The list of unusual deaths
This is a list of unusual deaths, including unique or extremely rare causes of death recorded throughout history, as well as less rare but still unusual causes of death of prominent persons.
456 BC: Aeschylus, Greek dramatist, according to legend, died when a vulture, mistaking his bald head for a stone, dropped a tortoise on it.
453: Attila the Hun, suffered a severe nosebleed and choked to death on his wedding night.
1063: Eight Deer Jaguar Claw, Mixtec ruler, served as a human sacrifice.
1277: Pope John XXI was killed in the collapse of his scientific laboratory.
1534: Pope Clement VII who died after eating the death cap mushroom.
1601: Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer, died of a bladder infection after refusing to leave for the bathroom during a banquet for the sake of good manners. However, newer research suggests that he died of mercury poisoning.
1626: Francis Bacon, English philosopher, statesman, and essayist, died of possible pneumonia after purchasing a chicken to see if cold could preserve meat, and becoming chilled while stuffing it with snow.
1671: François Vatel, chef to Louis XIV committed suicide because his seafood order was late and he couldn't stand the shame of a postponed meal. His body was discovered by an aide, sent to tell him of the arrival of the fish.
1687: Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer, died of a gangrenous abscess after piercing his foot with a staff while he was vigorously conducting a Te Deum.
1783: James Otis, American patriot, struck and killed by lightning.
1834: David Douglas, Scottish Botanist, who fell in a pit trap, and was crushed by a bull that fell in the same pit.
1841: William Henry Harrison, ninth President of the United States, gave the longest inaugural address in the history of the United States in heavy snow and caught a cold. It developed into pneumonia and killed him in a month.
1850: Zachary Taylor, twelfth President of the United States, following ceremonies on an exceptionally hot July 4, Taylor had ate a large quantity of iced milk and cherries then fell ill with acute indigestion and died five days later, after only 16 months in office. This lead to speculation he might have been poisoned which in turn led to his body being exhumed and his rest disturbed in the early 1990's.
1867: William Bullock (inventor), accidentally killed by his own invention, the web rotary press.
1884: Allan Pinkerton, detective, died of gangrene resulting from having bitten his tongue after stumbling on the sidewalk.
1888: Charles-Valentin Alkan, composer and pianist, died when a bookcase collapsed on him when he was reaching for a copy of the Talmud from the top shelf.
1911: Jack Daniel, founder of the famous Tennessee whiskey distillery, died of blood poisoning due to a toe injury he received after kicking his safe in anger when he could not remember its combination code.
1915: François Faber, Luxembourgean Tour de France winner, died in a trench on the western front of World War I. He received a telegram saying his wife had given birth to a daughter. He cheered, giving away his position, and was shot by a German sniper.
1916: Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic, died of hypothermia while swimming to shore after having been poisoned, shot multiple times in the head and torso, bludgeoned, mutilated (severed penis), wrapped in a sheet and dropped into the river Neva through a hole in the winter ice.
1923: Frank Hayes, jockey, suffered a heart attack during a horse race. The horse, Sweet Kiss, went on to finish first, making Hayes the only deceased jockey to win a race.
1927: Isadora Duncan, dancer, died of accidental strangulation and broken neck when her scarf caught on the wheel of a car in which she was a passenger.
1933: Michael Malloy, a homeless man, was murdered by gassing after surviving multiple poisonings, intentional exposure, and being struck by a car. Malloy was murdered by five men in a plot to collect on life insurance policies they'd purchased.
1941: Sherwood Anderson, writer, swallowed a toothpick at a party and then died of peritonitis.
1968: Thomas Merton, Trappist monk, author, accidentally electrocuted to death while taking a bath.
1971: Jerome Irving Rodale, an American pioneer of organic farming, died of a heart attack while being interviewed on the Dick Cavett Show. When he appeared to fall asleep, Cavett quipped "Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?".[1] The show was never broadcast.
1974: Christine Chubbuck, an American television news reporter committed suicide during a live broadcast on July 15th. At 9:38 AM, 8 minutes into her talk show, on WXLT-TV in Sarasota, Florida, she drew out a revolver and shot herself in the head.
1977: Tom Pryce, a Formula One driver, and a 19-year-old track marshal both died at the 1977 South African Grand Prix after the marshal ran across the track beyond a blind brow to attend to another car and was struck by Pryce's car. Pryce was hit in the face by the marshal's fire extinguisher and killed instantly.
1978: Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian dissident, was assassinated by poisoning in London by an unknown assailant who jabbed him in the leg with a specially designed umbrella that injected a pellet of ricin into the victim.
1982: Vic Morrow, actor, was decapitated by helicopter blade during filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie and was killed instantly, along with two child actors.
1982: Vladimir Smirnov, an Olympic champion fencer, died of brain damage nine days after his opponent's foil snapped during a match, pierced his eyeball and entered his brain.
1983: Sergei Chalibashvili, a professional diver, died after a diving accident during World University Games. When he attempted a three-and-a-half reverse somersault in the tuck position, he smashed his head on the board and was knocked unconscious. He died after being in a coma for a week.
1984: Jon-Erik Hexum, an American television actor, died after he shot himself in the head with a prop gun during a break in filming. Whether he deliberately committed suicide or was simply unaware of the potentially deadly effects of the blank round was not determined.
1986: Jane Dornacker, a musician, actress and comedienne turned radio station traffic reporter, died after a helicopter owned by New York's WNBC 660AM in which she was a passenger crashed into the Hudson River. The fatal crash occurred as Dornacker was delivering a traffic report, and was broadcast live on air.
1987: R. Budd Dwyer, a Republican politician, committed suicide during a televised press conference. Facing a potential 55-year jail sentence for alleged involvement in a conspiracy, Dwyer shot himself in the head with a revolver.
1993: Brandon Lee, the son of Bruce Lee, was shot and killed by a prop 44 Magnum while filming the movie The Crow. Unknown to the film crew, the tip of a dummy round broke off in the chamber of the weapon during practice. When a blank round was later fired in the gun, the tip shot out and fatally wounded Lee.
1999: Owen Hart, WWF wrestler, died when he fell 78 feet while being lowered into the ring by a cable from the stadium rafters before an upcoming match, snapping his neck.
2003: Brian Wells, pizza deliveryman, was killed by a time bomb fastened to his neck after he was apprehended by the police for robbing a bank - purportedly under duress from the maker of the bomb.
2005: A Seattle man died after engaging in anal sex with a horse at a farm suspected of being a gathering place for people seeking to have sex with livestock
To every man upon this earth
Death cometh sooner or late
And how can a man die better
Than facing fearful odds
For the ashes of his fathers
And the temples of his Gods
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Originally Posted by Beemer
I remember that... I used to like him and Brett (??) his brother and the bushwackers (haha go figure)
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