List of unusual deaths 656245 226147631 2008-07-17T01:08:32Z NJGW 6012605 probably a tortoise as they live on land and are have more density {{Dynamic list}} This article provides a '''list of unusual deaths''' &ndash; unique or extremely rare circumstances &ndash; recorded throughout history. The list also includes less rare, but still unusual, deaths of prominent people. To be included on this list, an unusual death has to receive mention in the Wikipedia article of a person, or the death itself has to be the focus of an article. ==Antiquity== ''Note: Many of these stories are likely to be [[apocryphal]] (uncertain authenticity)'' * [[458 BC]]: [[Aeschylus]], Greek playwright, was killed when an eagle dropped a live tortoise on him, mistaking his bald head for a stone. The tortoise survived.<ref name="S33">Sommerstein, Alan H. (1996), Aeschylean Tragedy, Bari . p.33</ref> *[[454 BC]]: [[Inarus]], Egyptian Pharaoh and leader of the rebellion in Egypt against Persian rule, was taken captive to [[Susa]] after being defeated by the satrap Megabyzus. There, after five years, he was impaled on three stakes and [[Flaying|flayed]] alive.<ref>http://www.indopedia.org/Inarus.html</ref> * [[270 BC]]: [[Philitas of Cos]], poet and critic reportedly wasted away and died of [[insomnia]] while brooding about the [[Liar paradox]].<ref>Donaldson, John William and Müller, Karl Otfried. ''A History of the Literature of Ancient Greece'', p. 262. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1858.</ref> *[[207 BC]]: [[Chrysippus]], a Greek [[stoic]] [[philosopher]], is believed to have [[Fatal hilarity|died of laughter]] after watching his drunk donkey attempt to eat [[fig]]s.<ref>''ibid.'', p. 27.</ref> *[[53 BC]]: [[Marcus Licinius Crassus]] was executed by having [[molten]] [[gold]] poured down his throat, following his defeat at [[Battle of Carrhae|Carrhae]] at the hands of the [[Parthians]] under [[Spahbod]] [[Surena]]. Some accounts claim that his head was then cut off and used as a stage prop in a play performed for the Parthian king [[Orodes II]].<ref>http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/people/a/crassus_3.htm</ref> *[[42 BC]]: [[Porcia Catonis]], wife of [[Marcus Junius Brutus]], killed herself by supposedly swallowing hot coals after hearing of her husband's death; however, modern historians claim that it is more likely that she poisoned herself with carbon monoxide, by burning coals in an unventilated room.<ref>[http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=church&book=cicero&story=cato&PHPSESSID=7450ad8fcc752871fbacf1a3e5b39289 Roman Life in the Days of Cicero, Alfred J. Church]</ref> *[[4 BC]]: [[Herod the Great]] suffered from fever, intense rashes, colon pains, [[foot drop]], inflammation of the abdomen, a putrefaction of his genitals that produced worms, convulsions, and difficulty breathing before he finally gave up. <ref>Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Book 17, Chapter 6</ref> Similar symptoms-- abdominal pains and worms-- accompanied the death of his grandson [[Herod Agrippa]] in [[44]] AD, after he had imprisoned [[St Peter]]. At various times, each of these deaths has been considered divine retribution.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} *[[64]] - [[67]]: [[St Peter]] was executed by the Romans. According to many sources, he asked not to be [[crucifixion|crucified]] in the normal way, but was instead executed on an [[Cross of St. Peter|inverted cross]]. He said he was not worthy to be crucified the same way Jesus was. *[[81]]: According to the [[Babylonian Talmud]]<ref>T.B. Gittin 56b</ref>, an insect flew into the Roman emperor [[Titus]]'s nose and picked at his brain for seven years. He noticed that the sound of a blacksmith hammering caused the ensuing pain to abate, so he paid for blacksmiths to hammer nearby him; however, the effect wore off and the insect resumed its gnawing. When he died, they opened his skull and found the insect had grown to the size of a bird. The Talmud gives this as the cause of his death and interprets it as divine retribution for his wicked actions in destroying the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.<ref>Medicine in the Bible and Talmud, Fred Rosner, p.76. Pub. 1995, KTAV Publishing House, ISBN 0-88125-506-8. </ref> Tales of his fate are also found in Christian sources, and the phrase "Titus's flea" has come to refer to any idea that gnaws at one's brain. *C. [[98]] [[Saint Antipas]], Bishop of Pergamum, was roasted to death in a [[brazen bull]] during the persecutions of Emperor [[Domitian]]. [[Saint Eustace]], as well as his wife and children supposedly suffered a similar fate under [[Hadrian]]. The creator of the brazen bull, Perillos of Athens, was according to legend the first victim of the brazen bull when he presented his invention to [[Phalaris]], Tyrant of [[Agrigentum]].<ref>http://home.iprimus.com.au/xenos/antipas.html</ref> *[[258]]: [[St Lawrence]] was executed by being burned or 'grilled' on a large metal gridiron at Rome. Images of him often show him holding the instrument of his execution. Legend says that he was so strong-willed that instead of giving in to the Romans and releasing information about the Church, at the point of death he exclaimed "Manduca, iam coctum est." ("Eat, for it is well done.") *[[260]]: [[Roman Empire|Roman]] emperor [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]], after being defeated in battle and captured by the [[Sassanid dynasty|Persians]], was used as a footstool by the King [[Shapur I of Persia|Shapur I]]. After a long period of punishment and humiliation, he offered Shapur a huge ransom for his release. In reply, Shapur had the unfortunate emperor skinned alive and his skin stuffed with straw or dung and preserved as a trophy. Only after the Sassanid dynasty's defeat in their last war with Rome three and a half centuries later was his skin given a cremation and burial.<ref>[[Lactantius]], ''De Mortibus Persecutorum'', v; Wickert, L., "Licinius (Egnatius) 84" in ''[[Pauly-Wissowa|Pauly-Wissowa, Realencyclopädie]]'' 13.1 (1926), 488-495; Parker, H., ''A History of the Roman World A.D. 138 to 337'' (London, 1958), 170. From [http://www.roman-emperors.org/gallval.htm].</ref> (A recent report from Iran mentions the restoration of a bridge supposed to have been built by Valerian and his soldiers for Shapur in return for their freedom).<ref>[http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=1171&sectionid=351020107 "Iran to restore ancient bridge built by captive Roman emperor"] ''Press TV'', 02 Mar 2007</ref> *[[336]]: [[Arius]], the heretical priest who precipitated the Council of Nicea, [[Flatulence|passed wind]] and evacuated his internal organs. <ref>http://www.answers.com/topic/arius</ref> *[[415]]: [[Hypatia of Alexandria]], Greek mathematician and philosopher, was murdered by a mob by having her skin ripped off with sharp sea-shells and what remained of her burned. (Various types of shells have been named: clams, oysters, abalones. Other sources claim tiles or pottery-shards were used.)<ref>http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hypatia.html</ref><!-- ==Dark Ages== --> ==Middle Ages== *[[1135]]: [[Henry I of England]] is said to have died after gorging on [[lampreys]], his favourite food.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/southerncounties/content/articles/2007/09/18/inside_out_lamprey_feature.shtml "The pre-historic visitors"], ''BBC'', September 18, 2007</ref> *[[1258]]: [[Al-Musta'sim]] was killed during the Mongol invasion of the [[Abbasid Caliphate]]. [[Hulagu Khan]], not wanting to spill royal blood, had the Caliph wrapped in a rug and trampled to death by horses.<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/magazine/print?query=lamented&id=84&minGrade=&maxGrade= "The Mamluks"], Jame Waterson, ''History Today'', March, 2006</ref> *[[1277]]: [[Pope John XXI]] was killed in the collapse of his scientific [[laboratory]].<ref>[[Joseph Epiphane Darras]] and White, Charles Ignatius. ''A General History of the Catholic Church: From the Life of the Christian Era to the Twentieth Century'', pp. 406-7. New York: P. J. Kennedy, 1898.</ref> *[[1322]]: [[Humphrey de Bohun, 4th Earl of Hereford]] was fatally speared through the [[anus]] by a pikeman hidden under the bridge during the Battle of [[Boroughbridge]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Mortimer|first=Ian|authorlink=|coauthors=|title=The Greatest Traitor|year=2006|publisher=Thomas Dunne Books|location=Unknown|id=}} p. 124</ref> *[[1327]]: [[Edward II of England]], after being deposed and imprisoned by his [[Queen consort]] [[Isabella of France|Isabella]] and her lover [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March|Roger Mortimer]], was rumored to have been murdered by having a red-hot iron inserted into his anus.<ref>{{cite book |last=Schama |first=Simon |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=A History of Great Britain: 3000BC-AD1603|year=2000 |publisher=BBC Worldwide |location= London|id= }} p.220</ref> *[[1410]]: [[Martin I of Aragon]] died from a lethal combination of indigestion and uncontrollable laughing.<ref>[http://www.cc.jyu.fi/mirator/pdf/Morris.pdf "Patronage and Piety - Montserrat and the Royal House of Medeival Catalonia-Aragon"], Paul N. Morris, ''Mirator Lokakuu'', October, 2000</ref> *[[1478]]: [[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|George Plantagenet]], [[Duke of Clarence]] reportedly was executed by drowning in a barrel of [[Malvasia|Malmsey wine]]<ref>Thompson, C. J. S. ''Mysteries of History with Accounts of Some Remarkable Characters and Charlatans'', pp. 31 ''ff.'' Kila, MT: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.</ref> at his own request. *[[1514]]: [[György Dózsa]], [[székely]] man-at-arms and peasants' revolt leader was condemned to sit on a heated iron throne with a heated iron crown on his head and a heated sceptre in his hand (mocking at his ambition to be king). While Dózsa was suffering, he was set upon and eaten by six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved beforehand.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} ==Renaissance== *[[1556]]: The [[Mughal emperor]] [[Humayun]] was descending from the roof of his library after observing Venus , when he heard the ''mu'azaan'', or call to prayer. Humayun's practice was to bow his knee when he heard the ''azaan'', and when he did his foot caught the folds of his garment, causing him to fall down several flights. He died 3 days later of the injuries at the age of 47.<ref>[http://www.archive.org/details/historyofhumayun00gulbrich Gulbadan Begum, ''The History of Humayun (Humayun-nama)'']. Trans. & ed. Annette Beveridge, Royal Asiatic Soc. (London) 1902 (ISBN 81-215-1006-6)] Internet Archive. page 55.</ref> *[[1559]]: [[Henry II of France|King Henry II]] of France was killed during a [[jousting]] match, when his helmet's soft golden grille gave way to a broken lancetip which pierced his eye and entered his brain.<ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Henry_II_Of_France Classic Encyclopedia Web, Based on 1911 Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica]</ref> *[[1599]]: The [[Bamar|Burmese]] king [[Nanda Bayin]] reportedly "[[fatal hilarity|laughed to death]] when informed, by a visiting Italian merchant, that Venice was a free state without a king."<ref name="Miscellany">{{ cite book |title=Schott's Original Miscellany |author=Schott, Ben |location=London | publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2003 |id=ISBN 0-7475-6320-9 }}</ref> *[[1601]]: [[Tycho Brahe]], according to legend, died of complications resulting from a strained bladder at a banquet. It would have been extremely bad etiquette to leave the table before the meal was finished, so he stayed until he became fatally ill. This version of events has since been brought into question as other causes of death (murder by [[Johannes Kepler]], [[suicide]], and lead poisoning among others) have come to the fore.<ref>[http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Brahe.html Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601) - from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> *[[1626]]: [[Francis Bacon]] died of pneumonia contracted while filling a [[chicken]] with ice in order to prove that freezing preserves food.<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/filmnetwork/A14042099 "The Ghost Chicken of Highgate, London"], ''BBC'', October 31, 2006</ref> *[[1660]]: The [[scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat [[Thomas Urquhart]], [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais|Rabelais]] into English, is said to have died laughing upon hearing that [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] had taken the throne.<ref>{{cite book | title = Rabelais in English Literature | last = Brown | first = Huntington | isbn = 0-714-620-513 | publisher = Routledge | pages = p. 126 | year = 1968}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = The History of Scotish Poetry | publisher = Edmonston &amp; Douglas | year = 1861 | pages = p. 539}}</ref> *[[1671]]: [[François Vatel]], chef to [[Louis XIV of France|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. The authenticity of this story is questionable.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/65/va/Vatel-Fr.html Bartelby], but it states the authenticity is doubtful.</ref> *[[1673]]: [[Moliere#Death|Molière]], the French actor and playwright died after being seized by a violent coughing fit, whilst playing the title role in his play [[Le Malade imaginaire]] (The Imaginary Sickness).<ref>[http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1420 "Moliere,: The Imaginary Invalid"], ''NYU Literature, Arts, and Medicine Database'', October 23, 2003</ref> *[[1687]]: [[Jean-Baptiste Lully]], [[composer]], died of a [[gangrene|gangrenous]] [[abscess]] after piercing his foot with a staff while he was vigorously conducting a ''[[Te Deum]]'', as it was customary at that time to conduct by banging a staff on the floor. The performance was to celebrate the king's recovery from an illness.<ref>[http://www.vanderbilt.edu/htdocs/Blair/Courses/MUSL243/lullbio.htm Biography of Jean-Baptiste Lully], ''Vanderbilt University''</ref> ==Age of Reason== *[[1751]]: [[Julien Offray de La Mettrie]], the author of ''L'Homme machine'', a major materialist and sensualist philosopher died of overeating at a feast given in his honor. His philosophical adversaries suggested that by doing so, he had contradicted his theoretical doctrine with the effect of his practical actions.<ref>[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/ Julien Offray de La Mettrie Biography] ''Encyclopedia of World Biography''</ref> *[[1753]]: Professor [[Georg Wilhelm Richmann]], of [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], was struck and killed by a globe of [[ball lightning]] while observing a storm.<ref>[http://www.physicstoday.org/vol-59/iss-1/p42.html Benjamin Franklin and Lightning Rods] ''Physics Today'', January 2006</ref> *[[1771]]: King of [[Sweden]], [[Adolf Frederick of Sweden|Adolf Frederick]], died of digestion problems on [[February 12]], 1771 after having consumed a meal consisting of [[lobster]], [[caviar]], [[sauerkraut]], smoked [[herring]] and [[Champagne (wine)|champagne]], which was topped off with 14 servings of his favorite [[dessert]]: [[semla]] served in a bowl of hot [[milk]].<ref>[http://www.thelocal.se/6470/20070220/ The lowdown on Sweden's best buns] ''The Local'', February 2007</ref> He is thus remembered by Swedish schoolchildren as "the king who ate himself to death." <ref>[http://www.messengernews.net/page/content.detail/id/503630.html?nav=5007 Semlor are Swedish treat for Lent] Sandy Mickelson, ''The Messenger'', February 27, 2008</ref> ==Modern Age== ===19th century=== *[[1830]]: [[William Huskisson]], statesman and financier, was crushed to death by the world's first mechanically powered passenger train ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at its public opening.<ref>[http://www.lmu.livjm.ac.uk/lhol/content.aspx?itemid=329 "Huskisson, William"], ''International Centre for Digital Content'', January 17, 2003</ref> *[[1834]]: [[David Douglas (botanist)|David Douglas]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[botanist]], fell into a pit trap accompanied by a bull. He was gored and possibly crushed.<ref>[http://www.life.umd.edu/emeritus/reveal/PBIO/LnC/douglas.html University of Maryland]: The source is uncertain if the bull fell in before or after him.</ref> *[[1865]]: [[Lord Francis Douglas]] died after falling 4000 feet, having completed the first summit of the [[Matterhorn]].<ref>http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/38_Challenge/Challenge01.html</ref> *[[1868]]: [[Matthew Vassar]], brewer and founder of [[Vassar College]], died in mid-speech while delivering his [[Farewell speech|farewell address]] to the College [[Trustee|Board of Trustees]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B0CE5DA1230EE34BC4C51DFB0668383679FDE "VASSAR COLLEGE.; Sudden Death of Matthew Vassar, Founder of the Institution, While Reading the Annual Address."], ''The New York Times'', June 24, 1868</ref> *[[1897]]: [[Salomon August Andrée]], [[Knut Fraenkel]] and [[Nils Strindberg]] died in October 1897 at Kvitöya (White Island), NE of [[Svalbard]] where they had arrived after a failed attempt to reach the North Pole in a balloon. Their deaths might have been due to exhaustion but also could have been due to eating insufficiently cooked polar bear meat causing [[trichinosis]], or carbon monoxide poisoning from the miniature kerosene stove when snow made it difficult to air out the fumes.<ref>[http://www.aviation-history.com/airmen/andree.htm "Solomon August Andree - Sweden"], ''True Magazine through Aviation-History.com'', August, 1962</ref> *[[1899]]: [[Félix Faure]], French president, died of a stroke while in his office. It is popularly believed that he was "in the arms of his mistress" at the time, perhaps receiving [[oral sex]].<ref>http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/fr_thirp.html#ffa</ref> ===20th century=== *[[1911]]: [[Jack Daniel]], founder of the [[Jack Daniel's|Tennessee whiskey distillery]], died of [[blood poisoning]] six years after receiving a toe injury when he kicked his safe in anger at being unable to remember its combination.<ref>Haig, Matt. ''Brand Royalty: how the world's top 100 brands thrive and survive'', p. 197. London: Kogan Page, 2004.</ref> *[[1912]]: [[Franz Reichelt]], tailor, fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute and he had told the authorities in advance he would test it first with a dummy.<ref>http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=321</ref> *[[1916]]: [[Grigori Rasputin]], [[Russia]]n [[mystic]], was poisoned while dining with a political enemy, and supposedly he was given enough poison to kill three men his size. When he did not die, one assassin sneaked up behind him and shot him in the head, and while checking Grigori's pulse he was grabbed by the neck by the mystic and was strangled. He proceeded to run away, while the other assassins chased. They caught up to him after he was finally felled by three shots during the chase. The pursuers bludgeoned him, then threw him into a frozen river. When his body washed ashore, an autopsy showed the cause of death to be drowning. There is now some doubt about the credibility of this account, though.<ref>http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/rasputin.htm</ref> *[[1920]]: [[Ray Chapman]], baseball player, was killed when he was hit in the head by a pitch.<ref> Baseball: An Illustrated History. Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, 1994. </ref> *[[1923]]: [[Martha Mansfield]], an American film actress, died after sustaining severe burns on the set of the film ''The Warrens of Virginia'' after a smoker's match, tossed by a cast member, ignited her Civil War costume of hoopskirts and ruffles.<ref>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0543806/bio</ref> *[[1923]]: [[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon]] became the first to die from the alleged [[Curse of the Pharaohs|King Tut's Curse]] after a mosquito bite on his face became seriously infected.<ref>http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/carnarvon.htm</ref> *[[1925]]: [[Zishe Breitbart|Zishe (Siegmund) Breitbart]], a circus strongman and Jewish folklore hero, died as a result of a demonstration in which he drove a spike through five one-inch thick oak boards using only his bare hands. He accidentally pierced his knee. The spike was rusted and caused an infection which led to fatal blood poisoning. He was the subject of the [[Werner Herzog]] film, ''[[Invincible (2001 film)|Invincible]]''.<ref>http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Breitbart/breitbart-index.htm</ref> *[[1927]]: [[J.G. Parry-Thomas]], a [[Welsh people|Welsh]] racing driver, was decapitated by his car's drive chain which, under stress, snapped and whipped into the cockpit. He was attempting to break his own [[land speed record]] which he had set the previous year. Despite being killed in the attempt, he succeeded in setting a new record of 171 mph.<ref>Reynolds, Barbara. ''Dorothy L. Sayers: her life and soul'', p. 162. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.</ref> *[[1927]]: [[Isadora Duncan]], [[dancer]], died of accidental [[strangulation]] and [[cervical fracture|broken neck]] when one of the long [[scarf|scarves]] she was known for caught on the wheel of a [[automobile|car]] in which she was a passenger.<ref>[http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6970 UCLA newsroom]</ref> *[[1928]]: [[Alexander Bogdanov]], a Russian physician, died following one of his experiments, in which the blood of a student suffering from [[malaria]] and [[tuberculosis]], L. I. Koldomasov, was given to him in a transfusion.<ref>Bogdanov, Alexander (tr. & ed. Douglas W. Huestis). ''The Struggle for Viability: Collectivism Through Blood Exchange'', p. 7. Tinicum, PA: Xlibris Corporation, 2002.</ref> *[[1932]]: [[Eben Byers]], died of [[radiation poisoning]] after having consumed large quantities of a popular patent medicine containing radium.<ref>[http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n106.html]</ref> *[[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 had purchased.<ref>{{cite book |last=Read |first=Simon |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Bizarre Killing of Michael Malloy |year=2005 |publisher=Penguin Book Group |location= |id= }}</ref> *[[1935]]: Baseball player [[Len Koenecke]] was bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher by the crew of an aircraft he had chartered, after provoking a fight with the pilot while the plane was in the air.<ref>http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Koenecke.Len.Obit.html</ref> *[[1939]]: Finnish actress [http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirkka_Sari Sirkka Sari] died when she fell down a chimney. She was at a cast party celebrating the completion of a movie, her third and last. She mistook a chimney for a balcony and fell into a heating boiler, dying instantly.<ref>http://koti.mbnet.fi/basil/nest/allmovies.txt</ref><ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsU_7bTkpNw</ref> *[[1941]]: [[Sherwood Anderson]], writer, swallowed a [[toothpick]] at a party and then died of [[peritonitis]].<ref>[http://athena.english.vt.edu/~appalach/writersA/anderson.html Virginia Tech article]</ref> *[[1943]]: Critic [[Alexander Woollcott]] suffered a fatal heart attack during an on-air discussion about [[Adolf Hitler]].<ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A662230 BBC]</ref> *[[1944]]: Inventor and chemist [[Thomas Midgley, Jr.]], accidentally strangled himself with the cord of a [[pulley]]-operated mechanical bed of his own design.<ref>[[Bill Bryson|Bryson, Bill]]. ''[[A Short History of Nearly Everything]]''. (2003) Broadway Books, USA. ISBN 0-385-66004-9</ref> *[[1945]]: Scientist [[Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.]] accidentally dropped a brick of [[tungsten carbide]] onto a sphere of [[plutonium]] while working on the [[Manhattan Project]]. This caused the plutonium to come to criticality; Daghlian died of radiation poisoning, becoming the first person to die in a [[criticality accident]].<ref>http://www.mphpa.org/classic/FH/LA/Harry_Daghlian.htm</ref> *[[1946]]: [[Louis Slotin]], chemist and physicist, died of radiation poisoning after being exposed to lethal amounts of ionized radiation. He died in a very similar way as [[Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.]], from dropping a block of material on the same sphere of plutonium by accident. The sphere of plutonium was nicknamed the [[Demon core]]<ref>http://hhs55.com/slotin.html</ref> *[[1947]]: The [[Collyer brothers]], extreme cases of [[compulsive hoarding|compulsive hoarders]] were found dead in their home in New York. The younger brother, Langley, died by falling victim to a booby trap he had set up, causing a mountain of objects, books, and newspapers to fall on him crushing him to death. His blind brother, Homer, who had depended on Langley for care, died of starvation some days later. Their bodies were recovered after massive efforts in removing many tons of debris from their home.<ref>http://www.trivia-library.com/c/biography-of-hermits-of-harlem-homer-and-langley-collyer.htm</ref> *[[1954]]: [[Alan Turing]], English mathematician, [[logician]], and [[cryptographer]], was found dead by his cleaner on June 8; the previous day, he had died of [[cyanide]] poisoning, apparently from a cyanide-laced apple he left half-eaten beside his bed.<ref>Hodges, 1983, pp. 488-489</ref>. It has been suggested that Turing was reenacting a scene from "[[Snow White]]", his favourite fairy tale.<ref>Ferris, Timothy. ''Seeing in the Dark''. 2002. p. 250</ref> *[[1955]]: [[Margo Jones]], theater director, was 43 when she was killed by the carpet in her Dallas apartment. She died July 26 from exposure to [[carbon tetrachloride]] fumes from the newly cleaned carpet.<ref>http://www.margojones.org/aboutMargo/timeline.lasso</ref> *[[1956]]: [[Nina Hamnett]], artist, died from complications after falling out her apartment window and being impaled on the fence forty feet below.<ref>http://dl.lib.brown.edu:8081/exist/mjp/plookup.xq?id=HamnettNina</ref> *[[1958]]: [[Gareth Jones (actor)|Gareth Jones]], actor, collapsed and died while in make-up between scenes of a [[live television]] play, ''Underground'', at the studios of [[Associated British Corporation]] in [[Manchester]]. Director [[Ted Kotcheff]] continued the play to its conclusion, improvising around Jones's absence.<REF>http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0428099/bio</REF> *[[1959]]: Nine ski hikers went missing in [[Dyatlov Pass Accident|Dyatlov Pass]] in the Ural Mountains of the then Soviet Union. They were later found dead having abandoned their camp in the middle of the night in apparent fear. Six of the hikers died of hypothermia and three were killed by extreme force. The clothes of some of the victims were found to have been contaminated by radioactive material. *[[1960]]: In the [[Nedelin disaster]], over 100 Soviet [[rocket|missile]] technicians and officials died when a switch was turned on unintentionally igniting the rocket, including [[Red Army]] Marshal Nedelin who was seated in a deck chair just 40 meters away overseeing launch preparations. The events were filmed by automatic cameras.<ref>http://www.russianspaceweb.com/r16_disaster.html</ref> *[[1961]]: On March 23, [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[cosmonaut]] trainee [[Valentin Bondarenko]] died from shock after suffering [[third-degree burn]]s over much of his body, due to a [[flash fire]] in the pure [[oxygen]] environment of a training simulator. This incident was not revealed outside of the Soviet Union until the [[1980s]].<ref>Oberg, James, ''Uncovering Soviet Disasters'', [http://www.jamesoberg.com/usd10.html Chapter 10: Dead Cosmonauts], pp 156-176, Random house, New York, 1988, retrieved 8 January 2008</ref> *[[1963]]: On June 11, [[Thích Quảng Đức]], a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, sat down in the middle of a busy intersection in [[Saigon]], covered himself in gasoline and lit himself on fire burning himself to death. Đức was protesting President [[Ngo Dinh Diem|Ngô Đình Diệm's]] administration for oppressing the [[Buddhist]] religion.<ref>http://everything2.com/title/Thich%2520Quang%2520Duc</ref> *[[1967]]: A [[flash fire]] began in the pure [[oxygen]] environment during a training exercise inside the unlaunched [[Apollo 1]] spacecraft, killing Command Pilot [[Gus Grissom]], Senior Pilot [[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]], and Pilot [[Roger B. Chaffee]]. The door to the capsule was unable to be opened during the fire because of its particular design. <ref>http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/grissom-vi.html</ref> *[[1967]]: [[Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov|Vladimir Komarov]] became the first person to die during a space mission after the parachute of [[Soyuz 1|his capsule]] failed to deploy following re-entry.<ref>http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/04/dayintech_0424</ref> *[[1971]]: [[Jerome Irving Rodale]], an [[United States|American]] pioneer of [[organic farming]], died of a heart attack while being interviewed on ''[[The Dick Cavett Show]]''. According to [[urban legend]], when he appeared to fall asleep, Cavett quipped "Are we boring you, Mr. Rodale?"<ref>http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/onstage.htm</ref>. Cavett says this is incorrect; the initial response was fellow guest [[Pete Hamill]] saying in a low voice to Cavett, "This looks bad."<ref>http://donkeyod.wordpress.com/2007/05/04/when-that-guy-died-on-my-show/ Reprint of NYT article by Cavett</ref> The show was never broadcast. *[[1972]]: [[Leslie Harvey]], guitarist of [[Stone the Crows]] was electrocuted on stage by a live microphone.<ref>http://elvispelvis.com/electrocuted.htm</ref> *[[1973]]: [[Bruce Lee]], a martial arts actor, is thought to have died by a severe allergic reaction to [[Equagesic]]. His brain had swollen about 13%. His autopsy was written as "death by misadventure."<ref>{{cite book | last = Thomas | first = Bruce | title = Bruce Lee: Fighting Spirit : a Biography | publisher = Frog LTD. |date=1994 | location = Berkley, California | pages = 209 }}</ref> *[[1974]]: [[Christine Chubbuck]], an [[United States|American]] television [[news reporter]], committed suicide during a live broadcast on July 15. 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.<ref name="dietz">Dietz, Jon. "On-Air Shot Kills TV Personality", ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', July 16, 1974.</ref> *[[1975]]: Physicist and businessman [[Kip Siegel]] died of a stroke while testifying before a US Congressional subcommittee.<ref>http://www.eecs.umich.edu/RADLAB/html/LABHISTORY.html</ref> *[[1975]]: [[Japanese people|Japanese]] kabuki actor [[Bandō Mitsugorō VIII]] died of severe poisoning when he ate four [[fugu]] livers (also known as [[pufferfish]]). The liver is considered one of the most (if not most) poisonous part of the fish, but Mitsugorō claimed to be immune to the poison. The fugu chef felt he could not refuse Mitsugorō and lost his license as a result.<ref>http://kabuki21.com/mitsugoro8.php</ref> *[[1976]]: [[Keith Relf]], former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practicing his electric guitar&mdash;he was electrocuted because the guitar was not properly grounded.<ref>[http://www.elvispelvis.com/electrocuted.htm Electrocuted Page in Fuller Up, Dead Musician Directory<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> *[[1977]]: [[Tom Pryce]], a [[Formula One]] driver, and a 19-year-old track marshal [[Jansen Van Vuuren]] both died at the [[1977 South African Grand Prix]] after Van Vuuren ran across the track beyond a blind brow to attend to another car which had caught fire and was struck by Pryce's car at approximately 170mph. Pryce was struck in the face by the marshal's [[fire extinguisher]] and was killed instantly.<ref name="Tom Pryce death">{{cite book |last=Tremayne |first= David|authorlink=David Tremayne |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The Lost Generation |origdate= |origyear= 2006 |origmonth=August|url= |format= |accessdate=2007-01-05 |accessyear= |accessmonth= |edition= |date= |year= |month= |publisher= Haynes Publishing|location= |language=English |isbn=1-84425-205-1 |oclc= |doi= |id= |pages= |chapter=Chapter 19 - A Moment Of Desperate Sadness|chapterurl= |quote=}}</ref> *[[1978]]: [[Georgi Markov]], a [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] dissident, was assassinated by poisoning in [[London]] by an unknown assailant who jabbed him in the calf with a specially [[Bulgarian umbrella|modified umbrella]] that fired a metal pellet with a small cavity full of [[ricin]] poison. *[[1978]]: [[Janet Parker]], a British medical photographer, died of [[smallpox]] in 1978, ten months after the disease was eradicated in the wild, when a researcher at the laboratory Parker worked at accidentally released some virus into the air of the building. She is believed to be the last smallpox fatality in history.<ref>[http://www.qmul.ac.uk/news/newsrelease.php?news_id=18]</ref> *[[1978]]: [[Claude François]], a French pop singer, was electrocuted when he tried to change a light bulb whilst standing in his bathtub which was full of water at the time.<ref>http://www.rfimusique.com/siteEn/biographie/biographie_6147.asp</ref> *[[1978]]: [[Kurt Goedel]], the Austrian/American mathematician died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized. Goedel suffered from extreme paranoia and refused to eat food prepared by anyone else. He was 65 pounds when he died. His death certificate reported that he died of "malnutrition and inanition caused by personality disturbance" in Princeton Hospital on January 14, 1978.<ref>Toates, Frederick; Olga Coschug Toates (2002). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Practical Tried-and-Tested Strategies to Overcome OCD. Class Publishing, 221. ISBN 978-1859590690. </ref> *[[1979]]: [[Robert Williams (robot fatality)|Robert Williams]], a worker at a Ford Motor Co. plant, was the first known man to be killed by a robot.<ref> name=rlid>Robot firm liable in death, Tim Kiska, ''The Oregonian'', August 11, 1983. See [http://fusionanomaly.net/threelawsofrobotics.html], ROBOT FIRM LIABLE IN DEATH.</ref> *[[1981]]: [[Carl McCunn]], in March 1981, paid a bush pilot to drop him at a remote lake near the Coleen River in [[Alaska]] to photograph wildlife, but had not arranged for the pilot to pick him up again in August. Rather than starve, McCunn shot himself in the head. His body was found in February 1982.<ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res= 9B0DEED61638F93AA25751C1A964948260&sec=health&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink</ref> *[[1981]]: [[Boris Sagal]], a motion picture-director, died while shooting the TV miniseries ''[[World War III (TV miniseries)|World War III]]'' when he walked into the tail-rotor blade of a helicopter and was decapitated. <ref>http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40911FE3E5C0C778EDDAC0894D9484D81</ref> *[[1981]]: Jeff Dailey, a 19-year old gamer, became the first known person to die while playing [[video game]]s. After achieving a score of 16,660 in the [[arcade game]] [[Berzerk]], he succumbed to a massive heart attack. A year later, an 18 year old gamer died after achieving high scores in the same game.<ref>http://www.arcade-history.com/index.php?page=detail&id=236</ref> *[[1982]]: [[Vic Morrow]], actor, was [[decapitation|decapitated]] by a [[helicopter]] blade during filming of ''[[Twilight Zone: The Movie]]'', along with two child actors, Myca Dinh Le (decapitated) and Renee Shin-Yi Chen (crushed).<ref>http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/not_guilty/twilight_zone/1.html</ref> *[[1982]]: [[Vladimir Smirnov (fencer)|Vladimir Smirnov]], an [[1980 Summer Olympics|Olympic champion]] [[Fencing (sport)|fencer]], died of [[brain damage]] nine days after his opponent's [[Foil (sword)|foil]] snapped during a match, penetrated his mask, pierced his eyeball and entered his brain.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,925598,00.html</ref> *[[1983]]: [[Sergei Chalibashvili]], a professional [[Diving|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.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954031,00.html?promoid=googlep</ref> *[[1983]]: Author [[Tennessee Williams]] died at the age of 71 after he choked on an eyedrop bottle cap in his room at the Hotel Elysee in New York. He would routinely place the cap in his mouth, lean back, and place his eyedrops in each eye. Williams' lack of gag response may have been due to drugs and alcohol effects.<ref>http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=MH&s_site=miami&p_multi=MH&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB35B891D6D7E0F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM</ref> *[[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. Hexum apparently did not realize that blanks use paper or plastic wadding to seal gun powder into the shell, and that this wadding is propelled out of the barrel of the gun with enough force to cause severe injury or death if the weapon is fired at point-blank range. *[[1986]]: While on the air giving a traffic report, the helicopter that [[Jane Dornacker]] was riding in stalled and crashed into the [[Hudson River]], killing her. This was the second helicopter crash she had been in that year. *[[1987]]: [[Budd Dwyer]], a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[politician]], committed [[suicide]] during a televised [[press conference]] in [[Harrisburg, Pennsylvania]]. Facing a potential 55-year jail sentence for alleged involvement in a [[Conspiracy (crime)|conspiracy]], Dwyer shot himself in the mouth with a [[revolver]]. *[[1992]]: [[Christopher McCandless]] died of [[starvation]] near [[Denali National Park]] after a few months trying to live off the land in the Alaskan wilderness. His life and death were researched by Jon Krakauer, who then wrote the novel [[Into the Wild]] which was later turned into a [[Into the Wild (film)|movie]]. *[[1993]]: [[Brandon Lee]], son of Bruce Lee, was shot and killed by [[Michael Massee]] using a prop [[.44 Magnum]] gun while filming the movie ''[[The Crow (film)|The Crow]]''. A cartridge with only a primer and a bullet was fired in the pistol prior to the scene Brandon was in; this caused a [[squib load]], in which the primer provided enough force to push the bullet out of the cartridge and into the barrel of the revolver, where it became stuck. The malfunction went unnoticed by the crew, and the same gun was used again later to shoot the death scene, having been re-loaded with blanks. However, the squib load was still lodged in the barrel, and was propelled by the blank cartridge's explosion out of the barrel and into Lee's body. It was not instantly recognized by the crew or other actors; they believed he was still acting.<ref>http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/brandonlee.asp</ref> *[[1993]]: [[Garry Hoy]], a Toronto lawyer, fell to his death after he threw himself through the glass wall on the 24th floor of the [[Toronto-Dominion Centre]] in order to prove the glass was "unbreakable."<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.asp Snopes.com article]</ref> *[[1993]]: Michael A. Shingledecker Jr. was killed almost instantly when he and a friend were struck by a pickup truck while lying flat on the yellow dividing line of a two-lane highway in [[Polk, Pennsylvania]]. They were copying a daredevil stunt from the movie ''[[The Program]]''. Marco Birkhimer died of a similar accident while performing the same stunt in Route 206 of [[Bordentown, New Jersey]]. <ref>http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED7123AF93AA25753C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink</ref> *[[1994]]: [[Gloria Ramirez]] was admitted to [[Riverside, California|Riverside]] General Hospital for complications of advanced cervical cancer. Before she died, her body mysteriously emitted toxic fumes that made several emergency room workers very ill. She has been dubbed as the "toxic lady" by the media. <ref>http://discovermagazine.com/1995/apr/analysisofatoxic493</ref> *[[1996]]: [[Sharon Lopatka]], an Internet entrepreneur from [[Maryland]], allegedly solicited a man via the Internet to torture and kill her for the purpose of sexual gratification. Her killer, Robert Fredrick Glass, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter for the homicide. *[[1998]]: [[Tom and Eileen Lonergan]] were stranded while [[scuba diving]] with a group of divers off [[Australia]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]]. The group's boat accidentally abandoned them due to an incorrect head count taken by the dive boat crew. Their bodies were never recovered. The incident inspired the film ''[[Open Water (film)|Open Water]]'' and an episode of ''[[20/20]]''.<ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/08/04/1091557908320.html "A mystery resurfaces"], ''The Age'', August 7, 2004</ref> *[[1998]]: In the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], a [[soccer]] game ended when every player on the visiting team was struck by a fork bolt of lightning, killing them all instantly.<ref>http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/203137.stm</ref> *[[1999]]: [[Owen Hart]], a professional wrestler for [[World Wrestling Entertainment|WWE]] died during a Pay-Per-View event when performing a stunt. It was planned to have Owen come down from the rafters of the [[Kemper Arena]] on a safety harness tied to a rope to make his ring entrance. The safety latch was released and Owen dropped 78 feet, bouncing chest-first off the top rope resulting in a severed aorta, which caused his lungs to fill with blood.<ref>http://www.biography.com/search/article.do?id=9542223</ref> *[[2000]]: [[Jonathan Burton]] stormed the cockpit door of a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City. The 19-year-old was subdued by eight other passengers with such force that he died of [[asphyxiation]].<ref>[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=990CE2DE1F3BF930A1575AC0A9669C8B63 Janofsky, Michael. "Neighbors' Gentler View Of Man Killed on Plane," ''The New York Times'', September 23, 2000.]</ref> ===21st century=== *[[2001]]: Bernd-Jürgen Brandes from Germany was stabbed repeatedly and then partly eaten by [[Armin Meiwes]] (who was later called the Cannibal of Rothenburg). Brandes had answered an internet advertisement by Meiwes looking for someone for this purpose. Brandes explicitly stated in his will that he wished to be killed and eaten.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm "German cannibal guilty of murder"], ''BBC News'', May 9, 2006</ref> *[[2002]]: [[Brittanie Cecil]], an American 13-year-old hockey fan, died two days after being struck in the head by a [[hockey puck]] at a game between the [[Columbus Blue Jackets]] and the [[Calgary Flames]] at [[Nationwide Arena]]. <ref>[http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html "Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game"], ''ESPN.com'', May 20, 2002</ref> *[[2003]]: [[Brian Douglas Wells]], a [[pizza delivery]] man in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], was killed by a [[Time bomb (explosive)|time bomb]] which was fastened around his neck. He was apprehended by the [[police]] after robbing a [[bank]], and claimed he had been forced to do it by three people who had put the bomb around his neck and would kill him if he refused. The bomb later exploded, killing him. In 2007, police alleged Wells was involved in the robbery plot along with two other conspirators.<ref>[http://www.komotv.com/news/national/5901066.html] ''[[www.komotv.com]]''. Feb 16th 2007. Retrieved August 9th, 2007.</ref> *[[2003]]: [[Brandon Vedas]] died of a [[drug overdose]] while engaged in an [[Internet chat]], as shown on his [[webcam]].<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/2724819.stm "Net grief for online 'suicide'"] ''BBC News'', February 4, 2003.</ref> *[[2003]]: [[Timothy Treadwell]], an [[United States|American]] [[environmentalist]] who had lived in the wilderness among bears for thirteen summers in a remote region in [[Alaska]], along with his girlfriend Amie Huguenard, were killed and partially consumed by a bear. An audio recording was captured on a video camera (the lens-cap was in place during the incident), but the tape has never been released to the public. [[Werner Herzog]]'s [[documentary film]], ''[[Grizzly Man]]'', discusses Treadwell and his death.<ref>Medred, Craig.''[http://www.adn.com/front/story/4110831p-4127072c.html Wildlife author killed, eaten by bears he loved]''. ''[[Anchorage Daily News]]''. October 8, 2003. Retrieved September 4, 2006.</ref> *[[2005]]: [[Kenneth Pinyan]] of [[Enumclaw]], [[Washington]] died of acute [[peritonitis]] after submitting to anal intercourse with a [[stallion]]. Pinyan had done this before, and he delayed his visit to the hospital for several hours out of reluctance for official cognizance. The case led to the criminalization of [[zoophilia|bestiality]] in [[Washington]].<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002569751_horsesex19m.html The Seattle Times: Local News: Trespassing charged in horse-sex case<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> His story was recounted in the [[2007]] documentary film ''[[Zoo (film)|Zoo]]''. *[[2005]]: 28-year-old [[South Korea]]n, [[Lee Seung Seop]], collapsed of fatigue and died after playing [[StarCraft]] for almost 50 consecutive hours in an Internet cafe.<ref>[http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1729573,00.html "Korean drops dead after 50-hour gaming marathon"], ''Times Online'', August 10, 2005</ref> *[[2006]]: [[Steve Irwin]], a television personality and naturalist known as [[The Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[short-tail stingray]] barb while filming a documentary entitled "Ocean's Deadliest" in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]]. <ref>http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20355064-30417,00.html</ref> *[[2006]]: [[Alexander Litvinenko]], a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation|Russian State security service]], and later a [[Russia]]n [[dissident]] and [[writer]], suddenly fell ill and was hospitalized. He died three weeks later, becoming the first known victim of lethal [[Polonium|polonium-210]]-induced [[radiation poisoning|acute radiation syndrome]]. *[[2007]]: [[Water intoxication#Notable cases|Jennifer Strange]], a 28-year-old woman from [[Sacramento]], died of [[water intoxication]] while trying to win a [[Wii]] console in a [[KDND]] 107.9 "The End" radio station's "Hold Your Wee for a Wii" contest, which involved drinking large quantities of water without urinating.<ref>[http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-water14jan14,1,1368543.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california "Woman dies after being in water-drinking contest"], ''The Los Angeles Times'', January 14, 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.knbc.com/news/10761800/detail.html "Woman's Death After Water-Drinking Contest Investigated"] ''KNBC.com'', January 16, 2007</ref> *[[2007]]: [[Kevin Whitrick]], a 42-year-old man committed [[suicide]] by hanging himself live on a webcam during an internet chat session.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article1560877.ece |title=Get on with it, said net audience as man hanged himself on webcam |accessdate=2007-05-27 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=2007-03-24 |work=Times Online |publisher=Times Newspapers Ltd }}</ref> *[[2007]]: [[Surinder Singh Bajwa]], the Deputy Mayor of Delhi, India, was kicked by a [[Rhesus Macaque]] monkey at his home and fell from a first floor balcony, suffering serious head injuries. He later died from his injuries.<ref>[http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bajwa-succumbs-to-injuries/230828/ Bajwa succumbs to injuries<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> *[[2008]]: [[Abigail Taylor]], 6, died nine months after her organs were partially sucked out while sitting on a swimming pool drain. She had several organs replaced in surgery but died later due to the incident. <ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-21-3982361687_x.htm Girl, 6, Dies From Swimming Pool Injury] ''USA Today'', March 21, 2008</ref> ==See also== * [[Fatal hilarity]] * [[Toilet-related injury]] * [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]] * [[Darwin Awards]] * [[Multiple gunshot suicide]] * [[List of people who died onstage]] ==References== {{reflist|2}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Unusual}} [[Category:Lists of people by cause of death]] [[Category:Death-related lists]] [[es:Anexo:Fallecimientos extraños]] [[fr:Liste de morts insolites]] [[nl:Lijst van personen die op ongebruikelijke manier zijn overleden]]