Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-02-15T18:27:57Z

68.111.104.244: /* 21st century */

{{original research|date=September 2012}}

This is a '''list of unusual deaths'''. This list includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history, noted as being unusual by multiple sources. Some of the deaths are mythological or are considered to be unsubstantiated by contemporary researchers.

Some other articles also cover unusual deaths, including [[List of entertainers who died during a performance]], [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]], [[List of association footballers who died while playing]], [[List of professional cyclists who died during a race]] and the [[List of political self-immolations]].
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== Antiquity ==

{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}

*[[Circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks showered upon him by appreciative citizens at a theatre on [[Aegina]].<ref>Suidas. "[http://www.stoa.org/sol-bin/search.pl?login=guest&enlogin=guest&db=REAL&field=adlerhw_gr&searchstr=delta,1495&filter=CD-Unicode {{lang|grc|Δράκων}}]", ''Suda On Line'', Adler number delta, 1495.</ref>
*6th century BC: Legend says [[Greek wrestling|Greek wrestler]] '''[[Milo of Croton]]''' came upon a tree-trunk split with wedges. Testing his strength, he tried to rend it with his bare hands. The wedges fell, trapping his hands in the tree and making him unable to defend himself from attacking wolves, which devoured him.<ref>{{cite book |last=Spivey |first=Nigel Jonathan |title=The Ancient Olympics |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford and New York |year=2004 |pages=65–66, 100–101 |isbn=0-19-280433-2 |url=http://books.google.com/?id=_kcwp0RYS7sC&pg=PA100&dq=Milo+of+Kroton+Croton |accessdate=2009-03-01}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death in order to win the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic]] finals. Held by his unidentified opponent in a stranglehold and unable to free himself, Arrichion's trainer shouted "What a fine funeral if you do not submit at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]!" Arrichion then kicked his opponent with his right foot while casting his body to the left, causing his opponent so much pain that he made the sign of defeat to the [[umpire]]s, while at the same time breaking Arrichion's own neck as the other fighter was still strangleholding him. Since the opponent had conceded defeat, Arrichion was proclaimed victor posthumously.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TP001EN.html|title=Ancient Olympics - Arrichion|publisher=[[KU Leuven]]|year=2012|accessdate=September 18, 2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier condemned for the murder of [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]], surviving the insect torture for 17 days.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bostonleadershipbuilders.com/plutarch/artaxerxes.htm |title=Plutarch's Life of Artaxerxes |publisher=Bostonleadershipbuilders.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*270 BC: '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', Greek intellectual, is said by [[Athenaeus]] to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref>[[Athenaeus]], ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'', [http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/Literature/Literature-idx?type=turn&entity=Literature.AthV2.p0115 9.401e].</ref> British classicist [[Alan Cameron (classical scholar)|Alan Cameron]] speculates that Philitas died from a [[wasting]] disease which his contemporaries joked was caused by his [[pedantry]].<ref>{{cite journal |journal= The Classical Quarterly |volume=41 |issue=2 |year=1991 |pages=534–8 |author=Alan Cameron |title= How thin was Philitas? |doi= 10.1017/S0009838800004717}}</ref>
*210 BC: '''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]], died after ingesting several pills of [[mercury poisoning|mercury]] in the belief that it would grant him [[Immortality|eternal life]].<ref>Wright, David Curtis (2001). The History of China. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 49. ISBN 0-313-30940-X.</ref>
*207 BC: '''[[Chrysippus]]''', a Greek [[Stoicism|stoic philosopher]], is believed to have [[died of laughter]] after giving his donkey wine then seeing it attempt to eat [[common fig|figs]].<ref>Donaldson, John William and Müller, Karl Otfried. ''A History of the Literature of Ancient Greece''. London: John W. Parker and Son, 1858, p. 27.</ref>
*162 BC: '''[[Eleazar Avaran|Eleazar Maccabeus]]''' was crushed to death at the [[Battle of Beth-zechariah]] by a [[war elephant]] that he believed to be carrying [[Seleucid]] King [[Antiochus V]]. Charging into battle, Eleazar rushed underneath the elephant and thrust a spear into its belly, whereupon it fell dead on top of him.<ref>Scullard, H.H ''The Elephant in the Greek and Roman World'' Thames and Hudson. 1974 pg 186.</ref>
*4 BC: '''[[Herod the Great]]''' reportedly 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 died.<ref>Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, Book 17, Chapter 6.</ref>
*64–67: '''[[Saint Peter]]''' was executed by the Romans. According to tradition, he asked not to be [[crucifixion|crucified]] in the normal way, but was instead executed on [[Cross of St. Peter|an inverted cross]].<ref>"Peter, St." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005</ref> According to [[Origen]] of [[Alexandria]], he said he was not worthy to be crucified in the same way as [[Jesus]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Catholic Encyclopedia on St. Peter |url=http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11744a.htm}}</ref>
*c. 98: '''[[Saint Antipas]]''', Bishop of [[Pergamum]], was roasted to death in a [[brazen bull]] during the persecutions of Emperor [[Domitian]]. [[Saint Eustace]], his wife and children supposedly suffered a similar fate under [[Hadrian]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://home.iprimus.com.au/xenos/antipas.html |title=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia, WA |publisher=Home.iprimus.com.au |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*212: '''[[Lucius Fabius Cilo]]''', a [[Roman senator]] of the 2nd century, "...choked...by a single hair in a draught of milk".<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]], {{cite web |title=Nat. History, vii ''7'' |url= http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/7*.html}}</ref>
*258: According to tradition, '''[[Saint]] [[Lawrence of Rome]]''' was roasted alive on a giant grill, during the persecution of [[Valerian (emperor)|Valerian]].<ref>[http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=366 "St. Lawrence - Martyr" at catholic.org]</ref><ref>[http://saints.sqpn.com/saint-lawrence-of-rome/ "Saint Lawrence of Rome" at saints.sqpn.com]</ref>
*336: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria, Egypt|Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[hemorrhage|hemorrhaging]] and anal expulsion of the [[intestine]]s while he walked across the imperial forum in [[Constantinople]]. He may have been poisoned.<ref>[[Gregory of Tours]], ''History of the Franks'' 2.23.</ref>
*415: '''[[Hypatia of Alexandria]]''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp sea-shells. Various types of shells have been named, including clams, oysters and abalones. Other sources claim tiles or pottery [[Sherd|shard]]s were used.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Hypatia.html |title=Hypatia biography |publisher=History.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
*762: '''[[Li Bai|Li Po (Li Bai)]]''', Chinese poet and [[courtier]], supposedly tried to kiss the reflection of [[the Moon]] beside the boat in which he was travelling, fell overboard and drowned.<ref>''[[The Book of Lists]]'', 2004 edition. "...Some scholars believed he actually died of [[cirrhosis]]." Compare [[Li Bai#Death]].</ref>
*892: '''[[Sigurd Eysteinsson|Sigurd the Mighty]]''' of [[Orkney]] strapped the head of his defeated foe, [[Máel Brigte of Moray|Máel Brigte]], to his horse's saddle. The teeth of the head grazed against his leg as he rode, causing a fatal infection.<ref>Translations of the ''Orkneyinga saga'' (chapters 4 and 5), which relates the story, can be read online at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ice/is3/is302.htm Sacred texts] and [http://www.northvegr.org/lore/orkney/001.php Northvegr].</ref>
*1063: '''[[Béla I of Hungary]]''' died when his wooden throne collapsed upon him.<ref name=EBO2012>{{ cite web | title = Bela I | year = 2012 | work = [[Encyclopædia Britannica Online]] | url = http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/59031/Bela-I | accessdate = 13 August 2012}}</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuk]]''', the [[Muslim]] governor of the city of [[Otrar]] in [[Central Asia]], was ordered to be executed by [[Genghis Khan]] by pouring molten silver in his eyes and ears in vengeance for his execution of [[Mongol]] traders the year before.<ref>Crowdy, Terry (2006) ''The Enemy Within: A history of spies, spymasters and espionage.'' Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford, pg. 48</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongol]] captors by being rolled up in a rug and then trampled by horses.<ref>{{cite book|last=Frater|first=Jamie|title= Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists|year=2010|publisher=Ulysses Press|location=Canada|isbn= 9781569758175|pages=400}}.</ref>
*1327: '''[[Edward II of England]]''', after being deposed and imprisoned by his [[Queen consort|wife]] [[Isabella of France|Isabella]] and her lover [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March|Roger Mortimer]], was rumoured to have been murdered by having a [[Horn (anatomy)|horn]] pushed into his anus through which a red-hot iron was inserted, burning out his internal organs without marking his body.<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><ref>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?storycode=176011</ref> However, as Seymour Phillips observes in his recent biography of the king, there is no real academic consensus on the manner of Edward II's death and it has been plausibly argued (for example, by Ian Mortimer) that the story is effectively propaganda. <ref>Phillips, Seymour, Edward II, Yale University Press, copyright 2010. pgs 560-565.</ref>
*1387: '''[[Charles II of Navarre]]''', after having been wrapped in bandages soaked in brandy in an attempt to cure an illness, was burned alive when a servant accidentally set the bandages on fire.<ref>Barbara Tuchman;''A Distant Mirror'', 1978, Alfred A Knopf Ltd</ref>
*1410: '''[[Martin of Aragon]]''' died from a combination of indigestion and [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughing]].<ref>[http://www.cc.jyu.fi/mirator/pdf/Morris.pdf "Patronage and Piety – Montserrat and the Royal House of Medieval Catalonia-Aragon"]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}, Paul N. Morris, ''Mirator Lokakuu'', October, 2000</ref>
*1478: '''[[George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence|George Plantagenet]]''', [[Duke of Clarence]], was executed by drowning in a barrel of [[Malvasia|Malmsey wine]] at his own request.<ref>Thompson, C. J. S. ''Mysteries of History with Accounts of Some Remarkable Characters and Charlatans'', pp. 31 ''ff.'' Kila, Montana: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.</ref>

== Renaissance ==

*1514: '''[[György Dózsa]]''', [[Székely]] man-at-arms and peasants' revolt leader in Hungary, was condemned to sit on a red-hot iron throne with a red-hot iron crown on his head and a red-hot sceptre in his hand (mocking his ambition to be king), by Hungarian [[landed nobility]] in Transylvania. While Dózsa was still alive, his partially roasted body was force-fed to six of his fellow rebels, who had been starved for a week beforehand.<ref>[http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Győrgy_Dozsa György Dózsa], ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', 1911</ref>
*1518: In the '''[[Dancing Plague of 1518]]''' a woman (and eventually a league of 400 people) uncontrollably danced for a month causing dozens of participants to die of stroke and exhaustion. The reason for this occurrence is still unclear.<ref name="Discovery Viegas">{{cite web |url= http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/08/01/dancing-death-mystery.html |title= 'Dancing Plague' and Other Odd Afflictions Explained |first= Jennifer |last= Viegas |date= 1 August 2008 |work= Discovery News |publisher= [[Discovery Communications]] |accessdate= 8 August 2008 }}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''', [[Danish people|Danish]] astronomer, according to legend, died of complications resulting from a strained bladder at a banquet. As it was considered extremely bad etiquette to leave the table before the meal was finished, 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 [[mercury poisoning]] among others) have come to the fore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/biography/Brahe.html |title=Brahe, Tycho (1546–1601) – from Eric Weisstein's World of Scientific Biography |publisher=Scienceworld.wolfram.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1649: '''[[Arthur Aston (English Army officer)|Sir Arthur Aston]]''', [[Cavalier|Royalist]] commander of the garrison during the [[Siege of Drogheda]], was beaten to death with his own wooden leg, which the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarian]] soldiers thought concealed golden coins.<ref>{{cite web|author=David Plant |url=http://www.british-civil-wars.co.uk/biog/aston.htm |title=British Civil War site |publisher=British-civil-wars.co.uk |date=2008-06-11 |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1660: '''[[Thomas Urquhart]]''', [[scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[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 = 0-7146-2051-3 | publisher = Routledge | page = 126 | year = 1968}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = The History of Scottish Poetry | publisher = Edmonston & Douglas | year = 1861 | page = 539}}</ref>
*1667: '''James Betts''' died from asphyxiation after being sealed in a cupboard by Elizabeth Spencer, at [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]] in an attempt to hide him from her father, [[John Spencer (Master of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge)|John Spencer]].<ref name=Rackham>{{cite book| last = Rackham | first = Oliver | title= Treasures of Silver at Corpus Christi College | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 0-521-81880-X}}</ref><ref name="Corpus Christi College">{{cite web|url=http://www.corpus.cam.ac.uk/about-corpus/maps-and-tours/take-a-virtual-tour/225|title=Corpus Christi Website -Corpus Ghost|publisher=Corpus Christi College}}</ref><ref>{{cite book| last = Guiley| first = Rosemary Ellen | title= The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits | publisher = Checkmark books| edition = 2nd | year = 2000 | isbn = 978-0-8160-4086-5}}</ref>
*1687: '''[[Jean-Baptiste Lully]]''', the French composer, died of a [[gangrene|gangrenous]] [[abscess]] after piercing his foot with a staff while he was vigorously conducting a ''[[Te Deum]]''. It was customary at that time to conduct by banging a staff on the floor.<ref>[http://www.vanderbilt.edu/htdocs/Blair/Courses/MUSL243/lullbio.htm Biography of Jean-Baptiste Lully]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}, ''Vanderbilt University''</ref>

== 18th century ==

*1753: Professor '''[[Georg Wilhelm Richmann]]''', of [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], became the first recorded person to be killed while performing electrical experiments when he was struck and killed by a globe of [[ball lightning]] that hit him on his head.<ref>[http://scitation.aip.org/journals/doc/PHTOAD-ft/vol_59/iss_1/42_1.shtml Benjamin Franklin and Lightning Rods] ''Physics Today'', January 2006</ref>
*1755: '''[[Henry Hall (lighthouse keeper)|Henry Hall]]''' died from injuries he sustained after molten lead fell into his throat while he was looking up at [[Eddystone Lighthouse|a burning lighthouse]].<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mOgRAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PA38#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=The Universal magazine |publisher=Books.google.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-07|year=1757}}</ref>
*1762: '''[[Crown Prince Sado]]''', then heir to [[Kingdom of Korea|King]] [[Yeongjo of Joseon]], was ordered to be sealed alive in a rice chest after his father decided he was unfit to succeed him.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/11/142_56275.html | title=Book Reconstitutes Secret of Prince Sado's Death | work=The Korea Times | date=November 27, 2009 | accessdate=May 30, 2011 | author=Ah-young Chung}}</ref>
*1771: '''[[Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden]]''', died of digestion problems on 12 February 1771 after having consumed a meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring and champagne, topped off with 14 servings of his favourite dessert: [[semla|hetvägg]] 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'', 27 February 2008</ref>
*1783: '''[[James Otis, Jr.]]''', the [[American revolution]]ary, "often mentioned to friends and relatives that ... he hoped his death would come from a bolt of [[lightning]]." His hope was fulfilled on May 23, 1783 when lightning struck the chimney of a friend's house in whose doorway he was standing.<ref name="Book of Lists">''[[The Book of Lists]]'', 2004 edition.</ref>
*1794: '''[[John Kendrick (American sea captain)|John Kendrick]]''', an American sea captain and explorer, was killed in the [[Hawaii|Hawaiian Islands]] when a British ship mistakenly used a loaded cannon to fire a salute to Kendrick's vessel.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=1983 |title=Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online |publisher=Biographi.ca |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>

== 19th century ==

*1814: '''[[London Beer Flood]]''', seven people were killed (some drowned, some died from injuries, and one succumbed to alcohol poisoning) when {{convert|323000|impgal|USgal L|-3|lk=on}} of beer in the [[Meux's Brewery|Meux and Company Brewery]] burst out of its vats and gushed into the streets.<ref name="BBC London Beer Flood">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A42129876 The London Beer Flood of 1814], BBC</ref>
*1816: '''[[Gouverneur Morris]]''', an American statesman, died after sticking a piece of whale bone through his urinary tract to relieve a blockage.<ref>{{cite book|last=Adams|first=William Howard|title=Gouverneur Morris: an independent life|year=2003|publisher=Yale University Press|url=http://books.google.com/?id=GYxgEf7VbMcC&pg=PA323&dq=Gouverneur+Morris++whalebone#v=onepage&q&f=false|isbn=0-300-09980-0}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Kirschke|first=James J.|title=Gouverneur Morris: author, statesman, and man of the world|year=2005|publisher=Macmillan|isbn=0-312-24195-X|url=http://books.google.com/?id=MkqBV79cVMkC&pg=PA265&lpg=PA265&dq=Gouverneur+Morris++whalebone#v=onepage&q&f=false}}</ref>
*1830: '''[[William Huskisson]]''', statesman and financier, was crushed to death by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway.<ref>[http://www.lmu.livjm.ac.uk/lhol/content.aspx?itemid=329 "Huskisson, William"], ''International Centre for Digital Content'', 17 January 2003</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', 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]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}: The source is uncertain if the bull fell in before or after him.</ref>
*1862: '''[[Jim Creighton]]''', a very early [[baseball]] player, died when he swung a bat too hard and injured himself, possibly by rupturing his bladder.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=3296 |title=Jim Creighton (1841–1862) - Find A Grave Memorial |publisher=Findagrave.com |date= |accessdate=2011-07-21}}</ref>
*1863: '''[[Emma Livry]]''', a famous [[prima ballerina]], died from burns she received when her costume caught fire from the [[footlight]]s at a rehearsal. She lingered in agony for eight months.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dancer.com/livry.php |title=Emma Livry |publisher=2000 Gaynor Minden, Inc.|author=Christina Towle |accessdate=2012-09-12}}</ref>
*1869: '''[[Mary Ward (scientist)|Mary Ward]]''', a passenger in a [[steam car]] built by her young cousins, including the future [[steam turbine]] inventor, [[Charles Algernon Parsons]], fell from the car and was crushed under its wheels, making her the first person to die in a road accident involving a powered vehicle.{{#tag:ref|{{cite journal
|journal=King's County Chronicle
|date=1869-09-01
|title=Appalling Accident: Sudden Death of the Hon. Mrs. Ward
}} in<ref name="OffalyHistory" >{{cite web
|url=http://www.offalyhistory.com/articles/268/1/Mary-Ward-1827-1869/Page1.html
|title=Mary Ward 1827-1869
|publisher=Offaly Historical & Archaeological Society
|date=2007-02-09
|accessdate=2012-01-30
}}</ref>}}
*1870: '''Alain de Monéys''', French [[Aristocracy|aristocrat]], was cooked and eaten alive by the villagers of [[Hautefaye]], [[Dordogne]], during a reported case of [[mass hysteria]].<ref>Corbin, Alain (1992) ''The Village of Cannibals: Rage and murder in France, 1870.'' Harvard College. Translated by Arthur Goldhammer.</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, was demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while drawing a weapon from a kneeling position when he shot himself in the process. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham</ref>
*1877: '''David Lunt''', an early resident of [[Deadwood, South Dakota]], was accidentally shot in the forehead during a [[Western saloon|Saloon]] fight between a man named Tom Smith and Town Marshal Con Stapleton, who was trying to disarm him. Even though the bullet passed through Lunt's brain and left entry and exit wounds in his head, he remained conscious the whole time and suffered no pain. Lunt then resumed his life as usual until he suddenly felt a terrible headache and died 67 days after the incident. An [[autopsy]] found that Lunt had died due to the shot, but could not determine a reason for why he survived for such a long time.<ref>http://lawrencecountyhistory.blogspot.com.es/2010/12/con-stapleton-deadwoods-first-marshal.html</ref><ref>http://www.legendsofamerica.com/sd-constapleton.html</ref>
*1884: '''[[Allan Pinkerton]]''', detective, spy, and founder of the [[Pinkerton National Detective Agency]], died allegedly when he contracted [[gangrene]] after slipping and biting his tongue; however, conflicting reports indicate that he died of a stroke instead.<ref>{{Find a Grave|817}}</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1900s ===

=== 1910s ===
*1916: '''[[Grigori Rasputin]]''', Russian [[Mysticism|mystic]], was reportedly poisoned, shot in the head, shot three more times, bludgeoned, and then thrown into a frozen river after being castrated. When his body washed ashore, an autopsy showed the cause of death to be [[hypothermia]]; however, some now doubt the credibility of this account. Another account said that he was poisoned, shot, and stabbed, at which time he got up and ran off – and was later found to have [[drowned]] in a frozen river.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/rasputin.htm |title=Murder of Rasputin |publisher=History1900s.about.com |date=2010-12-07 |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1918: '''[[Gustav Kobbé]]''', writer and musicologist, was killed when the [[sailboat]] he was on was struck by a landing seaplane off [[Long Island]], [[New York]].<ref name="Obit">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B02E0D8143EE433A2575BC2A9619C946996D6CF "Hydroplane Kills Kobbe in his Boat; Naval Pilot Unaware He Had Struck Art Critic's Craft."] ''[[New York Times]]''. 28 July 1918. p. 1. Retrieved 30 January 2008.</ref>
*1919: In the '''[[Boston Molasses Disaster]]''', 21 people were killed and 150 were injured when a tank containing as much as 2,300,000 US gal (8,700,000 L) of molasses exploded, sending a wave travelling at approximately 35 mph (56 km/h) through part of [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], United States.<ref name="[[Boston Molasses Disaster]]">{{cite book | last=Puleo | first=Stephen | title=Dark Tide: The Great Boston Molasses Flood of 1919 | publisher= [[Beacon Press]]| location=Boston, Massachusetts | year = 2004|isbn=0-8070-5021-0 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/molasses.asp |title=The Great Molasses Flood |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>

=== 1920s ===

*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine ball]] thrown by [[Carl Mays]] hit him in the [[temple (anatomy)|temple]]. Chapman collapsed at the plate, and died about 12 hours later. He remains the only major league baseball player killed by a pitched ball.<ref>[http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html ''The Death of Ray Chapman'', The New York Times, August 17, 1920]</ref>
*1920: '''[[Dan Andersson]]''', a Swedish author, died of cyanide poisoning while staying at Hotel Hellman in [[Stockholm]]. The hotel staff had failed to clear the room after using hydrogen cyanide against [[bed bug]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://litteraturbanken.se/#!forfattare/AnderssonD/presentation |title=Dan Andersson (1888–1920)}}</ref>
*1920: '''[[Alexander of Greece|Alexander I]]''', King of the Hellenes, was taking a walk in the [[National Gardens of Athens|Royal Gardens]], when his dog was attacked by a monkey. The King attempted to defend his dog, receiving bites from both the monkey and its mate.<ref>[[John Van der Kiste]], ''Kings of the Hellenes'' (Alan Sutton Publishing, Stroud, Gloucestershire, England, 1994) ISBN 0-7509-0525-5 p. 119</ref> The diseased animals' bites caused [[sepsis]] and Alexander died three weeks later.
*1923: '''[[Frank Hayes (jockey)|Frank Hayes]]''', a [[jockey]] at [[Belmont Park]], [[New York]], died of a heart attack during his first race. His mount finished first with his body still attached to the saddle, and he was only discovered to be dead when the horse's owner went to congratulate him.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F60B13F83C5416738DDDAC0894DE405B838EF1D3&scp=1&sq=jockey+hayes&st=p|title=Jockey Dies as He Wins His First Race; Hayes Collapses Passing the Winning Post |work=The New York Times |date=June 5, 1923 |accessdate=Feb 20, 2011}}</ref>
*1923: '''[[George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon]]''', died allegedly because of the so-called [[Curse of the pharaohs|King Tut's Curse]] after a mosquito bite on his face, which he cut while shaving, became seriously infected with [[erysipelas]], leading to blood poisoning and eventually pneumonia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/carnarvon.htm |title=The Life of Lord Carnarvon |publisher=Touregypt.net |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Carnarvon Is Dead Of An Insect's Bite At Pharaoh's Tomb. Blood Poisoning and Ensuing Pneumonia Conquer Tut-ankh-Amen Discoverer in Egypt. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C11F7355416738DDDAC0894DC405B838EF1D3 |quote=The Earl of Carnarvon died peacefully at 2 o'clock this morning. He was conscious almost to the end. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=April 5, 1923 |accessdate=2008-08-12 }}</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>{{IMDb name|0543806|Martha Mansfield}}</ref>
*1925: '''[[Zishe Breitbart|Zishe (Siegmund) Breitbart]]''', a circus strongman and Jewish folklore hero, died after demonstrating he could drive a spike through five one-inch (2.54 cm) thick oak boards using only his bare hands. He accidentally pierced his knee and the rusted spike caused an infection which led to fatal blood poisoning.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Breitbart/breitbart-index.htm |title=Siegmund Breitbart |publisher=Sandowplus.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1926: '''Phillip McClean''', 16, from [[Queensland]], Australia became the only person documented to have been killed by a [[cassowary]]. After encountering the bird on their family property near [[Mossman, Queensland|Mossman]] in April,<ref>{{cite book|last=Christensen|first=Liana|title=Deadly Beautiful: Vanishing Killers of the Animal Kingdom|year=2011|publisher=Exisle Publishing|location=Wollombi, NSW|isbn=9781921497223|page=272}}</ref> McClean and his brother decided to kill it with clubs. When McClean struck the bird it knocked him down, then kicked him in the neck, opening a 1.25 cm (0.5 in) long cut in one of his main blood vessels. Though the boy managed to get back on his feet and run away, he collapsed a short while later and died from the hemorrhage.<ref>Kofron, Christopher P., Chapman, Angela. (2006) "Causes of mortality to the endangered Southern Cassowary Casuarius casuariusjohnsonii in Queensland, Australia." Pacific Conservation Biology vol. 12: 175–179</ref>
*1926: '''[[Harry Houdini]]''', the famous American escape artist, was punched in the stomach by an amateur boxer. Though this had been done with Houdini's permission, complications from this injury may have caused him to die days later, on October 31, 1926. It was later determined that Houdini died of a ruptured appendix,<ref>{{cite web|title=Harry Houdini – Biography|url=http://www.apl.org/history/houdini/biography.html|publisher=Appleton History|accessdate=August 4, 2009}}</ref> though it is contested as to whether or not the punches actually caused the appendicitis.<ref>{{cite web|title=Death of Houdini|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/houdini.asp|publisher=Urban Legends Reference Paces|accessdate=May 9, 2012}}</ref>
*1927: '''[[Isadora Duncan]]''', dancer, died of a broken neck when her long scarf caught on the wheel of a car in which she was a passenger.<ref>{{cite web|last=Setzer |first=Dawn |url=http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6970 |title=UCLA newsroom |publisher=Newsroom.ucla.edu |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1928: '''[[Alexander Bogdanov]]''', a Russian physician, died following one of his experiments, in which the blood of L. I. Koldomasov, a student suffering from [[malaria]] and [[tuberculosis]], 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, Pennsylvania: Xlibris Corporation, 2002.</ref>

=== 1930s ===

*1930: '''William Kogut''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin]], committed suicide with a pipe bomb created from several packs of playing cards and the hollow leg from his cot. At the time, the red ink in playing cards contained flammable [[nitrocellulose]], which when wet can create an explosive mixture. Kogut used the heater in his cell to activate the bomb.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/kogut.asp |title=Death by Playing Cards – Solitaire |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Frank the SciencePunk |url=http://www.sciencepunk.com/2007/09/the-ingenious-suicide-of-william-vogut/ |title=The ingenious suicide of William Kogut |publisher=Sciencepunk.com |date=2007-09-10 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American industrialist and socialite, died of [[radiation poisoning]] after having consumed large quantities of [[Radithor]], a popular [[patent medicine]] containing [[radium]] and [[thorium]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clpgh.org/exhibit/neighborhoods/northside/nor_n106.html |title=North Side: People: Eben M. Byers |publisher=Clpgh.org |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1933: '''[[Michael Malloy]]''', a homeless man, was murdered by five men in a plot to collect on [[life insurance]] policies they had purchased. After surviving multiple poisonings, intentional exposure, and being struck by a car, Malloy succumbed to gassing.<ref>{{cite book |last=Read |first=Simon |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=The Bizarre Killing of Michael Malloy |year=2005 |publisher=Penguin Book Group |location= |id= |isbn=0-425-20678-5 }}</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 TheDeadballEra.com :: LEN KOENECKE'S OBIT]{{dead link|date=December 2010}}</ref>
*1939: Finnish actress '''[[Sirkka Sari]]''' died when she fell down a chimney into a heating boiler. She had mistaken the chimney for a [[balcony]].<ref>http://koti.mbnet.fi/basil/nest/allmovies.txt</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OsU_7bTkpNw |title=YouTube – Sirkka Sarin kuolema |publisher=Youtube.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>

=== 1940s ===

*1940: '''[[Marcus Garvey]]''' died due to two strokes after reading a negative [[premature obituary]] of himself.<ref name=Garvey>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/garvey/filmmore/pt.html ''Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind''], [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] documentary (transcript). Last accessed on May 1, 2011.</ref>
*1941: '''[[Sherwood Anderson]]''', writer, died of [[peritonitis]] after swallowing a toothpick at a party.<ref>[http://athena.english.vt.edu/~appalach/writersA/anderson.html Virginia Tech article]</ref>
*1942: '''32 men''' died as a result of a chain of events that started when the British cruiser {{HMS|Trinidad|46|6}} accidentally [[torpedo]]ed itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/4030.html|title=HMS Trinidad (46) – Light cruiser of the Fiji class}}</ref>
*1944: '''74 men''' died when the US Submarine {{USS|Tang|SS-306|3}} accidentally torpedoed itself during a combat patrol off the coast of Taiwan.<ref>Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge, 1989, Presidio Press, p. 443.</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]] (known as the [[Demon core]]) 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>{{cite web|url=http://www.mphpa.org/classic/FH/LA/Harry_Daghlian.htm |title=Harry K. Daghlian – 1 of 1 |publisher=Mphpa.org |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1946: '''[[Louis Slotin]]''', chemist and physicist, died of radiation poisoning after being exposed to lethal amounts of ionizing radiation from the [[Demon core|same core]] that killed [[Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.]] The core went critical after a screwdriver he was using to separate the halves of the spherical beryllium reflector slipped.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hhs55.com/slotin.html |title=hhs55.com |publisher=hhs55.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1947: '''[[Collyer brothers|The Collyer Brothers]]''', extreme cases of [[compulsive hoarding|compulsive hoarders]], were found dead in their home in New York. The younger brother, Langley, was crushed to death when he accidentally triggered one of his own booby traps that had consisted of a large pile of objects, books, and newspapers. His blind and paralyzed brother Homer, who had depended on Langley for care, died of starvation some days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trivia-library.com/c/biography-of-hermits-of-harlem-homer-and-langley-collyer.htm |title=Biography of Hermits of Harlem Homer and Langley Collyer – |publisher=Trivia-library.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===

*1955: '''[[Margo Jones]]''', theater director, was killed by exposure to [[carbon tetrachloride]] fumes from her newly cleaned carpet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sweettornado.org/aboutMargo/timeline.lasso |title=Sweet Tornado: Margo Jones and the American Theater |publisher=Margojones.org |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1958: '''[[Gareth Jones (actor)|Gareth Jones]]''', actor, collapsed and died between scenes of a live television play, ''[[Underground (1958 TV play)|Underground]]'', at the studios of [[Associated British Corporation]] in [[Manchester]]. Director [[Ted Kotcheff]] continued the play to its conclusion, improvising around Jones' absence.<ref>Cited by Gareth Rubin [http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/may/31/television-drama-theatre "Live TV drama is resurrected as Sky shrugs off lessons of history",] ''The Guardian'', 31 May 2009</ref><ref>Matthew Sweet [http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/do-not-adjust-your-set-by-kate-dunn-587580.html Review: "'Do Not Adjust Your Set' By Kate Dunn,] ''The Independent'', 20 July 2003</ref>
*1959: In the '''[[Dyatlov Pass incident]]''', nine ski hikers in the Ural Mountains abandoned their camp in the middle of the night, some clad only in their underwear despite sub-zero weather. Six died of hypothermia and three by unexplained injuries. The corpses showed no signs of struggle, but one had a fatal skull fracture, two had major chest fractures, and one was missing her tongue. Soviet investigators determined only that "a compelling unknown force" had caused the deaths. During the hikers' memorials, several witnesses reported that the bodies had an "orangish tint" to them.<ref>[http://www.sptimes.ru/story/25093 Mysterious Deaths of 9 Skiers Still Unresolved] Svetlana Osadchuk (February 19, 2008). St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2010-02-09.</ref>

=== 1960s ===
*1960: In the '''[[Nedelin catastrophe]]''', more than 100 Soviet rocket technicians and officials died when a switch was accidentally turned on, causing the second stage engines of a rocket to ignite, directly above the fully fueled first stage. The casualties included Red Army Marshal Nedelin, who was sitting just {{convert|40|m|sp=us}} away overseeing launch preparations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.russianspaceweb.com/r16_disaster.html |title=Nedelin disaster |publisher=Russianspaceweb.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Japanese Socialist Party]], was stabbed to death with a [[wakizashi]] sword by extreme rightist [[Otoya Yamaguchi]] during a televised political rally.<ref>{{cite news|author= |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,711952,00.html |title=Assassin's Apologies |publisher=Time.com |date=1960-11-14 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Alan Stacey]]''', [[Formula One]] race driver, died in a crash during the [[1960 Belgian Grand Prix|Belgian Grand Prix]] when a bird flew into his face, causing him to lose control.<ref>{{cite book|last=Daley|first=Robert|title=Cars at Speed: Classic Stories from Grand Prix's Golden Age|year=2007|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|location=United States|isbn=9780760331170|page=304}}</ref>
*1961: U.S. Army Specialists '''John A. Byrnes''' and '''Richard Leroy McKinley''' and Navy Electrician's Mate '''Richard C. Legg''' were killed by a [[water hammer]] explosion during maintenance on the [[SL-1]] nuclear reactor in Idaho.<ref>[http://www.archive.org/details/gov.ntis.A13886VNB1 SL-1 The Accident: Phases I and II] U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Idaho Operations Office video ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIBQMkd96CA Youtube 1]) ([http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVr6bD-z9hM Youtube 2])</ref><ref>[http://www.inl.gov/proving-the-principle/chapter_15.pdf Chapter 15 "The SL-1 Reactor" (page 142)] 9.5 MB PDF</ref><ref name="Tucker">{{cite book |last=Tucker |first=Todd |title=Atomic America: How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History|isbn=978-1-4165-4433-3 |year=2009 |publisher=Free Press |location=New York}} See summary: http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0904/2008013842-s.html</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=McKeown |first=William |title=Idaho Falls: The Untold Story of America's First Nuclear Accident |isbn=978-1-55022-562-4 |year=2003 |publisher=ECW Press |location=Toronto}}</ref>
*1961: '''[[Valentin Bondarenko]]''', a [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] [[cosmonaut]] trainee, died after suffering [[third-degree burn]]s from a flash fire in the pure oxygen environment of a training simulator.<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: '''[[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, [[Self-immolation|burning himself to death]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://everything2.com/title/Thich%2520Quang%2520Duc |title=Thich Quang Duc@Everything2.com |publisher=Everything2.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1966: '''Worth Bingham''', son of [[Barry Bingham, Sr.]], died when a surfboard, lying atop the back of his convertible, hit a parked car, swung around, and broke his neck.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/business/media/04bingham.html?pagewanted=2&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/People/M/McFadden,%20Robert%20D.%20Jr.
|title=Barry Bingham Jr., Louisville Publisher, Is Dead at 72
|author=
|work=The New York Times
|date=4 April 2006
| first=Robert D.
| last=McFadden
| accessdate=2010-05-11
}}</ref>
* 1966: Skydiver '''[[Nick Piantanida]]''' died from the effects of [[uncontrolled decompression]] four months after an attempt to break the world record for the highest parachute jump. During his third attempt, his face mask came loose (or he possibly opened it by mistake), causing loss of air pressure and irreversible brain damage.<ref>{{cite book |title=Magnificent Failure: Free Fall from the Edge of Space |last1=Ryan |first1=Craig |publisher=Smithsonian Air and Space Museum Press |year=2003| isbn=978-1-58834-141-9 |oclc=51059086 }}</ref><ref>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/article687679.ece Dive Hard], [[The Globe and Mail]], May 25, 2008</ref>
*1967: '''[[Gus Grissom]]''', '''[[Edward Higgins White|Ed White]]''', and '''[[Roger B. Chaffee]]''', NASA astronauts, died when a flash fire began in their pure oxygen environment during a training exercise inside the [[Apollo 1]] spacecraft. The spacecraft's escape hatch could not be opened because it was designed to seal shut under pressure.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/grissom-vi.html |title=Astronaut Bio: Virgil I. Grissom |publisher=Jsc.nasa.gov |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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>{{cite news|author=Tony Long |url=http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/04/dayintech_0424 |title=24 April 1967: Last Day in the Life of Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov |publisher=Wired.com |date= 2007-04-24|accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1969: '''[[Jan Palach]]''', a Czech student, committed suicide by [[self-immolation]], in [[Wenceslas Square]], [[Prague]], as a [[political protest]] against the "demoralization" of Czechoslovakian citizens caused by the occupation by the [[Soviet Union]]. Palach was the first of a group of students to set himself on fire.{{Citation needed|date=September 2012}}

=== 1970s ===

*1971: '''[[Georgy Dobrovolsky]], [[Vladislav Volkov]] and [[Viktor Patsayev]]''', Soviet cosmonauts, died when their [[Soyuz 11|Soyuz-11]] spacecraft depressurized during preparations for reentry. These are the only human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=June 29, 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Basil Brown''', a 48-year-old health food advocate from [[Croydon]], drank himself to death with [[carrot juice]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=yLQsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jAoEAAAAIBAJ&dq=unusual-death&pg=6515%2C4463628 | work=Star-News | location=Wilmington, North Carolina |title=Unusual death | date=1974-02-20 | accessdate=2010-06-12| page=28}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Staub |first=Jack E.|title=Alluring Lettuces: And Other Seductive Vegetables for Your Garden |year=2005 |publisher=Gibbs Smith|location=Layton, Utah |isbn=1-4236-0829-1|oclc=435711200 |page=230 |chapter=74. Yellowstone Carrot: Daucus carota savicus|chapterurl=http://books.google.com/books?id=qbMz7YrTBMEC&lpg=PA230&ots=zu1Pef9qdF&dq=bl&pg=PA230#v=onepage&q=%22Basil%20Brown%22&f=false}}</ref>
*1974: '''[[Christine Chubbuck]]''', an American television news reporter, committed suicide during a live broadcast on July 15. Eight minutes into her talk show on WXLT-TV in [[Sarasota, Florida]], she shot herself in the head with a [[revolver]].<ref name="dietz">Dietz, Jon. "On-Air Shot Kills TV Personality", ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'', 16 July 1974.</ref>
*1974: '''Deborah Gail Stone''', 18, an employee at [[Disneyland]] in [[Anaheim, California]], was crushed to death between a moving wall and a stationary wall inside the revolving [[America Sings]] attraction.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mouseplanet.com/david/dk040708.htm |title=Why we'll never forget the tragedy of 30 years ago today |accessdate=2007-07-24 |last=Koenig |first=David |work=MousePlanet }}</ref>
*1975: '''[[Bandō Mitsugorō VIII]]''', a Japanese [[kabuki]] actor, died of severe poisoning when he ate four [[fugu]] (puffer-fish) livers. Mitsugorō claimed to be immune to the poison and the fugu chef felt he could not refuse him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kabuki21.com/mitsugoro8.php |title=Bandô Mitsugorô Viii |publisher=Kabuki21.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1976: '''[[Keith Relf]]''', former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practicing his electric guitar. He was electrocuted by an improperly grounded amplifier.<ref>{{cite web|author=Gordon Polatnick |url=http://www.elvispelvis.com/electrocuted.htm |title=Electrocuted Page in Fuller Up, Dead Musician Directory |publisher=Elvispelvis.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1977: '''[[Tom Pryce]]''', a [[Formula One]] driver at the [[1977 South African Grand Prix]], was killed when he was struck in the face by a track marshal's fire extinguisher. The marshal, '''Frederik Jansen van Vuuren''', was running across the track to attend to Pryce's team-mate's burning car when he was struck and killed by Pryce's car. Van Vuuren himself was literally torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref name="Tom Pryce death">{{cite book |last=Tremayne |first= David|authorlink=David Tremayne |coauthors= |editor= |others= |title=The Lost Generation |origdate= |origyear= 2006|url= |accessdate=2007-01-05 |edition= |date= |year= 2006 |month=August|publisher= Haynes Publishing|location= |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 in London with a specially [[Bulgarian umbrella|modified umbrella]] that fired a metal pellet with a small cavity full of [[ricin]] into his [[Calf (anatomy)|calf]].<ref name=casereopenedinduk>{{Cite news| last=Brown| first=Jonathan | title=Poison umbrella murder case is reopened| newspaper=The Independent| location=UK| date=20 June 2008| url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/poison-umbrella-murder-case-is-reopened-851022.html | accessdate=16 May 2011| postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*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 where Parker worked accidentally released some virus into the air of the building. Parker is the last known smallpox fatality.<ref>[http://www.qmul.ac.uk/news/newsrelease.php?news_id=18 Twenty five years on: Smallpox revisited Queen Mary, University of London]{{dead link|date=December 2010}}</ref>
*1978: '''[[Kurt Gödel]]''', the Austrian/American logician and mathematician, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized. Gödel suffered from extreme paranoia and refused to eat food prepared by anyone else.<ref>Toates, Frederick; Olga Coschug Toates (2002). Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: Practical Tried-and-Tested Strategies to Overcome OCD. Class Publishing, 221. ISBN 978-1-85959-069-0.</ref>
*1979: '''[[Robert Williams (robot fatality)|Robert Williams]]''', a worker at a Ford Motor Co. plant, was the first known human to be killed by a robot,<ref name="rlid">Robot firm liable in death, Tim Kiska, ''The Oregonian'', 11 August 1983.</ref> after the arm of a one-ton factory robot hit him in the head.<ref name="a">{{cite news|last=Kiska|first=Tim|title=Death on the job: Jury awards $10 million to heirs of man killed by robot at auto plant |pages=A10|work=[[Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=1983-08-11|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=2007-09-11}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old of [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a halftime show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on December 9, 1979. During an event featuring custom-made remote control flying machines, a 40-pound model plane shaped like a lawnmower accidentally dived into the stands, striking Bowen and another spectator, causing severe head injuries. Bowen died in the hospital four days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/lawnmower.asp |title=Flying Lawnmower Death – Grim Reaper (contains additional references) |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref><ref>[http://www.courant.com/ny-spsmain28112329894sep28,0,3404154.story It was a grand stage for excitement]{{dead link|date=March 2011}} by Joe Gergen, Hartford Courant, September 28, 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives of Japan|Japan's House of Representatives]], died in an attempt to gain sympathy during his election campaign. Having persuaded one of his employees to punch him in the face, Ito then stabbed himself in the leg. He hit an [[artery]] causing him to bleed to death before any aid could be given.<ref name="Book of Lists"/>

=== 1980s ===

*1981: '''David Allen Kirwan''', a 24-year-old, died from third-degree burns after attempting to rescue a friend's dog from the 200°F (93°C) water in Celestine Pool, a hot spring at [[Yellowstone National Park]] on July 20, 1981.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hotspring.asp Hot Springs Death – Help Springs Eternal] at Snopes.com</ref><ref>Lee Whittlesey, ''Death in Yellowstone: Accidents and Foolhardiness in the First National Park''. Boulder, Colo. : Roberts Rinehart Publishers, ©1995.</ref>
*1981: '''[[Boris Sagal]]''', a film 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>{{cite news| url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40911FE3E5C0C778EDDAC0894D9484D81 | work=The New York Times | title=Boris Sagal, 58, Movie Director, Dies After A Helicopter Accident | date=1981-05-24 | accessdate=2010-05-11 | first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Consumer Products and Machinery Company|Kawasaki]] plant in Japan. The robot's arm pushed him into a grinding machine, killing him.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/7001829?story_id=7001829 |title=Trust me, I'm a robot |publisher=Economist.com |date=2006-06-08 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*1981: '''Paul Gauci''', a 41-year-old Maltese man, died after welding a [[butterfly bomb]] to a metal pipe and using it as a mallet, thinking it was a harmless can.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20091029/local/boy-finds-lethal-wwii-bomb-in-qormi-valley |title=Boy finds lethal WWII bomb in Qormi valley |publisher=Timesofmalta.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed, by a helicopter blade during filming of ''[[Twilight Zone: The Movie]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/not_guilty/twilight_zone/1.html |title=The Twilight Zone Tragedy – Crime Library on truTV.com |publisher=Crimelibrary.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1982: '''David Grundman''' was killed near [[Lake Pleasant Regional Park|Lake Pleasant]], [[Arizona]] while shooting at cacti with his shotgun. After he fired several shots at a 26 ft (8 m) tall [[Saguaro Cactus]] from extremely close range, a 4 ft (1.2 m) limb of the cactus detached and fell on him, crushing him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/content/printVersion/160293 |title=When Cactus and Civilization collide – Trifling with Saguaros can be Hazardous to one's Health |publisher=Phoenixnewtimes.com |date=1993-03-03 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington, Virginia]] from a severe allergic reaction to [[Daconil]], a fungicide used on a golf course he attended. He had unwittingly ingested the substance through his habit of carrying the [[tee]] in his mouth when playing.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/poison/golftee.asp |title=Fatal-A-Tee |publisher=snopes.com |date=2006-09-02 |accessdate=2011-03-06}}</ref>
*1983: '''Four divers and a tender''' were killed on the [[Byford Dolphin]] semi-submersible, when a decompression chamber [[Explosive decompression|explosively decompressed]] from 9 [[Atmosphere (unit)|atm]] to 1 atm in a fraction of a second. The diver nearest the chamber opening was torn apart before his remains were ejected through a 24 inch (60 cm) opening. The other divers' remains showed signs of boiled blood, unusually strong [[rigor mortis]], large amounts of gas in the blood vessels, and scattered hemorrhages in the soft tissues.<ref>Giertsen, J.C. et al., "An Explosive Decompression Accident", The American Journal of Forensic Medicine and Pathology, 9(2):91–101, 1988.</ref>
*1983: '''[[Sergei Chalibashvili]]''', a professional diver, died as a result of a diving accident during the [[1983 Summer Universiade]] in [[Edmonton, Alberta]]. When he attempted a three-and-a-half reverse somersault in the tuck position from the ten meter platform, he struck his head on the platform and was knocked unconscious. He died after being in a coma for a week.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954031,00.html?promoid=googlep | work=Time | title=Milestones: Jul. 25, 1983 | date=1983-07-25 | accessdate=2010-05-11}}</ref>
*1983: American author '''[[Tennessee Williams]]''' died when 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.<ref>{{cite news| url=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 | title=Search Results | date=1983-02-27}}</ref>
*1983: '''[[Jimmy Lee Gray]]''', during his execution in a Mississippi [[gas chamber]], died bashing his head against a metal pole behind the chair he was strapped into. The poisonous gas had failed to kill him but left him in agony and gasping for eight minutes.<ref>[http://www.cbc.ca/news/reportsfromabroad/macdonald/20071107.html "Might we make executions more civilized, please?"] from [[CBC News]]</ref>
*1983: '''[[Dick Wertheim]]''' was an American tennis linesman who died from blunt cranial trauma at a match at the [[1983 US Open (tennis)|1983 US Open]]. [[Stefan Edberg]] sent an errant serve directly into his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |curly=y |url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fwIMAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jFkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7153,2693520 |work=Evening Independent |location=St. Petersburg, Florida |page=3–C |date=12 September 1983 |accessdate=20 November 2008}}</ref>
*1984: '''[[Tommy Cooper]]''', British comedian, died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] while performing during a live TV broadcast at [[Her Majesty's Theatre]] in London. Initially the audience, thinking it was part of the act, continued to laugh as he lay collapsed on the stage. He was then pulled from sight as attempts were made to revive him off stage.<ref>{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHELTET6m84 |title=The death Tommy Cooper |publisher=Youtube.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1984: '''[[Jon-Erik Hexum]]''', an American television actor, died after he shot himself in the head with a prop gun loaded with a single blank cartridge. Hexum was playing [[Russian Roulette]] during a break in filming.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/18/us/wounding-of-actor-on-coast-is-laid-to-russian-roulette.html | work=The New York Times | title=Wounding Of Actor On Coast Is Laid To Russian Roulette | date=1984-10-18}}</ref>
*1986: More than 1,700 were killed after a '''[[limnic eruption]]''' from [[Lake Nyos]] in [[Cameroon]] released approximately {{nowrap|100,000,000 cubic metres}} ({{nowrap|3,500,000,000 cubic feet}}) of [[carbon dioxide]] that quickly descended on the lake and killed oxygen-dependent life within a 25-kilometre (15-mile) radius, including three villages. The same phenomenon is also blamed for the deaths of 37 near [[Lake Monoun]] in 1984.<ref name=BBC>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/21/newsid_3380000/3380803.stm|title=21 August: 1986: Hundreds gassed in Cameroon lake disaster|publisher=BBC|author=BBC contributors|accessdate=May 20, 2009 | date=1986-08-21}}</ref>
*1987: '''[[R. Budd Dwyer|Budd Dwyer]]''', the State Treasurer of Pennsylvania, 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 head with a [[.357 Magnum]] revolver.<ref name="nytimes.1987">{{cite news |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DEFDF1638F930A15752C0A961948260 | title=OFFICIAL CALLS IN PRESS AND KILLS HIMSELF | last=Stevens | first=William K. | date=January 23, 1987 | work=The New York Times | accessdate=2008-09-11}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===

*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on September 23. A satellite dish that he was adjusting on the roof of his home fell on him and crushed his neck and head against the base of the dish.<ref>{{cite news |title=Diaz Crushed to Death in Accident |agency=Associated Press |work=The New York Times |page= |date=24 November 1990 |accessdate=6 March 2011 |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1990/11/24/sports/diaz-crushed-to-death-in-accident.html}}</ref>

*1991: '''Edward Juchniewicz''', a 76-year-old man from [[Canonsburg, Pennsylvania]], was killed when the unattended ambulance stretcher he was strapped to rolled down a grade and overturned.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/medical/emergent/gurney.asp |title=The Runaway Gurney |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Stretcher Accident Kills Man |url=http://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/04/us/stretcher-accident-kills-man.html?scp=1&sq=Stretcher%20Accident%20Kills%20Man&st=cse |agency=[[(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=May 4, 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=March 19, 2011}}</ref>

*1993: Actor '''[[Brandon Lee]]''', son of [[Bruce Lee]], was shot and killed by a prop gun during the making of the movie ''[[The Crow (film)|The Crow]]''. The accident happened after a mistake in prop handling procedures: In a prior scene a revolver was fired using a cartridge with only a primer and a bullet, but the primer provided enough force to push the round out of the cartridge into the barrel of the revolver, where it stuck. The gun was then reused to shoot the death scene of Lee's character. This time it was reloaded with a blank cartridge that contained propellant and a primer. When actor [[Michael Massee]] fired the gun, the bullet was propelled into Lee.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/movies/actors/brandonlee.asp |title=Brandon Lee's Death in 'The Crow' |publisher=snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on July 9, 1993, after he threw himself against a window on the 24th floor of the [[Toronto-Dominion Centre]] in an attempt to prove to a group of visitors that the glass was "unbreakable." The glass did not break, but popped out of the window frame.<ref>[http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/window.asp Window Test Death – Through a Glass, Quickly] at Snopes.com</ref><ref>[http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070315.RGOODMAN15/TPStory/? Goodman and Carr falls prey to rivals] by Jacquie McNish, The Globe and Mail, March 15, 2007.</ref>
*1993: '''Michael A. Shingledecker, Jr.''' was killed 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>{{cite news| url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEED7123AF93AA25753C1A965958260&sec=&spon=&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink | work=The New York Times | title=Not Like the Movie: A Dare Leads to Death | date=1993-10-19 | accessdate=2010-05-11}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, dies at her [[Palm Beach, Florida]] home after attempting to inhale [[freon]] gas from the air-conditioning unit.<ref>{{cite news|last=Sanchez Jr|first=Jose Luis|title=Mother Of Victim Plans Crusade Against Freon|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1994-06-09/news/9406090063_1_freon-grace-jones-jones-classmates|accessdate=1 December 2012|newspaper=Florida SunSentinel|date=June 9 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to [[Riverside County Regional Medical Center|Riverside General Hospital]], in [[Riverside, California]], for complications of advanced cervical cancer. Before she died, her caregivers claimed that Ramirez's body mysteriously emitted toxic fumes that made several emergency room workers very ill.<ref>{{cite web|last=Stone |first=Richard |url=http://discovermagazine.com/1995/apr/analysisofatoxic493 |title=Analysis of a Toxic Death | Cancer |work=DISCOVER Magazine |date=1995-04-01 |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
*1995: A '''39-year-old man''' committed suicide in Canberra, Australia by shooting himself [[Multiple gunshot suicide|three times]] with a pump action shotgun. The first shot passed through his chest, but missed all of the vital organs. He reloaded and shot away his throat and part of his jaw. Breathing through the throat wound, he again reloaded, held the gun against his chest with his hands and operated the trigger with his toes. This shot entered the thoracic cavity and demolished the heart, killing him.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Herdson PB |title=Shotgun suicide with a difference |journal=Med J Aust. |volume=173 |issue=11–12 |pages=604–5 |year=2000 |pmid=11379504 |url=http://www.mja.com.au/public/issues/173_11_041200/herdson/herdson.html}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Sharon Lopatka]]''', from [[Maryland]], was killed by Robert Glass who claimed that she had solicited him to torture and kill her for the purpose of sexual gratification.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/classics/sharon_lopatka/1.html?sect=13 |title=Internet Assisted Suicide: The Story of Sharon Lopatka at CrimeLibrary.com |publisher=Trutv.com |date= |accessdate=2011-07-21}}</ref>
*1997: '''[[Karen Wetterhahn]]''', a professor of chemistry at [[Dartmouth College]], died of mercury poisoning ten months after a few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] landed on her protective gloves. Although Wetterhahn had been following the required procedures for handling the chemical, it still permeated her gloves and skin within seconds. As a result of her death, regulations were altered.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/dimethylmercury/dmmh.htm |title=Dimethylmercury and Mercury Poisoning |publisher=Chm.bris.ac.uk |date= |accessdate=2011-11-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=2011-11-16}}</ref>
*1998 October: The entire [[association football]] team of '''Bena Tshadi''' playing against Basanga was killed by lightning during a match in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]. Everyone on Basanga, the home team, survived.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/203137.stm | work=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=1998-10-28 | accessdate=2010-05-11}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2006/mar/15/theknowledge.sport | work=Guardian News | title=Did lightning kill an entire team? | date=2006-03-15 | accessdate=2011-09-02 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>
*1999: Children's entertainer '''[[Rod Hull]]''' died while adjusting the television aerial on the roof of his house. He had been watching a [[Manchester United]] [[European Cup]] match with his 19-year-old son Oliver. In his attempt to improve reception, he slipped from the roof and fell through an adjoining greenhouse. The 63-year-old entertainer suffered a severe skull fracture and chest injuries. He was pronounced dead on arrival at [[Conquest Hospital]] in [[Hastings]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Rod Hull's death 'accidental' |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/336174.stm |accessdate=September 24, 2012 |newspaper=BBC |date=May 5, 1999}}</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html "Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings" at telegraph.co.uk]</ref>
*1999: '''Jon Desborough''', a [[physical education]] teacher at [[Liverpool College]], died when he slipped and fell onto the blunt end of a [[javelin]] he was retrieving. The javelin passed through his [[eye socket]] and into his brain, causing severe brain damage and putting him into a coma. He died a month later.<ref>{{cite news |last=Breslin |first=Maria |title=Teacher hit by javelin dies |url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/teacher-hit-by-javelin-dies-1099330.html |accessdate=April 26, 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=June 11, 1999}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Javelin teacher dies in hospital |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/365923.stm |accessdate=April 26, 2012 |newspaper=BBC |date=June 10, 1999}}</ref>

== 21st century ==

=== 2000s ===

* 2001: '''Bernd-Jürgen Brandes''', from Germany, was voluntarily stabbed repeatedly and then partly eaten by [[Armin Meiwes]] (who was later called the Cannibal of [[Rotenburg an der Fulda|Rotenburg]]). 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'', 9 May 2006</ref>
* 2001: '''Gregory Biggs''', a homeless American man in [[Fort Worth, Texas]], was struck by a car being driven by drunk driver, [[Chante Jawan Mallard]] and became lodged in her windshield with severe but not immediately fatal injuries. Mallard drove home and left the car in her garage with Biggs still lodged in her car's windshield. Biggs died of his injuries several hours later.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courttv.com/trials/mallard/background.html |title=Woman faced murder trial after leaving accident victim in her car |publisher=Courttv.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
* 2001: '''Michael Colombini''', a 6-year-old American boy from [[Croton-on-Hudson]], New York, was struck and killed at Westchester Regional Medical Centre, by an [[oxygen tank]] when it was pulled into the [[magnetic resonance imaging]] (MRI) machine while he underwent a test. He had begun to experience breathing difficulties while in the MRI and when an anaesthesiologist brought a portable oxygen canister into the magnetic field, it was pulled from his hands and struck the boy in the head.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/22/nyregion/hospital-details-failures-leading-to-mri-fatality.html |title=Hospital Details Failures Leading To MRI Fatality |publisher=Nytimes.com |date=2001-08-22 |accessdate=2010-12-11 |first=Randal C. |last=Archibold}}</ref><ref>[http://www.mri-planning.com/articles/2005_newsletter/0508_four_years_after.html MRI Newsletter: Four Years After The Tragedy]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}.</ref>
* 2002: '''[[Death of Brittanie Cecil|Brittanie Cecil]]''', a 13-year-old American, was struck in the head by a [[hockey puck]] shot by [[Espen Knutsen]] and deflected into the crowd at an NHL hockey game in [[Columbus, Ohio]]. She died two days later in the hospital.<ref>[http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html "Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game"], ''ESPN.com'', 20 May 2002</ref>
* 2002: '''Richard Sumner''', a British artist suffering from schizophrenia, went into a remote section of [[Clocaenog Forest]] in [[Denbighshire]], [[Wales]], handcuffed himself to a tree and threw the keys out of his reach. His skeleton was discovered three years later. There were signs that he may have later changed his mind.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/4264282.stm "Artist Died Handcuffed to Tree"], ''BBC News'', September 20, 2005</ref>
* 2003: '''[[Brian Douglas Wells]]''', an American [[pizza delivery]] man in [[Erie, Pennsylvania]], was killed when a [[time bomb]] fastened around his neck exploded. At the time of his death he had been apprehended by the police for robbing a bank. Wells told police that three people had locked the bomb around his neck and would not release it had he refused to commit the robbery.<ref>{{cite news| title=Pizza Deliveryman Who Robbed Bank Had Neck Measured for Bomb Collar| agency=Associated Press| date=2007-07-19| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=2108-09-30 | work=Fox News}}</ref>
* 2004: '''Phillip Quinn''', a 24-year-old from [[Kent, Washington]], was killed while heating up a [[lava lamp]] on his kitchen stove. The lamp exploded and a shard pierced his heart.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/lavalamp.asp |title=Lava Lamp Death |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
* 2004: '''Ronald McClagish''', from [[Murrow, Cambridgeshire]] in England, was trapped inside a cupboard when a wardrobe outside fell over and made it impossible for him to get out. McClagish survived for a week before succumbing to [[bronchitis]], which he had contracted when he removed a waterpipe in an attempt to free himself and the cupboard was partially flooded.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/cambridgeshire/4483137.stm Call For New Cupboard Death Probe] from BBC News</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down] from The Telegraph</ref>
* 2004: An '''unidentified [[Taiwan]]ese woman''' died of alcohol intoxication after immersion for twelve hours in a bathtub filled with 40% ethanol. Her [[blood alcohol content]] was 1.35%. It was believed that she had immersed herself as a response to the [[Severe acute respiratory syndrome|SARS]] epidemic.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fsijournal.org/article/S0379-0738%2804%2900389-5/abstract |title=Elsevier |publisher=Fsijournal.org |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
* 2004: '''Tracy J. Kraling''', 31, was killed at Regions Hospital in [[Minnesota]] after entering a walk-in [[autoclave]]. The door closed while she was inside, and the machine automatically started, scalding her with 180 °F (82 °C) water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.antiscald.com/prevention/scaldnews/fined.php |title=Antiscald Inc |publisher=Antiscald.com |date=2004-11-04 |accessdate=2011-07-21}}</ref>
* 2004: '''Francis "Franky" Brohm''', 23, of [[Marietta, Georgia]] was leaning out of a car window and decapitated by a telephone pole support wire. The car's intoxicated driver, John Hutcherson, 21, drove nearly {{convert|12|mi}} to his home with the headless body in the passenger seat, parked the car in his driveway, then went to bed. A neighbour saw the bloody corpse still in the car and notified police. Brohm's head was later discovered at the accident scene.<ref>{{cite web|last=Johnston |first=Lori |url=http://www.ajc.com/news/q-a-on-the-1198589.html |title='''AJC'', 11 Oct 2011 |publisher=Ajc.com |date=2011-10-11 |accessdate=2011-11-16}}</ref>
* 2005: '''[[Enumclaw horse sex case|Kenneth Pinyan]]''' from [[Seattle, Washington]], died of acute [[peritonitis]] after receiving anal intercourse from a stallion. The case led to the criminalization of [[zoophilia|bestiality]] in [[Washington (state)|Washington state]].<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002569751_horsesex19m.html "Trespassing charged in horse-sex case"] ''The Seattle Times''</ref>
* 2005: '''[[Lee Seung Seop]]''', a 28-year-old from [[South Korea]], collapsed of fatigue and died after playing the videogame ''[[StarCraft]]'' online for almost 50 consecutive hours.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm "Korean drops dead after 50-hour gaming marathon"], ''Times Online'', 10 August 2005</ref>
* 2006: '''Erika Tomanu''', a seven-year-old girl in [[Saitama, Saitama|Saitama]], Japan, died when she was sucked 10 metres down the intake pipe of a current pool at a water park.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://weekly.japantimes.co.jp/news/nn2006/girl-sucked-into-intake-at-city-run-pool |title=Girl sucked into intake at city-run pool |publisher=Japantimes.co.jp |date=2006-08-05 |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
* 2006: '''An unidentified airline mechanic''' was sucked into the engine of a [[Boeing 737-500]] at [[El Paso International Airport]] while performing routine maintenance on the tarmac.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2006-01-16/us/airplane.fatality_1_jet-engine-fatal-accident-passengers-and-five-crew?_s=PM:US|title=Mechanic sucked into jet engine|publisher=CNN|accessdate=2012-12-01}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,181825,00.html |title=Airplane Mechanic Sucked Into Jet Engine, Killed at El Paso Airport |date= January 16, 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate=30 August 2012}}</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian 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 in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], September 4, 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''Mariesa Weber''', a petite 38-year-old woman, asphyxiated when she became wedged upside-down behind a bookcase in her bedroom while trying to adjust a plug on her television set. Her family, believing she had been abducted, searched for eleven days before finally finding the body.<ref>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15895965/#.T_rYyoGwXmU</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation|Russian State security service]] and later a [[dissident]] and writer, died from [[Radiation poisoning|acute radiation syndrome]] after being poisoned with [[polonium]]-210.<ref>{{cite news |title=Alexander V. Litvinenko |work=The New York Times |date=31 May 2007 |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/l/alexander_v_litvinenko/index.html |accessdate=27 April 2011 |first1=Alan |last1=Cowell |first2=Clifford J. |last2=Levy |first3=Scott |last3=Shane}}</ref>
* 2007: '''[[Water intoxication#Notable cases|Jennifer Strange]]''', a 28-year-old woman from [[Sacramento, California]], died of [[water intoxication]] while trying to win a [[Nintendo]] [[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"]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}, ''The Los Angeles Times'', 14 January 2007</ref><ref>[http://www.knbc.com/news/10761800/detail.html "Woman's Death After Water-Drinking Contest Investigated"]{{dead link|date=March 2011}} ''KNBC.com'', 16 January 2007</ref>
* 2007: '''Humberto Hernandez''', a 24-year-old [[Oakland, California]] resident, was killed after being struck in the face by an airborne fire hydrant while walking. A passing car had struck the fire hydrant and the water pressure shot the hydrant at Hernandez with enough force to kill him.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/hydrant.asp |title=Fire Hydrant Death – Fire Plugged |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref><ref>[http://cbs5.com/local/Humberto.Hernandez.fire.2.456707.html Oakland Man Killed By Airborne Fire Hydrant]{{dead link|date=March 2011}}, CBS5.com, June 22, 2007.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-06-23-fire-hydrant_N.htm |title=Flying fire hydrant kills Calif. man |publisher=Usatoday.com |date=2007-06-23 |accessdate=2011-08-08}}</ref>
* 2007: '''[[Kevin Whitrick]]''', a 42-year-old British man, committed suicide by hanging himself live in front of a webcam during an Internet chat session.<ref>{{cite news|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 | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: '''[[Surinder Singh Bajwa]]''', the Deputy Mayor of [[Delhi]], India, died after falling from his building's terrace while trying to fight off attacking [[Rhesus Macaque]] monkeys.<ref>{{cite web|author=|url=http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Bajwa-succumbs-to-injuries/230828/ |title=Bajwa succumbs to injuries |publisher=Expressindia.com |date= |accessdate=2010-12-11}}</ref>
* 2008: '''[[Death of Abigail Taylor|Abigail Taylor]]''', a 6-year-old from [[Edina, Minnesota]], died nine months after several of her internal organs were partially sucked out of her lower body while she sat on an excessively powerful swimming pool drain. Surgeons had replaced her intestines and pancreas with donor organs, but she later succumbed to a rare transplant-related cancer.<ref>[http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-03-21-3982361687_x.htm Girl, 6, Dies From Swimming Pool Injury] ''USA Today'', 21 March 2008</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, [[decapitated|cut off his own head]] with a chainsaw to highlight the injustice of being forced to move out.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/death-was-carefully-thought-through-suicide-1025503.html|title= Chainsaw death was 'carefully thought through suicide'|last=Halfpenny|first=Martin|date=19 November 2008|work=The Independent|accessdate=2008-11-22 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm | work=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=2008-11-19}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by two [[coyote]]s, the only recorded adult person to have been killed by this species.<ref name="CBC">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/nova-scotia/story/2009/10/28/ns-coyote-attack-died.html|title=Coyotes kill Toronto singer in Cape Breton|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|date=2009-10-28|accessdate=2009-10-29}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

=== 2010s ===

====2010====

*'''Amy Rose Coxall''', a 15-year-old British schoolgirl studying in Hong Kong, died of strangulation shortly after her scarf got caught in the wheel of a go-kart she was driving on a karting course.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/hongkong/7264633/British-schoolgirl-killed-in-freak-go-kart-accident-in-Hong-Kong.html British schoolgirl killed in 'freak' go-kart accident in Hong Kong], The Telegraph, U.K., February 18, 2010</ref>
*'''Jenny Mitchell''', a 19-year-old English [[hairdresser]], was killed when her car exploded after fumes, caused by chemicals mixing with [[hydrogen peroxide]] leaking from a bottle of hair bleach, ignited as she lit a cigarette.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/mar/25/peroxide-leak-hairdresser-car-death | work=The Guardian | location=London | title=Peroxide leak suspected in hairdresser's car blast death | first=Steven | last=Morris | date=2010-03-25 | accessdate=2010-05-11}}</ref>
*'''[[Jimi Heselden]]''', British owner of the [[Segway Inc.|Segway]] motorized scooter company, was killed when he accidentally drove off a cliff on a Segway at his estate at [[Thorp Arch, West Yorkshire|Thorp Arch]] near [[Boston Spa]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2010/09/27/2010-09-27_segway_company_owner_jimi_heselden_dies_in_england_after_riding_a_segway_off_cli.html | location=New York | work=Daily News | first1=Michael | last1=Sheridan | first2=Corky | last2=Siemaszko | title=Segway company owner James 'Jimi' Heselden dies in England after riding a Segway off cliff | date=2010-09-27}}</ref>

*'''20 crew and passengers''' died in [[2010 Bandundu Filair Let L-410 crash|a plane crash]] near [[Bandundu (city)|Bandundu]], in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], when a [[crocodile]], being [[Wildlife smuggling|smuggled]] by one of the passengers in a sports bag, freed itself and panicked the passengers who all ran towards the flightdeck. The tiny Filair [[L-410 Turbolet]] became unbalanced and crashed, despite the lack of any technical failure. One passenger and the crocodile survived.<ref>http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/plane-crashes-crocodile-escapes-panic/story?id=11947027#.UDpjc6ARSgZ</ref><ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/democraticrepublicofcongo/8078612/Aircraft-crashes-after-crocodile-on-board-escapes-and-sparks-panic.html</ref>

====2011====

*'''Sheila Decoster''', 62, died from asphyxiation after falling head first into a recycling bin at her home in [[Toledo, Ohio]], U.S.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.toledoblade.com/Police-Fire/2011/08/09/E-Toledo-woman-dies-in-fall-into-recycling-bin.html |title=E. Toledo woman dies in fall into recycling bin |publisher=www.toledoblade.com |date= 2011-08-09|accessdate=2012-11-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-14469123 |title=BBC News - Sheila Decoster dies in freak bin accident in Ohio |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |date= 2011-08-09|accessdate=2011-08-10}}</ref>

*'''Brian Depledge''', 38, died from asphyxiation at his home in [[Bradford]], UK, after tripping and falling into a plastic clothes-airer and trapping his neck in the rungs.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2035614/Father-dies-bizarre-clothes-horse-accident-likely-hit-meteorite.html |title=Bizarre death of man who suffocated when he became tangled up in a clothes horse |newspaper=Mail Online |date= 10 September 2011 |location=London |first=Paul |last=Sims}}</ref>

*'''Jose Luis Ochoa''', 35, died after being stabbed in the leg at a [[cockfight]] in [[Tulare County, California]] U.S., by one of the birds that had a knife attached to its limb.<ref>{{cite news |title=Man stabbed to death by cockfighting bird |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-12393125 |newspaper=[[BBC News]] |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=March 19, 2011}}</ref>
*'''Arthur Sexton''', 80, drowned after falling off a step ladder and landing upside down in a [[Rainwater tank]] containing only a couple of feet of water, in the garden of his home at [[Fleet, Lincolnshire|Fleet]] in [[Lincolnshire]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1378827/Gardener-drowns-falling-ladder-landing-head-water-butt.html | location=London | work=Daily Mail | title=Gardener drowns after falling off ladder and landing head-first in water bucket | first=Andrew | last=Levy | date=2011-04-21}}</ref>

====2012====

*'''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a nearby high-oxygen chamber kicked the wall, releasing a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggering an explosion.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/9079168/Equine-expert-killed-as-horse-shoe-sparks-explosion-heard-30-miles-away.html | work=The Daily Telegraph | title=Equine expert killed as horse shoe sparks explosion heard 30 miles away | date=2012-02-13}}</ref><ref>[http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/17/10434135-officials-horses-metal-shoes-sparked-fatal-blast-in-oxygen-chamber?lite "Officials: Horse's metal shoes sparked fatal blast in oxygen chamber" (Feb 17, 2012) NBCNews]</ref><ref>http://cnsnews.com/news/article/explosion-fla-horse-center-kills-worker-horse</ref>

*'''Uroko Onoja''', a [[Nigeria]]n [[polygamist]] businessman, died after being forced by five of his six wives to have sex with each of them. Onoja was caught having sex with his youngest wife by the remaining five, who were jealous of him paying her more attention. The remaining wives demanded that he also have sex with each of them, threatening him with knives and sticks. He had intercourse with four of them in succession, but stopped breathing before having sex with the fifth.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2178201/Uroko-Onoja-death-Husband-raped-death-5-wives-paying-attention-sixth.html | work=Daily Mail | first=Kerry | last=McDermott | title=Extraordinary story of the husband who was 'raped to death' by five wives because he was paying too much attention to the sixth}}</ref>

* '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman was killed when she got her head trapped in her stair lift. She toppled backwards down the stairs and got her head wedged between the metal rung of the electric seat and the wall.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218636/Grandmother-killed-getting-head-trapped-stairlift.html|title=Grandmother killed getting head trapped in stairlift|work=[[Daily Mail]]|date=october 17, 2012}}</ref>

====2013====

== See also ==
{{div col}}
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Multiple gunshot suicide]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Stunt#Stunts that have gone wrong|Stunts that have gone wrong]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
* [[Final Destination (film series)]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==

{{reflist|30em}}
{{death}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:unusual deaths}}
[[Category:Death-related lists]]
[[Category:Lists of people by cause of death]]
[[Category:Lists of things considered unusual|Deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths by cause]]

[[bg:Списък на необичайни смъртни случаи]]
[[fa:فهرست مرگ‌های غیرعادی]]
[[fr:Liste de morts insolites]]
[[pt:Anexo:Lista de mortes incomuns]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle