?? – 1912): Death by Parachute-Overcoat Failure
Reichelt was an Austrian tailor who attempted to combine his interest in tailoring and aviation by creating a garment that would serve both as an overcoat and a parachute. He desired to demonstrate his invention by jumping off the Eiffel Tower, which was the tallest man-made structure in the world at the time. He had informed the authorities that a dummy would first be used, but decided at the last minute to do it himself. On February 4, 1912, he stepped from a platform of the Eiffel Tower with unfounded confidence and fell to his death, all of which were recorded by the press cameras.
François Vatel (1631 – 1671): Death by Delayed Delivery
Vatel, chef to Louis XIV of France, was famous for creating the sweet vanilla-flavored whipped cream known as the Chantilly cream, which was served at the banquet given by Louis II de Bourbon in honor of the king. At the very same banquet, Vatel was overly distressed over the tardiness of his seafood order that he ran himself through a sword as he could not bear the disgrace of a delayed meal. His body was discovered by his assistant, who was sent to inform him that his order had arrived.
James Creighton, Jr. (1841 – 1862): Death by Baseball Bat Swing
Creighton, a baseball player regarded by sports historians to be the game’s first superstar, was credited for throwing the first fastball and accomplishing the first recorded triple play. In 1862, the 21-year-old Creighton suddenly died in the middle of his greatest season yet. At the time, players swung huge bats almost completely with their upper body; and it was alleged that Creighton swung the bat too forcefully causing an internal injury, probably a ruptured bladder or inguinal hernia. He managed to continue playing despite the excruciating pain; and died a few days later at his parent’s place.
Click on the following links for some more articles on the unusual, the strange and the bizarre:
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50 Comments
Y’all forgot Aeschylus!
In the year 456 B.C., the Greek playwright, Aeschylus was killed when a turtle was dropped on his head by an eagle.
Very interesting. Seems dying in your sleep isn’t so bad afterall.
Really strange! Great work!
great article. loved it
I like this one Sir Ed, this only shows that death comes in many fashion.. LOL.
Great article. There are lots of things that it would be nice to be famous for, but dying in a bizzare way is not one of them.
I love this! I have heard of some of them but your research and writing is wonderful. I can’t wait to read more from you. And here’s hoping we all have a long happy life and die in a less unusual way!
Fun to read.
(How do you find the time to look all this stuff up : )
Grant
Nicely written, informative, holds the readers interest. Excellent piece
Very informative piece and I agree with Cameron Drew, this article definitely holds the reader’s interest. Job well done!!
History is another favorite of mine,your article makes me laugh though. Brilliant piece!
That’s very bizarre!
Whoa! This is just truly unique!
Blesslings.
Sincerely,
-Liane Schmidt.
Wow, well i guess you could die just about any way.
Great stuff, but very bizarre
you forgot a lot of people…
Julius Ceasar – Died because of fever
Aeschylus – A turtle hit his head
Achilles – an arrow hit his ankle
(I forgot the name of the kid) – died because of playing computer games for 50 hours straight
Ferdinand Marcos – He died because he was rotting to death
Bob Marley – Bugs in his hair
Nasty Mac – Died because of high blood pressure at the age of 22
a lot more… I can’t remember their names
These deaths are truely strange.
excellent article…
a really good read. thank you for this one!
Very interesting.
always answer when nature calls
That parachute/overcoat thing was a pretty serious wardrobe malfunction:)
Love the one about the parachute overcoat!
Very strange.
Brahe’s work is the springboard of all the Theory of Gravitation. It’s so strange he died in such death!
what a wonderful article about odd deaths of many people in the history.
Bizarre indeed!
Thanks for all your wonderful comments!
Take care and God bless!
Wow I learned a lot of new stuff here today Eddie! Thanks that was interesting.
Rare deceased.
LOL I loved this article!
Ouch… death by not peeing. I hold in sometimes. Gotta try and not do that anymore.
I guess we have to live day by day.Because tomorrow is not promised to no one.
Man’s ingenuity is showed even in his ways of exiting the scene. Cool!
Read this one second, pleased to see you included Tycho–death by burst bladder is always a classic. In college I saw a film made up of old “age of invention” pre-WWI clips and it included the jump by Franz Reichelt. I still laugh when I think about it. It’s not funny, I know, the guy died, but I can’t help it. It was hilarious.
Doesn’t these make anyone else wonder how they will die? They do me! I have had some odd things happen to me in my life like when I got thrown through the windshield of my brother’s car and didn’t even have to go to the doctor. I can’t help but wonder what it will be that brings me down–probably die in my sleep, but I sure would like to know for sure.
Great piece–it sure got me to thinking again.
Damon
Nice work, I really enjoyed it. Its like a Darwin Awards spanning all of history, good stuff.
Another fantastic piece.
cool stuff
awesome, it’s so cool to read stuff that is off the wall.
This was very interesting…almost sad in a way, but interesting nonetheless! Thanks for sharing!
that was really interesting to read i liked it very much
cool!
death by unusual means always deserves attention!
These articles are great, keep them coming!
So people have been stupid for a long time! How refreshing, I thought it was a modern day invention, stupidity that is.
Great article, I love reading stuff like this.
Excellent. Informative. Bizarre.
Ha! I just went through both parts to this series and was fascinated by the information.
I especially enjoyed the clips of Rasputin and Alexander Litvinekno.
My writer’s mind is already working these two tid-bits over.
Great work.
JP Baclayon, mostly good stuff, but where did you hear that absolute garbage about Marley? Bugs in his hair? Seriously? Unless that’s some ghetto slang for brain cancer that I’ve never heard of…
Otherwise, great post!
Well done! Another Great Article. I am your fan
Very interesting information. Unique deaths, mostly of which that I have never heard of before. I like how you added Rasputin on the second one. Jack Daniel’s was a very ironic story. Thank you!!!