Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Benutzer:Karsten11/Gerry Hutch

2014-08-06T17:19:06Z

Cyclopia: /* Film and TV */ Added info on right to be forgotten case

{{Article for deletion/dated|page=Gerry Hutch|timestamp=20140806162602|year=2014|month=August|day=6|substed=yes|help=off}}


{{BLP sources|date=August 2014}}
'''Gerry Hutch''' (born 1963) is an Irish convicted criminal, alleged to have been one of Ireland's most successful bank robbers. He is often known by his nickname of '''''The Monk''''' because he pursues clean living and follows religious beliefs, leading a "disciplined, [[ascetic]] lifestyle" after leaving [[prison]] in 1985. He was not involved in the sale or distribution of drugs,<ref name="Examiner1">{{cite web|url=http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2000/04/01/current/ipage_7.htm|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070227155155/http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2000/04/01/current/ipage_7.htm|title=Hutch to Clear Outstanding Liabilities in a £1.2m Deal with the State|first=Conor|last=Keane|publisher= Irish Examiner|archivedate=27 Feb 2007|date=1 April 2000|accessdate=2010-09-29}}</ref> but was very active within Dublin's [[inner city]] community, working with disadvantaged children and encouraging them not to take drugs.<ref name="Examiner1"/>

== Early life==
Born in central [[Dublin]], his criminal career began at the age of 10 when Hutch joined and later led the '[[Bugsy Malone]] [[Gang]]' of inner city youngsters (named after the [[fictional]] [[feature film]]) whose crimes in the 1970s included "jump-overs": they would jump over bank counters, grab whatever cash they could and run out the door.<ref name="Examiner1"/>

He was later part of another gang primarily involved in major [[robberies]] and received many [[conviction]]s between 1970 and 1985 intermittently spending time in [[prison]]. His gang was said to have amassed an estimated IR£40 million from a series of [[bank robberies]], [[jewellery]] heists, and [[fraud]] [[scams]] spanning almost 8 years. Hutch also managed to gain money from legal actions in the Irish courts. These included £8,500 won from Securicor Ireland in June, 1991, £2,000 from the ''[[Sunday Tribune]]'' newspaper in a libel action and around £26,000 won in legal actions against the Irish State.<ref name="Examiner1"/>

== Corinthians Boxing Club ==
In 1998 he was a founder member of the Corinthians Boxing Club in Dublin and has served as treasurer for the club. The club has a full gym and a world class boxing ring. The latter was donated by [[film director]] [[Jim Sheridan]] after making the film ''[[The Boxer (1997 film)|The Boxer]]''.<ref name="Examiner1"/>

== Criminal Assets Bureau ==
In 1999, in the course of court proceedings brought against Hutch by the Irish state's anti [[money laundering]] agency, the [[Criminal Assets Bureau]] (CAB), [[Detective Chief Superintendent]] Felix McKenna claimed Hutch had been involved in the IR£1.7 million robbery of an armoured van at Marino Mart in January 1987 and the IR£3 million armed robbery of a [[Brinks]] Allied Security Depot in Clonshaugh, [[County Dublin]], in 1995, which had been the largest cash robbery in the State at the time.<ref name="Examiner1"/><ref name="RTE1">{{cite news |url=http://www.rte.ie/news/1999/0514/monk.html|title= RTÉ News, 14th May 1999 | date=14 May 1999}}</ref>

Hutch eventually reached an IR£1.2m settlement with the CAB to "cover back [[taxes]] and [[interest]] for a nine year period".<ref name="Examiner1"/>

== Driving career ==
After the CAB settlement, Hutch applied for and was granted a [[Taxicab|taxi]] licence.<ref name="Taxi">{{cite web |url= http://www.taxi.ie/ghutch.shtml |title= Irish taxi industry website quoting Irish Times, 6th June 2001}}</ref>

He has featured in the Irish media from time to time{{fact}} because he has driven celebrities including [[Mike Tyson]]<ref name="Tyson">{{cite web |url=http://www.showbizireland.com/news/march06/28-tyson01.shtml|title= Showbiz Ireland, 28th March 2006}}</ref> on their visits to Ireland

== Film and TV ==
Several of the films based on the life of the late Irish journalist [[Veronica Guerin]] feature actors playing Hutch.{{fact}}

Hutch appeared on RTÉ's ''[[Prime Time]]''{{fact}} programme in March 2008 where he was interviewed about his life and criminal career. Hutch denied any criminal activity, since his last prison sentence, other than tax evasion Hutch pointed out that he has never been convicted of any of the crimes he was linked to in the late 1980s and 1990s while the interviewer repeatedly queried his wealth and its origins.

Hutch was the subject of investigation in the Irish [[TV3 (Ireland)|TV3]] channel's factual television series, ''[[Dirty Money: The Story of the Criminal Assets Bureau|Dirty Money]]''. The episode which aired March 2008 was solely devoted to the assets and finances seized by the criminal assets bureau of the [[Garda Síochána]] of both Hutch and his suspected criminal and family associates.

== Removal of Wikipedia biography from search engine results ==
In 2014, the Gerry Hutch page on [[Wikipedia]] was among the first ones to be removed by several [[search engine]]s query results in the [[European Union]], according to the [[right to be forgotten]] ruling.<ref name=chubb2014>{{cite news|last1=Chubb|first1=Karla|title=Request made to remove Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch from EU search results|url=http://www.newstalk.ie/Gerry-The-Monk-Hutch-one-of-first-to-request-removal-of-Wikipedia-page|accessdate=6 August 2014|publisher=Newstalk}}</ref><ref name=curties2014>{{cite news|last1=Curties|first1=Sophie|last2=Philipson|first2=Alice|title=Wikipedia founder: EU's Right to be Forgotten is 'deeply immoral'|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/wikipedia/11015901/EU-ruling-on-link-removal-deeply-immoral-says-Wikipedia-founder.html|accessdate=6 August 2014|publisher=The Telegraph|date=6 August 2014}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Persondata 
| NAME = Hutch
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Irish criminal
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1963
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH =
| PLACE OF DEATH =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutch}}
[[Category:1963 births]]
[[Category:Irish bank robbers]]
[[Category:Irish criminals]]
[[Category:Irish mob bosses]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Dublin (city)]]
[[Category:Thieves]]
[[Category:Articles blocked by Google]]

Aeon (Magazin)

2014-07-22T16:16:26Z

Cyclopia: /* Longform */ wikilink

{{multiple issues|
{{POV|date=July 2014}}
{{advert|date=July 2014}}
{{weasel|date=July 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Aeon Magazine
| logo = [[File:AeonMagazine logo BLUE.jpg]]
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|http://www.aeon.co/magazine}}
| slogan =
|category = [[Culture]], [[religion]], [[politics]], [[art]], [[science]], [[philosophy]], [[psychology]]
| type =
| registration =
| language = [[English language|English]]
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author = Paul Hains and Brigid Hains
| editor = Brigid Hains
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2012|09|17}}
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 12,748 ({{as of|2014|19|06|alt=June 2014}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/aeon.co%2Fmagazine |title= Aeonmagazine.com Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2014-06-19 }}</ref>
| revenue =
| current_status =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Aeon Magazine''' is a digital magazine of ideas and culture, founded by Paul and Brigid Hains in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/long-form-digital-magazine-hopes-to-delve-behind-the-news/s2/a550370/ | title=journalism.co.uk, Sept 17, 2012}}</ref> Publishing a substantial essay nearly every weekday, Aeon declares itself as committed to having "a cosmopolitan outlook, open to diverse perspectives and committed to progressive social change. [The magazine] has a high regard for science and other empirical knowledge, but also for imagination and personal experience."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=About Aeon magazine}}</ref> Contributors have included [[Julian Baggini]], [[A.L. Kennedy]], [[David Dobbs]], [[Michael Graziano]], [[Sven Birkerts]], [[Marek Kohn]], [[Tim Lott]], [[Jessa Gamble]], [[Ruth Padel]], [[Steven Poole]], [[John Quiggin]], [[Roger Scruton]], [[David Deutsch]] and [[Dava Sobel]].

==Longform==

Aeon writes [[long-form journalism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/pioneers-of-long-form-digital-journalism-three-projects-rewriting-the-rules-/s2/a551213/ | title=journalism.co.uk longform, Nov 15, 2012}}</ref> [[Thomas Levenson]] writes that sites like Aeon are "in direct contradiction to the daily-evident failure of those media institutions that have tried to chase a presumed ever shorter attention span and/or a hunger for one flavor or another of raw meat."<ref>The Inverse Square Blog, by Thomas Levenson, 08/06/2013</ref> Tech blogger Hamish McKenzie concurs, "It is the magazine that isn’t, the anti-aggregator, the publication that insists on going slow when every other force of the Internet demands that we speed up." <ref>The best magazine on the Internet?, by Hamish McKenzie, 09/16/13.</ref>

==Structure and content==

Aeon covers an array of topics, often from a panoramic perspective that aims to capture the big picture. There is little attention paid to day-to-day current events, in order to focus instead on deeper and more enduring questions.

The magazine is organized into five sections, each focusing on broadly different subject matter. Aeon describes its sections as follows:
* World Views takes on contemporary culture clashes, ancient philosophical conundra and the many ways in which our beliefs shape experience.
* Nature & Cosmos looks through the eyes of cutting-edge scientists, explorers and other attentive observers to bring the universe’s myriad patterns into focus.
* Being Human puts our own nature under the microscope, comparing insights from psychology, anatomy, evolutionary theory and simple introspection.
* Living Together searches for fresh lessons and hopeful developments in the greatest and most complicated of human projects, co-existence.
* Altered States explores ritual, play, recreation and imagination: whatever it takes to get beyond the everyday world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=Aeon Magazine 'About' section}}</ref>

A sister site, [[Aeon Film]], hosts short documentaries that track the same sections and grapple with similarly perennial issues.

==Reception==

Aeon has received attention from several leading digital outlets. [[Boing Boing]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boingboing.net/2012/11/09/erik-davis-reports-on-the-late.html | title=Boing Boing}}</ref> quoted contributor [[Erik Davis]] regarding Aeon as 'A new ... outfit that is charting a very interesting zone between science, religion, culture, and good writing.' [[The Browser]], another popular aggregator, wrote of the magazine, 'Let nobody say that Aeon ducks the big questions.'

Several of Aeon's essays were featured on [[Conor Friedersdorf]]'s annual list, '100 Pieces of Fantastic Journalism' for 2013. The magazine is also regularly featured and discussed on popular blogs such as [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s ''The Daily Dish'', the aggregator 3quarksdaily, [[Arts & Letters Daily]], the [[New York Times]]' "The Stone", and [[Digg]].

Contributor [[Jessa Gamble]]'s essay "The End of Sleep?" was named the best feature of 2013 by the [[Association of British Science Writers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absw.org.uk/news-and-events/news/winners-announced-for-2014-journalism-awards.html | title=Association of British Science Writers: Winners Announced, June 17, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.aeonmagazine.com/ Aeon website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/AeonMagazine/ Aeon on Facebook]
* [https://twitter.com/aeonmag/ Aeon on Twitter]

[[Category:English-language magazines]]
[[Category:Online magazines]]

Aeon (Magazin)

2014-07-22T16:15:15Z

Cyclopia: specifying it's their own blurb

{{multiple issues|
{{POV|date=July 2014}}
{{advert|date=July 2014}}
{{weasel|date=July 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Aeon Magazine
| logo = [[File:AeonMagazine logo BLUE.jpg]]
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|http://www.aeon.co/magazine}}
| slogan =
|category = [[Culture]], [[religion]], [[politics]], [[art]], [[science]], [[philosophy]], [[psychology]]
| type =
| registration =
| language = [[English language|English]]
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author = Paul Hains and Brigid Hains
| editor = Brigid Hains
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2012|09|17}}
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 12,748 ({{as of|2014|19|06|alt=June 2014}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/aeon.co%2Fmagazine |title= Aeonmagazine.com Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2014-06-19 }}</ref>
| revenue =
| current_status =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Aeon Magazine''' is a digital magazine of ideas and culture, founded by Paul and Brigid Hains in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/long-form-digital-magazine-hopes-to-delve-behind-the-news/s2/a550370/ | title=journalism.co.uk, Sept 17, 2012}}</ref> Publishing a substantial essay nearly every weekday, Aeon declares itself as committed to having "a cosmopolitan outlook, open to diverse perspectives and committed to progressive social change. [The magazine] has a high regard for science and other empirical knowledge, but also for imagination and personal experience."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=About Aeon magazine}}</ref> Contributors have included [[Julian Baggini]], [[A.L. Kennedy]], [[David Dobbs]], [[Michael Graziano]], [[Sven Birkerts]], [[Marek Kohn]], [[Tim Lott]], [[Jessa Gamble]], [[Ruth Padel]], [[Steven Poole]], [[John Quiggin]], [[Roger Scruton]], [[David Deutsch]] and [[Dava Sobel]].

==Longform==

Aeon writes longform journalism, dedicated to bringing more intelligent reading material to the web.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/pioneers-of-long-form-digital-journalism-three-projects-rewriting-the-rules-/s2/a551213/ | title=journalism.co.uk longform, Nov 15, 2012}}</ref> [[Thomas Levenson]] writes that sites like Aeon are "in direct contradiction to the daily-evident failure of those media institutions that have tried to chase a presumed ever shorter attention span and/or a hunger for one flavor or another of raw meat."<ref>The Inverse Square Blog, by Thomas Levenson, 08/06/2013</ref> Tech blogger Hamish McKenzie concurs, "It is the magazine that isn’t, the anti-aggregator, the publication that insists on going slow when every other force of the Internet demands that we speed up." <ref>The best magazine on the Internet?, by Hamish McKenzie, 09/16/13.</ref>

==Structure and content==

Aeon covers an array of topics, often from a panoramic perspective that aims to capture the big picture. There is little attention paid to day-to-day current events, in order to focus instead on deeper and more enduring questions.

The magazine is organized into five sections, each focusing on broadly different subject matter. Aeon describes its sections as follows:
* World Views takes on contemporary culture clashes, ancient philosophical conundra and the many ways in which our beliefs shape experience.
* Nature & Cosmos looks through the eyes of cutting-edge scientists, explorers and other attentive observers to bring the universe’s myriad patterns into focus.
* Being Human puts our own nature under the microscope, comparing insights from psychology, anatomy, evolutionary theory and simple introspection.
* Living Together searches for fresh lessons and hopeful developments in the greatest and most complicated of human projects, co-existence.
* Altered States explores ritual, play, recreation and imagination: whatever it takes to get beyond the everyday world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=Aeon Magazine 'About' section}}</ref>

A sister site, [[Aeon Film]], hosts short documentaries that track the same sections and grapple with similarly perennial issues.

==Reception==

Aeon has received attention from several leading digital outlets. [[Boing Boing]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boingboing.net/2012/11/09/erik-davis-reports-on-the-late.html | title=Boing Boing}}</ref> quoted contributor [[Erik Davis]] regarding Aeon as 'A new ... outfit that is charting a very interesting zone between science, religion, culture, and good writing.' [[The Browser]], another popular aggregator, wrote of the magazine, 'Let nobody say that Aeon ducks the big questions.'

Several of Aeon's essays were featured on [[Conor Friedersdorf]]'s annual list, '100 Pieces of Fantastic Journalism' for 2013. The magazine is also regularly featured and discussed on popular blogs such as [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s ''The Daily Dish'', the aggregator 3quarksdaily, [[Arts & Letters Daily]], the [[New York Times]]' "The Stone", and [[Digg]].

Contributor [[Jessa Gamble]]'s essay "The End of Sleep?" was named the best feature of 2013 by the [[Association of British Science Writers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absw.org.uk/news-and-events/news/winners-announced-for-2014-journalism-awards.html | title=Association of British Science Writers: Winners Announced, June 17, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.aeonmagazine.com/ Aeon website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/AeonMagazine/ Aeon on Facebook]
* [https://twitter.com/aeonmag/ Aeon on Twitter]

[[Category:English-language magazines]]
[[Category:Online magazines]]

Aeon (Magazin)

2014-07-22T16:07:54Z

Cyclopia: rm some puffery and unreliable sources

{{multiple issues|
{{POV|date=July 2014}}
{{advert|date=July 2014}}
{{weasel|date=July 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Aeon Magazine
| logo = [[File:AeonMagazine logo BLUE.jpg]]
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|http://www.aeon.co/magazine}}
| slogan =
|category = [[Culture]], [[religion]], [[politics]], [[art]], [[science]], [[philosophy]], [[psychology]]
| type =
| registration =
| language = [[English language|English]]
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author = Paul Hains and Brigid Hains
| editor = Brigid Hains
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2012|09|17}}
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 12,748 ({{as of|2014|19|06|alt=June 2014}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/aeon.co%2Fmagazine |title= Aeonmagazine.com Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2014-06-19 }}</ref>
| revenue =
| current_status =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Aeon Magazine''' is a digital magazine of ideas and culture, founded by Paul and Brigid Hains in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/long-form-digital-magazine-hopes-to-delve-behind-the-news/s2/a550370/ | title=journalism.co.uk, Sept 17, 2012}}</ref> Publishing a substantial essay nearly every weekday, Aeon is committed to having "a cosmopolitan outlook, open to diverse perspectives and committed to progressive social change. [The magazine] has a high regard for science and other empirical knowledge, but also for imagination and personal experience."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=About Aeon magazine}}</ref> Contributors have included [[Julian Baggini]], [[A.L. Kennedy]], [[David Dobbs]], [[Michael Graziano]], [[Sven Birkerts]], [[Marek Kohn]], [[Tim Lott]], [[Jessa Gamble]], [[Ruth Padel]], [[Steven Poole]], [[John Quiggin]], [[Roger Scruton]], [[David Deutsch]] and [[Dava Sobel]].

==Longform==

Aeon writes longform journalism, dedicated to bringing more intelligent reading material to the web.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/pioneers-of-long-form-digital-journalism-three-projects-rewriting-the-rules-/s2/a551213/ | title=journalism.co.uk longform, Nov 15, 2012}}</ref> [[Thomas Levenson]] writes that sites like Aeon are "in direct contradiction to the daily-evident failure of those media institutions that have tried to chase a presumed ever shorter attention span and/or a hunger for one flavor or another of raw meat."<ref>The Inverse Square Blog, by Thomas Levenson, 08/06/2013</ref> Tech blogger Hamish McKenzie concurs, "It is the magazine that isn’t, the anti-aggregator, the publication that insists on going slow when every other force of the Internet demands that we speed up." <ref>The best magazine on the Internet?, by Hamish McKenzie, 09/16/13.</ref>

==Structure and content==

Aeon covers an array of topics, often from a panoramic perspective that aims to capture the big picture. There is little attention paid to day-to-day current events, in order to focus instead on deeper and more enduring questions.

The magazine is organized into five sections, each focusing on broadly different subject matter. Aeon describes its sections as follows:
* World Views takes on contemporary culture clashes, ancient philosophical conundra and the many ways in which our beliefs shape experience.
* Nature & Cosmos looks through the eyes of cutting-edge scientists, explorers and other attentive observers to bring the universe’s myriad patterns into focus.
* Being Human puts our own nature under the microscope, comparing insights from psychology, anatomy, evolutionary theory and simple introspection.
* Living Together searches for fresh lessons and hopeful developments in the greatest and most complicated of human projects, co-existence.
* Altered States explores ritual, play, recreation and imagination: whatever it takes to get beyond the everyday world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=Aeon Magazine 'About' section}}</ref>

A sister site, [[Aeon Film]], hosts short documentaries that track the same sections and grapple with similarly perennial issues.

==Reception==

Aeon has received attention from several leading digital outlets. [[Boing Boing]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boingboing.net/2012/11/09/erik-davis-reports-on-the-late.html | title=Boing Boing}}</ref> quoted contributor [[Erik Davis]] regarding Aeon as 'A new ... outfit that is charting a very interesting zone between science, religion, culture, and good writing.' [[The Browser]], another popular aggregator, wrote of the magazine, 'Let nobody say that Aeon ducks the big questions.'

Several of Aeon's essays were featured on [[Conor Friedersdorf]]'s annual list, '100 Pieces of Fantastic Journalism' for 2013. The magazine is also regularly featured and discussed on popular blogs such as [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s ''The Daily Dish'', the aggregator 3quarksdaily, [[Arts & Letters Daily]], the [[New York Times]]' "The Stone", and [[Digg]].

Contributor [[Jessa Gamble]]'s essay "The End of Sleep?" was named the best feature of 2013 by the [[Association of British Science Writers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absw.org.uk/news-and-events/news/winners-announced-for-2014-journalism-awards.html | title=Association of British Science Writers: Winners Announced, June 17, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.aeonmagazine.com/ Aeon website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/AeonMagazine/ Aeon on Facebook]
* [https://twitter.com/aeonmag/ Aeon on Twitter]

[[Category:English-language magazines]]
[[Category:Online magazines]]

Aeon (Magazin)

2014-07-22T16:06:21Z

Cyclopia: Added {{POV}}, {{advert}} and {{weasel}} tags (within {{multiple issues}}) to article (TW)

{{multiple issues|
{{POV|date=July 2014}}
{{advert|date=July 2014}}
{{weasel|date=July 2014}}
}}
{{Infobox website
| name = Aeon Magazine
| logo = [[File:AeonMagazine logo BLUE.jpg]]
| logocaption =
| screenshot =
| collapsible =
| collapsetext =
| caption =
| url = {{URL|http://www.aeon.co/magazine}}
| slogan =
|category = [[Culture]], [[religion]], [[politics]], [[art]], [[science]], [[philosophy]], [[psychology]]
| type =
| registration =
| language = [[English language|English]]
| num_users =
| content_license =
| owner =
| author = Paul Hains and Brigid Hains
| editor = Brigid Hains
| launch_date = {{Start date and age|2012|09|17}}
| alexa = {{IncreaseNegative}} 12,748 ({{as of|2014|19|06|alt=June 2014}})<ref name="alexa">{{cite web|url= http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/aeon.co%2Fmagazine |title= Aeonmagazine.com Site Info | publisher= [[Alexa Internet]] |accessdate= 2014-06-19 }}</ref>
| revenue =
| current_status =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Aeon Magazine''' is a leading digital magazine of ideas and culture, founded by Paul and Brigid Hains in 2012.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/long-form-digital-magazine-hopes-to-delve-behind-the-news/s2/a550370/ | title=journalism.co.uk, Sept 17, 2012}}</ref> Publishing a substantial essay nearly every weekday, Aeon is committed to having "a cosmopolitan outlook, open to diverse perspectives and committed to progressive social change. [The magazine] has a high regard for science and other empirical knowledge, but also for imagination and personal experience."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=About Aeon magazine}}</ref> Contributors have included [[Julian Baggini]], [[A.L. Kennedy]], [[David Dobbs]], [[Michael Graziano]], [[Sven Birkerts]], [[Marek Kohn]], [[Tim Lott]], [[Jessa Gamble]], [[Ruth Padel]], [[Steven Poole]], [[John Quiggin]], [[Roger Scruton]], [[David Deutsch]] and [[Dava Sobel]].

==Longform==

Aeon is a leader<ref>{{cite news|url=https://inversesquare.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/the-best-of-times-good-reads-redux/ | title=The Inverse Square Blog, Thomas Levenson, August 8, 2013}}</ref> in longform journalism, dedicated to bringing more intelligent reading material to the web.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/pioneers-of-long-form-digital-journalism-three-projects-rewriting-the-rules-/s2/a551213/ | title=journalism.co.uk longform, Nov 15, 2012}}</ref> [[Thomas Levenson]] writes that sites like Aeon are "in direct contradiction to the daily-evident failure of those media institutions that have tried to chase a presumed ever shorter attention span and/or a hunger for one flavor or another of raw meat."<ref>The Inverse Square Blog, by Thomas Levenson, 08/06/2013</ref> Tech blogger Hamish McKenzie concurs, "It is the magazine that isn’t, the anti-aggregator, the publication that insists on going slow when every other force of the Internet demands that we speed up." <ref>The best magazine on the Internet?, by Hamish McKenzie, 09/16/13.</ref>

==Structure and content==

Aeon covers an array of topics, often from a panoramic perspective that aims to capture the big picture. There is little attention paid to day-to-day current events, in order to focus instead on deeper and more enduring questions.

The magazine is organized into five sections, each focusing on broadly different subject matter. Aeon describes its sections as follows:
* World Views takes on contemporary culture clashes, ancient philosophical conundra and the many ways in which our beliefs shape experience.
* Nature & Cosmos looks through the eyes of cutting-edge scientists, explorers and other attentive observers to bring the universe’s myriad patterns into focus.
* Being Human puts our own nature under the microscope, comparing insights from psychology, anatomy, evolutionary theory and simple introspection.
* Living Together searches for fresh lessons and hopeful developments in the greatest and most complicated of human projects, co-existence.
* Altered States explores ritual, play, recreation and imagination: whatever it takes to get beyond the everyday world.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.aeonmagazine.com/about/ | title=Aeon Magazine 'About' section}}</ref>

A sister site, [[Aeon Film]], hosts short documentaries that track the same sections and grapple with similarly perennial issues.

==Reception==

Aeon has received attention from several leading digital outlets. [[Boing Boing]]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://boingboing.net/2012/11/09/erik-davis-reports-on-the-late.html | title=Boing Boing}}</ref> quoted contributor [[Erik Davis]] regarding Aeon as 'A new ... outfit that is charting a very interesting zone between science, religion, culture, and good writing.' [[The Browser]], another popular aggregator, wrote of the magazine, 'Let nobody say that Aeon ducks the big questions.'

Several of Aeon's essays were featured on [[Conor Friedersdorf]]'s annual list, '100 Pieces of Fantastic Journalism' for 2013. The magazine is also regularly featured and discussed on popular blogs such as [[Andrew Sullivan]]'s ''The Daily Dish'', the aggregator 3quarksdaily, [[Arts & Letters Daily]], the [[New York Times]]' "The Stone", and [[Digg]].

Contributor [[Jessa Gamble]]'s essay "The End of Sleep?" was named the best feature of 2013 by the [[Association of British Science Writers]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.absw.org.uk/news-and-events/news/winners-announced-for-2014-journalism-awards.html | title=Association of British Science Writers: Winners Announced, June 17, 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|33em}}

==External links==
* [http://www.aeonmagazine.com/ Aeon website]
* [https://www.facebook.com/AeonMagazine/ Aeon on Facebook]
* [https://twitter.com/aeonmag/ Aeon on Twitter]

[[Category:English-language magazines]]
[[Category:Online magazines]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-05-28T12:53:15Z

Cyclopia: /* External links */ not sure it is a good idea here...

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T17:32:04Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ this is now unsourced, apparently?

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T17:23:00Z

Cyclopia: Reverted to revision 606195602 by Cyclopia (talk): Again, sorry, Wordpress blogs are not reliable sources. don't know what "that statement" is. (TW)

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass vessel approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"<ref name="Jackson"/>), yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> {{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. }}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual, as typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable.<ref name="Jackson"/> The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:09:25Z

Cyclopia: a Wordpress blog is not a reliable source

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:06:26Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ this is a lyrical inset that again adds no information whatsoever. sorry, it may be nice to someone's ears, but not very useful in an article.

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass vessel approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"<ref name="Jackson"/>), yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="Reuterdahl1">{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reuterdahl2">{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> There are no plans to open the bottle or conduct a new analysis presently.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>{{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. The museum’s former director, Dr. Karl Schulz wrote in the 50′s that during the analysis they found scent of [[Aroma of wine|aromatic wine]]."<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>}}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual, as typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable.<ref name="Jackson"/> The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:05:00Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ no need to proliferate footnotes

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass vessel approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"<ref name="Jackson"/>), yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="Reuterdahl1">{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reuterdahl2">{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> There are no plans to open the bottle or conduct a new analysis presently.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>{{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. The museum’s former director, Dr. Karl Schulz wrote in the 50′s that during the analysis they found scent of [[Aroma of wine|aromatic wine]]."<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>}}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual, as typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable.<ref name="Jackson"/> The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:04:10Z

Cyclopia: again, the source does NOT say that for Roman times, only from 1500 and later.

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass vessel approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"<ref name="Jackson"/>), yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="Reuterdahl1">{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reuterdahl2">{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> There are no plans to open the bottle or conduct a new analysis presently.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>{{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. The museum’s former director, Dr. Karl Schulz wrote in the 50′s that during the analysis they found scent of [[Aroma of wine|aromatic wine]]."<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>}}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual {{efn-ua|As typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable. <ref name="Jackson"/>}} The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:02:28Z

Cyclopia: not relevant

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"<ref name="Jackson"/> is yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>)

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="Reuterdahl1">{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reuterdahl2">{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> There are no plans to open the bottle or conduct a new analysis presently.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>{{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. The museum’s former director, Dr. Karl Schulz wrote in the 50′s that during the analysis they found scent of [[Aroma of wine|aromatic wine]]."<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>}}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual {{efn-ua|As typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable. Baskets and other materials were used to protect them. See [[Fiasco (bottle)|Fiasco]].<ref name="Jackson"/>}} The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-28T16:01:16Z

Cyclopia: moved paragraph in a footnote; moved footnote in more meaningful location

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867, and has been called "the worlds' oldest existing bottle of wine."<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="NationalGeo">{{cite journal |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/book-highlights/uncommon-history.html?source=email_inside |title=Of Vice & Vines: The Uncommon History of Wine |first1=Bethanne |last1=Patrick |first2=John |last2=Thompson |first3=Henry, Foreword |last3=Petroski |type=Hardcover |pages=304 |date=November 17, 2009 |isbn=1426204205 |id=ISBN 978-1426204203 |work=The Uncommon History of Common Things |location= Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[National Geographic]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}} </ref>{{efn-ua|
Most precisely, the oldest liquid wine still surviving. The oldest known remains of wine, albeit in the form of powdered residues, date back to 6,000 B.C.<ref>{{cite web |title=Old wine: An ancient timeline for great old wine|first1=Gregory |last1=Dal Piaz |url= http://www.snooth.com/articles/old-wine/?viewall=1#ixzz309BTaD8e |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref>}}
The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The "Römerwein" is situated in the museum's Tower room.<ref name="Michelin">{{cite web |url=http://travel.michelin.com/web/destination/Germany-Spires/tourist_site-Wine_Museum_Speyer-Pl_tz |title=Wine Museum, Speyer |work=[[Michelin Guide|Michelin Travel Guide]] |publisher=[[Michelin]] |accessdate=27 April 2014}}</ref> It is a glass approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders"{{efn-ua|See [[Ullage (wine)|Ullage]] and [[Ullage (wine)#Broadbent's ullage guide|Broadbent's ullage guide]]}}<ref name="Jackson"/> is yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref>

The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="Reuterdahl1">{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="Reuterdahl2">{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}</ref><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="NationalGeo"/><ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/> There are no plans to open the bottle or conduct a new analysis presently.<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>{{efn-ua|The bottle was subjected to some testing at earlier dates, but the full nature of the tests and the results are lost to history. However, some of the results have been at least hinted at: "Amazingly, there were and still is some liquid remaining in it, two thirds is viscous and probably some kind of olive oil poured in for preservative reasons. They have also found traces of [[honey]]. Underneath this was residues of wine. The contents were analysed in 1916 by senior inspector Schmidt and Professor Halenke. The result showed that it most likely contained wine together with olive oil. Further analysis was done in1934 and 1937/1938 by Professor Grüß and Professor von Stockmann in Berlin. Their findings were never published and was lost, unfortunately, during World War II. The museum’s former director, Dr. Karl Schulz wrote in the 50′s that during the analysis they found scent of [[Aroma of wine|aromatic wine]]."<ref name="Reuterdahl1"/><ref name="Reuterdahl2"/>}}

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual {{efn-ua|As typically [[Roman glass]] was too fragile to be dependable. Baskets and other materials were used to protect them. See [[Fiasco (bottle)|Fiasco]].<ref name="Jackson"/>}} The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]
*[[Storage of wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Containers}}
{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Bottles]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Oenology]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]
[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Wine packaging and storage]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-27T18:15:23Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ this seems to imply that they were common in Roman times, but the source says nothing of this kind

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> It is a glass approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders")<ref name="Jackson"/> is yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual {{efn-ua|As typically Roman glass was too fragile to be dependable. <ref name="Jackson"/>}} The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]
*{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}
*{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-27T15:16:22Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ removed line break, explicit subject

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD,<ref name="Mail2013"/> and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014|id=ISBN 978-0123736468}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum.<ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> It is a glass approximating the shape of an [[amphora]] (it has "shoulders")<ref name="Jackson"/> is yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg]].<ref name=dw/><ref name="speyer"/>

==Preservation==
The bottle was serendipitously discovered during an excavation.<ref name="speyer">{{cite web |url=http://www.speyer.de/sv_speyer/en/Tourism/Palatine%20wine/Highlight%20of%20the%20Wine%20Culture/ |title=Roman Wine in Speyer |work=Highlight of the Wine Culture |publisher=speyer.de |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref> The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air,<ref name="dw"/> along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The use of glass in the bottle was unusual {{efn-ua|As typically Roman glass was too fragile to be dependable. Thus, for example, the use of wicker coverings (e.g. [[Chianti]]) was common.<ref name="Jackson"/>}} The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>{{efn-ua|Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present risk of [[evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age."<ref name="C4WDefault-5350211">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World - World Of Fine Wine |work=worldoffinewine.com |date=3 March 2014 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |author= |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214250/http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref><ref name="C4WDefault-8006931">{{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum reluctant to open ancient Roman wine |work=The Archaeology News Network (archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com) |others=Image credit: The Local |editor=Ioannis Georgopoulos |date=c. 13 October 2013 |accessdate=26 April 2014 |first1= |last1=TANN |archiveurl=//web.archive.org/web/20140426214914/http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html |archivedate=26 April 2014 |deadurl=no}}</ref>
}}

==See also==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]
*{{cite web |url=http://vinotintoinenglish.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/should-the-speyer-wine-dated-to-c-325-ad-be-opened/ |title=Should the Speyer wine dated to ca 325 AD be opened? |date=December 10, 2011 |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |work=Testimony of a wine junkie |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}
*{{cite web |url=http://inventerare.wordpress.com/2011/03/25/a-few-words-on-prehistoric-and-historic-wine-imports-etc/ |title=A few words on prehistoric and historic wine imports, etc. |first1=Magnus |last1=Reuterdahl |date=March 25, 2011 |accessdate=April 26, 2014}}

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-26T17:26:38Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ Answers.com is not a RS

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=[[The Globe and Mail]] |title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}} ISBN 978-0123736468</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> It is a glass [[amphora]] yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==Preservation==
The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/><ref group=upper-alpha>Its condition has defied inherent fragility of [[bottles]] and [[Cork (plug)|bungs]]; and depredations of war, [[grave robber]]s, [[looter]]s, pillagers, and [[Drinker (alcohol)|imbibers]]; and the ever present threat of [[Evaporation|evaporation]] {{mdash}} making it preeminent. Seemingly, it did not "improve with age." {{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |date=3 March 2014 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World |publisher=World of Fine Wine |accessdate=24 April 2014}} {{cite web |url=http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2013/10/museum-reluctant-to-open-ancient-roman.html#.U1vMo_ldXNk |title=Museum Reluctant to Open Ancient Roman Bottle |publisher=Archeology News Network |accessdate=26 April 2014}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{Reflist|group=upper-alpha}}

'''Citations'''
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2014}}
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-26T14:40:26Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ more compact

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}} ISBN 978-0123736468</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> It is a glass [[amphora]] yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==Preservation==
The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]] diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a unique survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>

==See also==
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-26T14:38:04Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ no point in all this fancy flight of imagination

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a [[bottle]] of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> The bottle has been dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13– |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014 |newspaper=[[Daily Mail]] |date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |edition=3rd |isbn=0123736463 |publisher=Academic Press/[[Elsevier]] |location=Burlington, MA; London; San Diego |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}} ISBN 978-0123736468</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> It is a glass [[amphora]] yellow green in color with "handles formed in the shape of [[dolphin]]" embellishments.<ref name="Marques">{{cite web |title=The oldest bottle of wine.... |url=http://www.sunzu.com/articles/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-150352/ |publisher=Sunzu |first1=Victor |last1=Marques |accessdate=2 April 2014}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==Preservation==
The [[Drinking vessel|vessel]] was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman's tomb. The tomb contained two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]], one with a man and one with a woman.<ref name="dw"/> One source says he was a [[Legionary|Roman legionnaire]] and the wine was a provision for his celestial journey.<ref>{{cite web |title=The oldest wine in the world |url=http://www.pfalz.de/en/wine-enjoyment/the-oldest-wine-in-the-world#
|publisher=Pfalz |accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> Of the six glass bottles in the woman's sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid {{mdash}} a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis is consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted with a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle remained unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would react when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The museum's curator, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] (c. 27{{ndash}}66 AD) in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The {{convert|1.5|l|adj=on}} bottle is a unique survivor.<ref name="Jackson"/>

==See also==
*[[Ancient Rome and wine]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{portal|Drink}}
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T15:25:32Z

Cyclopia: /* Preservation */ clarifying

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

While scientists have thought of accessing the liquid to further analyze the content, as of 2011 the bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The 1.5 litre bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |publisher=Academic Press |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref> Its condition has defied fragility of [[bottles]] and [[corks]], war, looters, pillagers, and imbibers, making it preeminent<ref name="world">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |date=3 March 2014 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World |publisher=World of Fine Wine |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T15:24:42Z

Cyclopia: moved

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref> The same museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

While scientists have thought of analyzing the content, as of 2011 the bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The 1.5 litre bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |publisher=Academic Press |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref> Its condition has defied fragility of [[bottles]] and [[corks]], war, looters, pillagers, and imbibers, making it preeminent<ref name="world">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |date=3 March 2014 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World |publisher=World of Fine Wine |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T15:22:29Z

Cyclopia: funny but not that relevant

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably containing [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref>

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

While scientists have thought of analyzing the content, as of 2011 the bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="Mail2013"/><ref name="hall2011"/>

[[Petronius]] in his [[Satyricon]] writes of plaster sealed bottles, and this one is analogous. The 1.5 litre bottle is a survivor.<ref name="Jackson">{{cite book |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lU4HO2FeWoEC&pg=PA489&lpg=PA489&dq=Speyer+wine+bottle&source=bl&ots=CL8sK6-_tV&sig=NAlSI2ieNhaQeFQxK0tx2Hs-63o&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Y3laU7fjJ4yPyATEyoJo&ved=0CCUQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=Speyer%20wine%20bottle&f=false
|title=Wine Science: Principles and Applications |first1=Ronald S. |last1=Jackson |publisher=Academic Press |date=30 April 2008 |page=489 |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref> Its condition has defied fragility of [[bottles]] and [[corks]], war, looters, pillagers, and imbibers, making it preeminent<ref name="world">{{cite web |url=http://www.worldoffinewine.com/news/the-oldest-bottle-of-wine-in-the-world-4188157 |date=3 March 2014 |title=The Oldest Bottle of Wine in the World |publisher=World of Fine Wine |accessdate=24 April 2014}}</ref>

The Museum also houses "the oldest wine bottle in Germany that is still completely filled with wine", found in 1913 and bearing vintage 1687 of Steinauer vineyard near [[Naumburg ]].<ref name=dw/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.museum.speyer.de/English/Permanent_exhibitions/Weinmuseum_The_Wine_Museum_.htm Wine Museum home page]

{{Wines}}
{{Wine by country}}
{{winemaking}}
{{viticulture}}
{{Alcoholic beverages}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2012}}

[[Category:Wine| ]]
[[Category:Fermented beverages]]
[[Category:Viticulture| ]]

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:58:50Z

Cyclopia: Cyclopia moved page User:Cyclopia/Speyer wine bottle to Speyer wine bottle: draft ready for mainspace

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably contaning [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref>

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

While scientists have thought of analyzing the content, as of 2011 the bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:58:24Z

Cyclopia: ready to go

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:53:59Z

Cyclopia: more info + new source

{{draft}}

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably contaning [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> Since its discovery, it has been exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer, always in the same location in the museum. <ref name=local2011>{{cite news|title=Museum scared to open ancient Roman wine|url=http://www.thelocal.de/20111209/39405|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=The Local - Germany edition|date=December 9, 2011}}</ref>

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

While scientists have thought of analyzing the content, as of 2011 the bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="local2011"/> The curator of the Historical Museum of the Palatinate, Ludger Tekampe, has stated he has seen no variation in the bottle in the last 25 years.<ref name="local2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:46:47Z

Cyclopia: clarified

{{draft}}

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably contaning [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> It is now exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer.

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/>

As of 2011 bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:46:26Z

Cyclopia: fixed ref

{{draft}}

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> It is now exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer.

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/>

As of 2011 bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:45:24Z

Cyclopia: added image

{{draft}}

[[File:Roemerwein in Speyer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|The Speyer wine bottle.]]
The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> It is now exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer.

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The wine was most probably produced in the same region.<ref name="hall2011"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/>

As of 2011 bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:27:49Z

Cyclopia: more info

{{draft}}

The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably [[wine]], originally found near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest unopened bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref> It is now exhibited at the Wine Museum within the [[Historical Museum of the Palatinate]] in Speyer.

==Preservation==
The vessel was found in 1867 within a 4th century AD Roman nobleman tomb. The tomb containe two [[sarcophagus|sarcophagues]], one with a man and one with a woman. Of the six glass bottles in the woman sarcophagus and the ten vessels in the man's sarcophagus, only one actually still was containing a fluid -a clear liquid in the bottom third, and a mixture similar to [[rosin]] above. While it has lost its [[ethanol]] content, analysis are consistent with at least part of the liquid having been [[wine]].<ref name="dw"/> The preservation of the wine is attributed to the large amount of thick [[olive oil]] that had been put on top of it, to seal it off from air<ref name="dw"/>, along with a hot [[wax]] seal<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/> The wine was actually diluted in a mixture of herbs.<ref name="dw"/>

As of 2011 bottle was still unopened, because of concerns on how the liquid would act when exposed to air.<ref name="hall2011"/> It is thought that, while micro-biologically uncontaminated, the liquid would not actually be enjoyable to drink today.<ref name="hall2011"/><ref name="Mail2013"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T13:04:42Z

Cyclopia: added refs

{{draft}}

The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably [[wine]], that has been found in a Roman [[sarcophagus]] near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867.<ref name=dw>{{cite web|title=The Roman Wine of Speyer: The oldest Wine of the World that's still liquid|url=http://www.deutscheweine.de/icc/Internet-EN/nav/4b4/4b470693-6826-7e21-e66b-48554c41ed8b&_ic_uCon=016407a8-5735-f431-aecd-f9916f135e25|publisher=Deutsches Weininstitut|accessdate=25 April 2014}}</ref> It is dated at [[325]]<ref name="dw"/> or [[350]] AD<ref name="Mail2013"/>, and it is believed to be the oldest surviving bottle of wine in the world.<ref name="dw"/><ref name=hall2011>{{cite news|last=Hall|first=Allan|title=Shall we crack open the 350AD vintage? Historians debate whether to open 'world's oldest bottle of wine'|url=www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2072381/Worlds-oldest-bottle-wine-Historians-debate-open-350AD-vintage.html|accessdate=25 April 2014|newspaper=Daily Mail|date=December 10, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Mail2013">{{cite book|author=The Globe and Mail|title=Ask A Wine Expert: 101 Things We All Want to Know|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=bRJKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT13|date=4 December 2013|publisher=Booktango|isbn=978-1-4689-4147-0|pages=13–}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

Römerwein von Speyer

2014-04-25T12:59:14Z

Cyclopia: initial draft

{{draft}}

The '''Speyer wine bottle''' is a bottle of liquid, most probably [[wine]], that has been found in a Roman [[sarcophagus]] near [[Speyer]], in Germany, in 1867. It is dated at [[325 AD]] or [[350 AD]], and it is believed to be the oldest surviving bottle of wine in the world.

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-19T16:08:51Z

Cyclopia: Reverted to revision 586768548 by Abductive (talk): It seems all edits until here are on the basis of original research. Please justify using sourcing (or lack thereof). (TW)

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</ref> However there is no real academic consensus on the manner of Edward II's death and it has been plausibly argued that the story is 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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</ref>
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-19T09:04:05Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 586762961 by Abductive (talk): One of the sources calls it a "bizarre accident"

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</ref>
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-18T21:10:30Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 586661134 by Czolgolz (talk): rv removal of sourced content. Our own personal opinions on unusualness do not trump sourcing -neither to include, nor to delete stuff.

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body. Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-18T15:56:35Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 586653891 by Abductive (talk): Sourced. You can't substiute your own opinions to that, both for adding or for removing. Discuss on talk page, please.

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body. Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwork''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[Potato chip|crisp]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-18T15:51:31Z

Cyclopia: /* 2010s */ restored: sources call it unusual, we don't substitute OR here, both ways.

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body. Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 2006</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwork''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[Potato chip|crisp]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-12-18T15:49:04Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 586652350 by Abductive (talk): The immediate cause is not what is unusual about it + source calls it weird. Do not substitute your own WP:OR.

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. [[Oxford English Dictionary|Oxford Dictionaries]] defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |year=1938 |pages=292–294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |jstor=749994 |issue=44 |doi=10.2307/749994 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{Cite book |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death during 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 document |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |author=EN Gardiner |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare... |bibcode=1929Natur.124..121 |volume=124 |page=121 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/124121a0 |issue=3117 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{Cite book |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{Cite book |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{Cite book |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12–14 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{Cite book |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus... |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</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 name="9.401e">[[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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*206 BC: One ancient account of the death of '''[[Chrysippus]]''', the 3rd century BC [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] [[Stoicism|Stoic]] philosopher, tells that he died of laughter after he saw a [[donkey]] eating his [[common fig|figs]]; he told a slave to give the donkey neat wine to drink to wash them down with, and then, '...having laughed too much, he died' (Diogenes Laertius 7.185).<ref name="Chrysippus">{{cite book|first=Diogenes|last= Laertius|title=Lives, Teachings and Sayings of the Eminent Philosophers, with an English translation by R.D. Hicks|year=1964-5|publisher=Harvard UP/W. Heinemann Ltd|location=Cambridge, Mass/London}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Riginos|first=Alice Swift|title=Platonica|year=1976|publisher=Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition|isbn=90 04 04565 1|page=195|url=http://books.google.com/?id=0LM3AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA195&dq=Chrysippus+death+unusual#v=onepage&q=Chrysippus%20death%20unusual&f=false}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{Cite book |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said to have studied arguments and erroneous word usage so intensely that he wasted away and starved to death.<ref name="9.401e"/>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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 heat 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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=Huffington Post
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1660: [[Thomas Urquhart]], the [[Scottish people|Scottish]] aristocrat, [[polymath]] and first translator of [[François Rabelais]]'s writings 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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

[[File:Hannah Twynnoy's gravestone.jpg|thumb|upright|200px|Hannah Twynnoy was killed by a tiger she mocked.<ref name=twynnoy/>]]

*1701: '''[[Hannah Twynnoy]]''' was killed by a [[tiger]] in [[Great Britain]]. Oral history suggests that, despite warnings, she continued to bother a tiger kept in a menagerie which broke free and killed her.<ref name=twynnoy>{{cite web|url=http://www.malmesbury.com/malmesbury-history/961-hannah-twynnoy.html |title=Hannah Twynnoy|publisher=Malmesbury.com |date=2011-07-11 |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>{{verify credibility|date=December 2013}} 

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: '''Mrs Fitzherbert''' [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances".</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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote.<ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 haemorrhage.<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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of.<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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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 known human deaths outside the Earth's atmosphere.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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 [[thigh]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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 name="salon1"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/saguaro.asp |title=Cactus Courageous – Death by Saguaro |publisher=Snopes.com |date= |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an [[Eye drop|eyedrop]] bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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 {{convert|25|km|mi}} 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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]], [[Indiana]], died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body. Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp |title=Tanning Bed Death |publisher=[[Snopes.com]] |date= |accessdate=2013-12-15}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]], with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and a friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]]. The snake bit them both, but Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb while filming a documentary in [[Queensland]]'s [[Great Barrier Reef]].<ref name=cfk/><ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/09/04/australia.irwin/index.html CNN Reports: 'Crocodile Hunter' dead], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref name=cfk>{{Cite journal |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |year=1929 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008 |isbn=9781402763076 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{Cite document |url=http://books.google.com/?id=HCExOEknBQ0C |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007 |isbn=9781404210813 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites |isbn=9780760719473 |date=2000-01-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths |isbn=9780750938648 |author1=Bellamy |first1=John G |date=2008-12-01 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{Cite book |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths |isbn=9781907779978 |year=2011 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}
*{{cite web |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths |isbn=9781902212029 |date=1998-10 |postscript={{inconsistent citations}}}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-11-29T16:41:34Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 583802866 by Camilo Sanchez (talk): source does not call it unusual, as far as I can understand

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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><ref>{{citation |page=161 |chapter=Most Unusual Death |title=Felton & Fowler's Best, Worst, and Most Unusual |author=Bruce Felton, Mark Fowler |publisher=Random House |year=1985 |isbn=9780517462973}}</ref>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{citation |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{citation |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:Tycho Brahe.JPG|thumb|right|[[Tycho Brahe]] survived a duel, losing only his nose, but both he and his pet moose died from the effects of too much drink.]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref >{{Cite news
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November, 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite news
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November, 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November, 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November, 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=[[Huffington Post]]
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Medici Giraffe: And Other Tales of Exotic Animals and Power |author=Marina Belozerskaya |publisher=Hachette UK |year=2009 |isbn=9780316076425 |chapter= Rudolf II's Empire of Knowledge}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|[[Pietro Aretino]], who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote. <ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. During a half-time show 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of [[Portage]] , [[Indiana]] died when the Psoralen she was taking to cure her psoriasis caused an over sensitivity to light and a 25-minute session in a tanning booth led to burns over 80% of her body. Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth. <ref>http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 2006</ref><ref name=cfk/>
* 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref><ref name=cfk>{{citation |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010}}</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwork''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[crisps]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-11-22T15:54:31Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 582829973 by Qwyrxian (talk): It is quite consensual that unique causes of deaths are germane

{{dynamic list}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{citation |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{citation |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was {{convert|4.5|ft|m}} long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</ref>
*1601: '''[[Tycho Brahe]]''' died from complications of a burst bladder after refusing to leave a dinner table to relieve himself because it would have been a breach of etiquette.<ref>{{cite news |author=John Tierney |coauthors= |title=Murder! Intrigue! Astronomers? |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/science/30tierney.html?pagewanted=all |quote=At the time of Tycho's death, in 1601, the blame fell on his failure to relieve himself while drinking profusely at the banquet, supposedly injuring his bladder and making him unable to urinate. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 29, 2010 |accessdate=2010-11-30 |authorlink= John Tierney (journalist) }}</ref><ref>Thoren ([[#VET|1990]], p.[http://books.google.com.au/books?id=F5a83U4B8XkC&pg=PA468 468–69])</ref><ref >{{Cite news
|title=Was Tycho Brahe Poisoned? According to New Evidence, Probably Not
|date=17 November, 2012
|author=Terri Pous
|journal=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] – Bizarre
|quote="a fatal case of politeness.", "Brahe makes a good case for strangest historical death"
|url=http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/11/17/was-tycho-brahe-poisoned-according-to-new-evidence-probably-not/
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite news
|title=Tycho Brahe's 'murder' investigated
|date=15 November, 2012
|journal=[[The Guardian]]
|url=http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/nov/15/astronomer-tycho-brahe-death-scientists
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite web
|title=Bones of Danish Astronomer Tycho Brahe May Yield Clues to His Death
|date=19 November, 2010
|publisher=[http://space.com space.com]
|url=http://www.space.com/9567-bones-danish-astronomer-tycho-brahe-yield-clues-death.html
}}</ref><ref >{{Cite web
|title=Tycho Brahe Died From Burst Bladder, Not Poisoning, Astronomer's Exhumed Body Shows
|date=16 November, 2012
|author=Megan Gannon
|publisher=[[Huffington Post]]
|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/18/tycho-brahe-death-poison-bladder_n_2148980.html
}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote. <ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=cfk/>
*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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
*1989: '''Patsy Ann Campbell''' of '''[[Portage]]''' , '''[[Indiana]]''' died she took psoralen to cure her psoriasis , A side effect of the drug is that it makes your skin more sentative to light . Later Patsy went under a tanning session . When she comed out , she had massive burns and later died.Dr. Alan Dimick, a University of Alabama burn expert, said he believes this was the first death caused by burns from a tanning booth. </ref>http://articles.latimes.com/1989-05-28/news/mn-1499_1_tanning-booth-burns-medical-examiner</ref> </ref>http://www.snopes.com/horrors/vanities/tanningbed.asp</ref> </ref>http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1989-07-03/news/8907030277_1_patsy-j-psoriasis-ultraviolet-treatment</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 2006</ref><ref name=cfk/>
* 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</ref>
* 2008: '''David Phyall''', 50, the last resident in a block of flats due to be demolished in [[Bishopstoke]], near [[Southampton]], [[Hampshire]], England, decapitated himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
[[File:Alg taylor mitchell.jpg|thumb|220px|Taylor Mitchell, the only adult person to have been killed by a [[coyote]]]]
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref><ref name=cfk>{{citation |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/celebritynews/7984944/Mike-Edwards-hay-bale-death-celebrities-in-freak-killings.html |title=Mike Edwards hay bale death: celebrities in freak killings |journal=[[Daily Telegraph]] |date=06 Sep 2010}}</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwork''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[crisps]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.
* [http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/freakish.asp Freakish Fatalities] Snopes.com

{{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]]

Leben auf dem Mars

2013-11-19T18:48:08Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 582408038 by 142.109.127.37 (talk)

{{Other uses}}
[[File:TerraformedMars.jpg|thumb|An artist's impression of what Mars' surface and atmosphere might look like, if Mars were [[Terraforming of Mars|terraformed]].]]
[[File:TerraformedMarsGlobeRealistic.jpg|thumb|Another view of a terraformed Mars]]

For centuries people have speculated about the possibility of '''life on Mars''' due to the planet's proximity and similarity to [[Earth]]. Serious searches for evidence of life began in the 19th century, and continue via telescopic investigations and landed missions. While early work focused on phenomenology and bordered on fantasy, modern [[Models of scientific inquiry|scientific inquiry]] has emphasized the search for [[Water on Mars|water]], chemical [[biosignature]]s in the soil and rocks at the planet's surface, and the search for [[biomarker]] gases in the atmosphere.<ref>{{cite conference |url=http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120003707 |title=The Search for Life on Mars |last=Mumma |first=Michael J. |date=January 8, 2012 |conference=Origin of Life Gordon Research Conference |location=Galveston, TX}}</ref>

Mars is of particular interest for the study of the origins of life, because of its similarity to the early Earth. This is especially so as Mars has a cold climate and lacks [[plate tectonics]] or [[continental drift]], and has remained almost unchanged since the end of the [[Hesperian]] period. At least two thirds of Mars' surface is more than 3.5 billion years old, and Mars may thus hold the best record of the prebiotic conditions leading to [[abiogenesis]], even if life does not or has never existed there.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1029/RG027i002p00189 |title=The early environment and its evolution on Mars: Implication for life |year=1989 |last1=McKay |first1=Christopher P. |last2=Stoker |first2=Carol R. |journal=Reviews of Geophysics |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=189–214|bibcode = 1989RvGeo..27..189M }}</ref><ref name='Fromproto'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2007prpl.conf..929G |arxiv=astro-ph/0602008 |title=From Protoplanets to Protolife: The Emergence and Maintenance of Life |last1=Gaidos |first1=Eric |last2=Selsis |first2=Franck |year=2007 |pages=929–44 |journal=Protostars and Planets V}}</ref> It remains an open question whether life currently exists on Mars, or has existed there in the past, and fictional [[Martian]]s have been a recurring feature of [[popular entertainment]] of the 20th and 21st centuries.

== Early speculation ==
{{Double image|right|Karte Mars Schiaparelli MKL1888.png|220|Lowell Mars channels.jpg|220|Historical map of Mars from [[Giovanni Schiaparelli]].|Mars canals illustrated by astronomer [[Percival Lowell]], 1898.}}
[[Geology of Mars|Mars' polar ice caps]] were observed as early as the mid-17th century, and they were first proven to grow and shrink alternately, in the summer and winter of each hemisphere, by [[William Herschel]] in the latter part of the 18th century. By the mid-19th century, astronomers knew that [[Mars]] had certain other similarities to Earth, for example that the [[Timekeeping on Mars|length of a day on Mars]] was almost the same as a day on Earth. They also knew that its [[axial tilt]] was similar to Earth's, which meant it experienced seasons just as Earth does — but of nearly double the length owing to its [[Darian calendar|much longer year]]. These observations led to the increase in speculation that the darker [[albedo feature]]s were water, and brighter ones were land. It was therefore natural to suppose that Mars may be inhabited by some form of life.

In 1854, [[William Whewell]], a fellow of [[Trinity College, Cambridge|Trinity College]], Cambridge, who popularized the word ''scientist,'' theorized that Mars had seas, land and possibly life forms. Speculation about life on Mars exploded in the late 19th century, following telescopic observation by some observers of apparent [[Martian canal]]s — which were later found to be optical illusions. Despite this, in 1895, American astronomer [[Percival Lowell]] published his book ''Mars,'' followed by ''Mars and its Canals'' in 1906, proposing that the canals were the work of a long-gone civilization.<ref>{{cite book |title=Is Mars habitable?: A critical examination of Professor Percival Lowell's book 'Mars and its canals,' with an alternative explanation |first=Alfred Russel |last=Wallace |location=London |publisher=Macmillan |year=1907 |oclc=263175453}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref> This idea led British writer [[H. G. Wells]] to write ''[[The War of the Worlds (novel)|The War of the Worlds]]'' in 1897, telling of an invasion by aliens from Mars who were fleeing the planet’s desiccation.

[[Spectroscopy|Spectroscopic]] analysis of Mars' atmosphere began in earnest in 1894, when U.S. astronomer [[William Wallace Campbell]] showed that neither water nor oxygen were present in the [[Martian atmosphere]].<ref name="chambers">{{cite book |first=Paul |last=Chambers |title=Life on Mars; The Complete Story |place=London |publisher=Blandford |year=1999 |isbn=0-7137-2747-0}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref> By 1909 better telescopes and the best perihelic opposition of Mars since 1877 conclusively put an end to the canal hypothesis.

== Habitability ==
Chemical, physical, geological and geographic attributes shape the environments on Mars. Isolated measurements of these factors may be insufficient to deem an environment habitable, but the sum of measurements can help predict locations with greater or lesser habitability potential.<ref name='2013 LPS'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2013LPICo1719.2185C |title=Habitability Assessment at Gale Crater: Implications from Initial Results |last1=Conrad |first1=P. G. |last2=Archer |first2=D. |last3=Coll |first3=P. |last4=De La Torre |first4=M. |last5=Edgett |first5=K. |last6=Eigenbrode |first6=J. L. |last7=Fisk |first7=M. |last8=Freissenet |first8=C. |last9=Franz |first9=H. |volume=1719 |year=2013 |pages=2185 |journal=44th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref> The two current ecological approaches for predicting the potential habitability of the Martian surface use 19 or 20 environmental factors, with emphasis on water availability, temperature, presence of nutrients, an energy source, and protection from Solar ultraviolet and [[Cosmic ray|galactic cosmic radiation]].<ref name='D.C.Golden'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012P&SS...72...91S |title=Biotoxicity of Mars soils: 1. Dry deposition of analog soils on microbial colonies and survival under Martian conditions |last1=Schuerger |first1=Andrew C. |last2=Golden |first2=D. C. |last3=Ming |first3=Doug W. |volume=72 |issue=1 |year=2012 |pages=91–101 |journal=Planetary and Space Science |doi=10.1016/j.pss.2012.07.026}}</ref><ref name=Beaty>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006AsBio...6..677M |title=Findings of the Mars Special Regions Science Analysis Group |author1=MEPAG Special Regions-Science Analysis Group |last2=Beaty |first2=D. |last3=Buxbaum |first3=K. |last4=Meyer |first4=M. |last5=Barlow |first5=N. |last6=Boynton |first6=W. |last7=Clark |first7=B. |last8=Deming |first8=J. |last9=Doran |first9=P. T. |volume=6 |year=2006 |pages=677–732 |journal=Astrobiology |doi=10.1089/ast.2006.6.677 |pmid=17067257 |issue=5}}</ref>

Scientists do not know the minimum number of parameters for determination of habitability potential, but they are certain it is greater than one or two of the factors in the table below.<ref name='2013 LPS' /> Similarly, for each group of parameters, the habitability threshold for each is to be determined.<ref name='2013 LPS' /> Laboratory simulations show that whenever multiple lethal factors are combined, the survival rates plummet quickly.<ref name='dust-up'>{{cite web | url = http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3495/mars-contamination-dust-up | title = Mars Contamination Dust-Up | accessdate = 2013-07-04 | first = Charles Q. Choi, | date = 17 May 2010 | publisher = Astrobiology Magazine | quote = Whenever multiple biocidal factors are combined, the survival rates plummet quickly,}}</ref> There are no full-Mars simulations published yet that include all of the biocidal factors combined.<ref name='dust-up' />

{| class="wikitable"
! style="align: center; background: lavender;" colspan="2" | '''Some habitability factors'''<ref name=Beaty />
|-
|[[Water on Mars|Water]] || {{·}} [[Water activity|liquid water activity]] (aw) {{·}} Past/future liquid (ice) inventories {{·}} [[Salinity]], [[pH]], and [[Reduction potential|Eh]] of available water
|-
|Chemical environment|| '''Nutrients:''' {{·}} C, H, N, O, P, S, essential metals, essential micronutrients {{·}}[[Nitrogen fixation|Fixed nitrogen]] {{·}}Availability/mineralogy '''Toxin abundances and lethality:''' {{·}} [[Heavy metal (chemistry)|Heavy metals]] (e.g., Zn, Ni, Cu, Cr, As, Cd, etc., some essential, but toxic at high levels) {{·}} Globally distributed oxidizing soils
|-
|Energy for [[metabolism]]|| '''Solar''' (surface and near-surface only) '''Geochemical''' (subsurface) {{·}} [[Oxidizing agent|Oxidants]] {{·}} [[Reducing agent|Reductants]] {{·}} [[Redox gradient]]s
|-
|Conducive physical conditions || {{·}}Temperature {{·}}Extreme diurnal temperature fluctuations {{·}}Low pressure (Is there a low-pressure threshold for terrestrial [[Anaerobic organism|anaerobes]]?) {{·}}Strong [[ultraviolet germicidal irradiation]] {{·}}[[Cosmic ray|Galactic cosmic radiation]] and [[Solar proton event|solar particle events]] (long-term accumulated effects) {{·}} Solar UV-induced volatile oxidants, e.g., [[Superoxide|O 2–]], O–, [[Hydrogen peroxide|H2O2]], O3 {{·}}Climate/variability (geography, seasons, diurnal, and eventually, obliquity variations) {{·}}Substrate (soil processes, rock microenvironments, dust composition, shielding) {{·}}High [[Carbon dioxide|CO2]] concentrations in the global atmosphere {{·}}Transport ([[Aeolian processes|aeolian]], ground water flow, surface water, glacial)
|-
|}

=== Past ===
The loss of the Martian [[magnetosphere|magnetic field]] strongly affected surface environments through atmospheric loss and increased radiation; this change significantly degraded surface habitability.<ref name='Biosignatures 2011' /> When there was a magnetic field, the atmosphere would have been protected from erosion by [[solar wind]], which would ensure the maintenance of a dense atmosphere, necessary for liquid water to exist on the surface of Mars.<ref name='Dehant'>{{cite book |doi=10.1007/978-0-387-74288-5_10 |chapter=Planetary Magnetic Dynamo Effect on Atmospheric Protection of Early Earth and Mars |title=Geology and Habitability of Terrestrial Planets |series=Space Sciences Series of ISSI |year=2007 |last1=Dehant |first1=V. |last2=Lammer |first2=H. |last3=Kulikov |first3=Y. N. |last4=Grießmeier |first4=J. -M. |last5=Breuer |first5=D. |last6=Verhoeven |first6=O. |last7=Karatekin |first7=Ö. |last8=Hoolst |first8=T. |last9=Korablev |first9=O. |isbn=978-0-387-74287-8 |volume=24 |pages=279–300}}</ref>

Soil and rock samples studied in 2013 by NASA's [[Curiosity rover]]'s onboard instruments brought about additional information on several habitability factors.<ref name='ancient life'>{{cite news | title = NASA Rover Finds Conditions Once Suited for Ancient Life on Mars | date = 12 March 2013 | url = http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20130312.html | work = NASA | accessdate = 2013-06-06}}</ref> The rover team identified some of the key chemical ingredients for life in this soil, including sulfur, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and possibly carbon, as well as clay minerals, suggesting a long-ago aqueous environment — perhaps a lake or an ancient streambed — that was neutral and not too salty.<ref name='ancient life' /> The confirmation that liquid water once flowed on Mars, the existence of nutrients, and the previous discovery of a past [[magnetosphere|magnetic field]] that protected the planet from cosmic and Solar radiation,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2005/mgs_plates.html | title=New Map Provides More Evidence Mars Once Like Earth | publisher=NASA | work=Goddard Space Flight Center | date=October 12, 2005 | accessdate=5 June 2013 | author= Neal-Jones, Nancy | coauthor =O'Carroll, Cynthia}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title=Martian Interior: Paleomagnetism |publisher=European Space Agency |work=Mars Express |date=4 January 2007 |url=http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=31028&fbodylongid=645}}</ref> together strongly suggest that Mars could have had the environmental factors to support life.<ref name='Wall' /> However, the assessment of past habitability is not in itself evidence that Martian life has ever actually existed. If it did, it was likely [[microorganism|microbial]], existing communally in fluids or on sediments, either free-living or as [[biofilm]]s, respectively.<ref name='Biosignatures 2011' />

=== Present ===
No definitive evidence for biosignatures or organics of Martian origin has been identified, and assessment will continue not only through the Martian seasons, but also back in time as the ''Curiosity'' rover studies what is recorded in the depositional history of the rocks in Gale Crater.<ref name='2013 LPS' /> While the ''Curiosity'' has not identified the minimum number of parameters for determination of habitability potential, other teams have proposed hypotheses based on simulations.

==== Subsurface ====
Although Mars soils are likely not to be overtly toxic to terrestrial microorganisms,<ref name='2013 LPS' /> life on the surface of Mars is extremely unlikely because it is bathed in radiation and it is completely frozen.<ref name='cosmic radiation' /><ref name="Dartnell" /><ref name='DartnellGeographic' /><ref name='Dartnell-1' /><ref name='ionising radiation' /><ref name='Parnell'>{{cite news | first = JohnThomas Didymus | title = Scientists find evidence Mars subsurface could hold life | date = 21 January | url = http://digitaljournal.com/article/341801 | work = Digital Journal – Science | accessdate = 2013-06-05 | quote = There can be no life on the surface of Mars because it is bathed in radiation and it's completely frozen. However, life in the subsurface would be protected from that. - Prof. Parnell.}}</ref> Therefore, the best potential locations for discovering life on Mars may be at subsurface environments that have not been studied yet.<ref name='Biosignatures 2011'>{{cite journal |doi=10.1089/ast.2010.0506 |quote=There is general consensus that extant microbial life on Mars would likely exist (if at all) in the subsurface and at low abundance. |title=Preservation of Martian Organic and Environmental Records: Final Report of the Mars Biosignature Working Group |year=2011 |last1=Summons |first1=Roger E. |last2=Amend |first2=Jan P. |last3=Bish |first3=David |last4=Buick |first4=Roger |last5=Cody |first5=George D. |last6=Des Marais |first6=David J. |last7=Dromart |first7=Gilles |last8=Eigenbrode |first8=Jennifer L. |last9=Knoll |first9=Andrew H. |journal=Astrobiology |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=157–81 |pmid=21417945|bibcode = 2011AsBio..11..157S }}</ref><ref name='Parnell' /><ref name=Steigerwald /><ref>[http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20080215a.html NASA – Mars Rovers Sharpen Questions About Livable Conditions]</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Mars: 'Strongest evidence' planet may have supported life, scientists say | date = 20 January 2013 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-21063817 | work = BBC News | accessdate = 2013-01-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/ngeo1706 |title=Groundwater activity on Mars and implications for a deep biosphere |year=2013 |last1=Michalski |first1=Joseph R. |last2=Cuadros |first2=Javier |last3=Niles |first3=Paul B. |last4=Parnell |first4=John |last5=Deanne Rogers |first5=A. |last6=Wright |first6=Shawn P. |journal=Nature Geoscience |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=133–8|bibcode = 2013NatGe...6..133M }}</ref> The extensive [[Volcanology of Mars|volcanism]] in the past, possibly created subsurface cracks and caves within different strata, and the liquid water could have been stored in these subterraneous places, forming large [[aquifer]]s with deposits of saline liquid water, minerals, organic molecules, and [[Geothermal gradient|geothermal heat]] – potentially providing a habitable environment away from the harsh surface conditions.<ref name='Parnell' /><ref name='subsurface habitability model'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012LPI....43.2943D |quote=The extensive volcanism at that time much possibly created subsurface cracks and caves within different strata, and the liquid water could have been stored in these subterraneous places, forming large aquifers with deposits of saline liquid water, minerals organic molecules, and geothermal heat – ingredients for life as we know on Earth. |title=A Possible Biogeochemical Model for Mars |last1=De Morais |first1=A. |volume=43 |year=2012 |pages=2943 |journal=43rd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Paul S. | last = Anderson | title = New Study Says Large Regions of Mars Could Sustain Life | date = 15 December 2011 | url = http://www.universetoday.com/91848/new-study-says-large-regions-of-mars-could-sustain-life/ | work = Universe Today | accessdate = 2013-06-05 | quote = Most scientists would agree that the best place that any organisms could hope to survive and flourish would be underground. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu/mars143.php | title = Habitability and Biology: What are the Properties of Life? | accessdate = 2013-06-06 | work = Phoenix Mars Mission | publisher = The University of Arizona | quote= If any life exists on Mars today, scientists believe it is most likely to be in pockets of liquid water beneath the Martian surface.}}</ref>

==== Surface brines ====
Although liquid water does not appear at the surface of Mars,<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006IJMSE...2...83H |quote=In summary, on present-day Mars, liquid water is unlikely except as the result of a quick and dramatic change in environmental conditions such as from a landslide that exposes buried ice to sunlight (Costard et al. 2002), or from the introduction of an artificial heat source. |title=Transient liquid water near an artificial heat source on Mars |last1=Hecht |first1=Michael H. |last2=Vasavada |first2=Ashwin R. |volume=2 |year=2006 |pages=83–96 |journal=International Journal of Mars Science and Exploration |doi=10.1555/mars.2006.0006}}</ref><ref name=Haberle>{{cite journal |last1=Haberle |first1=Robert M. |last2=McKay |first2=Christopher P. |last3=Schaeffer |first3=James |last4=Cabrol |first4=Nathalie A. |last5=Grin |first5=Edmon A. |last6=Zent |first6=Aaron P. |last7=Quinn |first7=Richard |title=On the possibility of liquid water on present-day Mars |doi=10.1029/2000JE001360 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Planets |volume=106 |issue=El0 |year=2001 |pages=23317–26 |bibcode=bibcode=2001JGR...10623317H |quote=Introduction: The mean annual surface pressure and temperature on present-day Mars do not allow for the stability of liquid water on the surface. […] Conclusion: It is possible, even likely, that solar-heated liquid water never forms on present-day Mars.}}</ref> several modeling studies suggest that potential locations on Mars could include regions where thin films of salty liquid [[brine]] or [[perchlorate]] may form near the surface<ref name=Haberle /><ref name=Haberle /><ref name='2013 conference'>{{cite web | url = http://planets.ucla.edu/meetings/mars-habitability-2013/program/ | title = Conference: The Present-Day Habitability of Mars 2013 | accessdate = 2013-06-17 | date = February 4–6, 2013 | format = PDF | publisher = The UCLA Institute for Planets and Exoplanets}}</ref> that may provide a potential location for terrestrial salt and cold-loving microorganisms ([[halophile]] [[psychrophilic]]).<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1080/08120099.2011.591430 |title=Using the phase diagram of liquid water to search for life |year=2012 |last1=Jones |first1=E. G. |last2=Lineweaver |first2=C. H. |journal=Australian Journal of Earth Sciences |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=253–62|bibcode = 2012AuJES..59..253J }}</ref> Various salts present in the Martian soil may act as an antifreeze and could keep water liquid well below its normal freezing point, if water was present at certain favorable locations.<ref name=Haberle /><ref name=Lobitz>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.031581098 | last1 = Lobitz | first1 = B. | last2 = Wood | year = 2001 | first2 = BL | last3 = Averner | first3 = MM | last4 = McKay | first4 = CP | title = Use of spacecraft data to derive regions on Mars where liquid water would be stable | journal=Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. | volume = 98 | issue = 5| pages = 2132–2137 | pmid = 11226204 | pmc = 30104 |bibcode = 2001PNAS...98.2132L |quote= These results do not indicate that water is present at these locations, only that, if it were present and heat sources were sufficient to bring the water in thermal equilibrium with the surface, the resulting liquid would be stable against freezing or boiling.}}</ref><ref name='Parro 2011'>{{cite journal | title = A Microbial Oasis in the Hypersaline Atacama Subsurface Discovered by a Life Detector Chip: Implications for the Search for Life on Mars | journal = Astroiology | date = December 2011 | first = Victor Parro | coauthors = Graciela de Diego-Castilla, Mercedes Moreno-Paz, Yolanda Blanco, Patricia Cruz-Gil, José A. Rodríguez-Manfredi, David Fernández-Remolar, Felipe Gómez, Manuel J. Gómez, Luis A. Rivas, Cecilia Demergasso, Alex Echeverría, Viviana N. Urtuvia, Marta Ruiz-Bermejo, Miriam García-Villadangos, Marina Postigo, Mónica Sánchez-Román, Guillermo Chong-Díaz, and Javier Gómez-Elvira. | volume = 11 | issue = 10 | pages = 969–996 | doi = 10.1089/ast.2011.0654 | url = http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/ast.2011.0654 | format = PDF | accessdate = 2013-06-30|bibcode = 2011AsBio..11..969P }}</ref> Astrobiologists are keen to find out more, as not much is known about these brines at the moment. The briny water may or may not be habitable to microbes from Earth or Mars.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/19928-mars-habitable-life-possible.html |title= Mars May Be Habitable Today, Scientists Say|author=Rod Pyle |date= 25 February 2013|work= space.com}}</ref> Another researcher argues that although chemically important, thin films of transient liquid water are not likely to provide suitable sites for life.<ref name=Lobitz /> In addition, an astrobiology team asserted that the [[Water activity|activity of water]] on salty films, the temperature, or both are less than the biological thresholds across the entire Martian surface and shallow subsurface.<ref name=Beaty />

The damaging effect of [[ionizing radiation]] on cellular structure is one of the prime limiting factors on the survival of life in potential astrobiological habitats.<ref name='Dartnell-1'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2007GeoRL..3402207D |doi=10.1029/2006GL027494 |quote=The damaging effect of ionising radiation on cellular structure is one of the prime limiting factors on the survival of life in potential astrobiological habitats. |title=Modelling the surface and subsurface Martian radiation environment: Implications for astrobiology |year=2007 |last1=Dartnell |first1=L. R. |last2=Desorgher |first2=L. |last3=Ward |first3=J. M. |last4=Coates |first4=A. J. |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=34 |issue=2}}</ref><ref name='ionising radiation'>{{cite journal | title = Martian sub-surface ionising radiation: biosignatures and geology | journal = Biogeosciences | year = 2007 | first1 = L. R. |last1=Dartnell |first2=L. |last2=Desorgher |first3=J. M. |last3=Ward |first4=A. J. |last4=Coates | volume = 4 | pages = 545–558 | doi = 10.5194/bg-4-545-2007 | bibcode = 2007BGeo....4..545D | quote = This ionising radiation field is deleterious to the survival of dormant cells or spores and the persistence of molecular biomarkers in the subsurface, and so its characterisation. [..] Even at a depth of 2 meters beneath the surface, any microbes would likely be dormant, cryopreserved by the current freezing conditions, and so metabolically inactive and unable to repair cellular degradation as it occurs. | issue = 4}}</ref><ref>{{citation | first = Lewis R. Dartnell | coauthors = Michael C. Storrie-Lombardi, Jan-Peter. Muller, Andrew. D. Griffiths, Andrew J. Coates, John M. Ward | contribution = Implications of cosmic radiation on the Martian surface for microbial survival and detection of fluorescent biosignatures | title = 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference | publisher = Lunar and Planetary Institute | place = The Woodlands, Texas | date = March 7–11, 2011 | contribution-url = http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/1977.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2013-06-30}}</ref> Even at a depth of 2 meters beneath the surface, any microbes would likely be dormant, cryopreserved by the current freezing conditions, and so metabolically inactive and unable to repair cellular degradation as it occurs.<ref name='ionising radiation' /> Also, solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation proved particularly devastating for the survival of cold-resistant microbes under simulated surface conditions on Mars, as UV radiation was readily and easily able to penetrate the salt-organic matrix that the bacterial cells were embedded in.<ref name='Scarce shelter'>{{cite journal | title = Scarce Shelter on Mars | journal = Astrobiology Magazine | date = 1 June 2009 | first = Jeremy Hsu | url = http://www.astrobio.net/exclusive/3144/scarce-shelter-on-mars | accessdate = 2013-07-04}}</ref> In addition, NASA's [[Mars Exploration Program]] states that life on the surface of Mars is unlikely, given the presence of [[superoxide]]s that break down organic (carbon-based) molecules on which life is based.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/programmissions/science/goal1/ | title = Goal 1: Determine if Life Ever Arose On Mars | accessdate = 2013-06-29 | first = The Mars Exploration Program | work = NASA}}</ref>

=== Cosmic radiation ===
In 1965, the [[Mariner 4]] probe discovered that Mars had no [[Magnetosphere|global magnetic field]] that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening [[cosmic radiation]] and [[solar radiation]]; observations made in the late 1990s by the Mars Global Surveyor confirmed this discovery.<ref>{{cite book |chapterurl=http://www-ssc.igpp.ucla.edu/personnel/russell/papers/mars_mag/ |chapter=Mars: Magnetic Field and Magnetosphere |first1=J. G. |last1=Luhmann |first2=C. T. |last2=Russell |title=Encyclopedia of Planetary Sciences |editor1-first=J. H. |editor1-last=Shirley |editor2-first=R. W. |editor2-last=Fainbridge |pages=454–6 |publisher=Chapman and Hall |location=New York |year=1997}}</ref> Scientists speculate that the lack of magnetic shielding helped the [[solar wind]] blow away much of [[Atmosphere of Mars|Mars's atmosphere]] over the course of several billion years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast31jan_1/ |title=The Solar Wind at Mars |date=January 31, 2001 |first=Tony |last=Phillips |publisher=NASA}}</ref> As a result, the planet has been vulnerable to radiation from space for about 4 billion years.<ref name='hostile to life'>{{cite news | title = What makes Mars so hostile to life? | date = 7 January 2013 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/20915340 | work = BBC News | accessdate = 2013-06-15}}</ref> Currently, ionizing radiation on Mars is typically two orders of magnitude (or 100 times) higher than on Earth.<ref>{{cite journal | title = The impact of Mars geological evolution in high energy ionizing radiation environment through time | journal = Planetary and Space Science – Eslevier | date = November 2012 | first = A. Keating | coauthors = P. Goncalves | volume = 72 | issue = 1 | pages = 70–77 | url = http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032063312001225 | accessdate = 2013-06-28}}</ref> Even the hardiest cells known could not possibly survive the cosmic radiation near the surface of Mars for that long.<ref name='cosmic radiation' /><ref>{{cite journal | title = IMPLICATIONS OF COSMIC RADIATION ON THE MARTIAN SURFACE FOR MICROBIAL SURVIVAL AND DETECTION OF FLUORESCENT BIOSIGNATURES. | journal = Lunar and Planetary Institute | year = 2011 | first = Lewis R. Dartnell | coauthors = Michael C. Storrie-Storrie-Lombardi, Jan-Peter. Muller, Andrew. D. Griffiths, Andrew J. Coates, John M. Ward | url = http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/1977.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2013-07-04}}</ref> After mapping cosmic radiation levels at various depths on Mars, researchers have concluded that any life within the first several meters of the planet's surface would be killed by lethal doses of cosmic radiation.<ref name='cosmic radiation'>{{cite web | url = http://www.space.com/3396-study-surface-mars-devoid-life.html | title = Study: Surface of Mars Devoid of Life | accessdate = 28 May 2013 | first = Ker Than | date = 29 January 2007 | work = Space.com| quote = After mapping cosmic radiation levels at various depths on Mars, researchers have concluded that any life within the first several yards of the planet's surface would be killed by lethal doses of cosmic radiation.}}</ref><ref name='Dartnell'>{{cite journal |doi=10.1029/2006GL027494 |quote=Bacteria or spores held dormant by freezing conditions cannot metabolise and become inactivated by accumulating radiation damage. We find that at 2 m depth, the reach of the ExoMars drill, a population of radioresistant cells would need to have reanimated within the last 450,000 years to still be viable. Recovery of viable cells cryopreserved within the putative Cerberus pack-ice requires a drill depth of at least 7.5 m. |title=Modelling the surface and subsurface Martian radiation environment: Implications for astrobiology |year=2007 |last1=Dartnell |first1=L. R. |last2=Desorgher |first2=L. |last3=Ward |first3=J. M. |last4=Coates |first4=A. J. |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=L02207|bibcode = 2007GeoRL..34.2207D }}</ref><ref name='DartnellGeographic'>{{cite web | author = Richard A. Lovet | title = Mars Life May Be Too Deep to Find, Experts Conclude| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2007/02/070202-mars-life.html | work = National Geographic News |date= February 2, 2007 |quote=That's because any bacteria that may once have lived on the surface have long since been exterminated by cosmic radiation sleeting through the thin Martian atmosphere.}}</ref> The team calculated that the cumulative damage to [[DNA]] and [[RNA]] by cosmic radiation would limit retrieving viable dormant cells on Mars to depths greater than 7.5 metres below the planet's surface.<ref name="Dartnell" />

Even the most radiation-tolerant Earthly bacteria would survive in dormant [[spore]] state only 18,000 years at the surface; at 2 meters —the greatest depth at which the [[ExoMars]] rover will be capable of reaching— survival time would be 90,000 to half million years, depending on the type of rock.<ref name='DartnellGeographic'>{{cite web | author = Richard A. Lovet | title = Mars Life May Be Too Deep to Find, Experts Conclude| url = http://news.nationalgeographic.co.uk/news/2007/02/070202-mars-life.html | work = National Geographic News |date= February 2, 2007 }}</ref>

The [[Radiation assessment detector]] on board the [[Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'' rover]] is currently quantifying the flux of biologically hazardous radiation at the surface of Mars today, and will help determine how these fluxes vary on diurnal, seasonal, solar cycle and episodic (flare, storm) timescales. These measurements will allow calculations of the depth in rock or soil to which this flux, when integrated over long timescales, provides a lethal dose for known terrestrial organisms. Through such measurements, scientists can learn how deep below the surface life would have to be, or have been in the past, to be protected.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2013EGUGA..1512596H |title=The Radiation Environment on the Martian Surface and during MSL's Cruise to Mars |last1=Hassler |first1=Donald M. |last2=Zeitlin |first2=Cary |last3=Wimmer-Schweingruber |first3=Robert F. |last4=Ehresmann |first4=Bent |last5=Rafkin |first5=Scot |last6=Martin |first6=Cesar |last7=Boettcher |first7=Stephan |last8=Koehler |first8=Jan |last9=Guo |first9=Jingnan |volume=15 |year=2013 |pages=12596 |journal=EGU General Assembly 2013}}</ref>

=== Nitrogen fixation ===
After carbon, [[nitrogen]] is arguably the most important element needed for life. Thus, measurements of [[nitrate]] over the range of 0.1% to 5% are required to address the question of its occurrence and distribution. There is nitrogen (as N2) in the atmosphere at low levels, but this is not adequate to support [[nitrogen fixation]] for biological incorporation.<ref name='Icebreaker2018'>{{cite journal | title = The ''Icebreaker Life'' Mission to Mars: A Search for Biomolecular Evidence for Life | journal = Astrobiology | date = April 5, 2013 | first = Christopher P. McKay | coauthors = Carol R. Stoker, Brian J. Glass, Arwen I. Davé, Alfonso F. Davila, Jennifer L. Heldmann, Margarita M. Marinova, Alberto G. Fairen, Richard C. Quinn, Kris A. Zacny, Gale Paulsen, Peter H. Smith, Victor Parro, Dale T. Andersen, Michael H. Hecht, Denis Lacelle, and Wayne H. Pollard. | volume = 13 | issue = 4 | pages = 334–353 | doi = 10.1089/ast.2012.0878 | url = http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2012.0878 | accessdate = 2013-06-30|bibcode = 2013AsBio..13..334M }}</ref> Nitrogen in the form of [[nitrate]], if present, could be a resource for human exploration both as a nutrient for plant growth and for use in chemical processes. On Earth, nitrates correlate with perchlorates in desert environments, and this may also be true on Mars. Nitrate is expected to be stable on Mars and to have formed in shock and electrical processes. Currently there is no data on its availability.<ref name='Icebreaker2018' />

=== Low pressure ===
Further complicating estimates of the habitability of the Martian surface is the fact that very little is known on the growth of microorganisms at pressures close to the conditions found on the surface of Mars. Some teams determined that some bacteria may be capable of cellular replication down to 25 mbar, but that is still above the atmospheric pressures found on Mars (range 1–14 mbar).<ref name=Serratia>{{cite journal | title = Growth of Serratia liquefaciens under 7 mbar, 0°C, and CO2-Enriched Anoxic Atmospheres | journal = Astrobiology | date = February 2013 | first = Andrew C. Schuerger | coauthors = Richard Ulrich, Bonnie J. Berry, and Wayne L. Nicholson. | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 115–131 | doi = 10.1089/ast.2011.0811 | url = http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2011.0811 | accessdate = 2013-07-04|bibcode = 2013AsBio..13..115S }}</ref> In another study, twenty-six strains of bacteria were chosen based on their recovery from spacecraft assembly facilities, and only ''[[Serratia liquefaciens]]'' strain ATCC 27592 exhibited growth at 7 mbar, 0°C, and CO2-enriched anoxic atmospheres.<ref name=Serratia />

== Liquid water ==
{{Main|Water on Mars}}
[[File:History of water on Mars.jpeg|thumb|right|A series of artist's conceptions of past water coverage on Mars.]]
Liquid water, necessary for life as we know it, cannot exist on the surface of Mars except at the lowest elevations for minutes or hours.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2005JGRE..11005004H |doi=10.1029/2004JE002261 |title=Formation of Martian gullies by the action of liquid water flowing under current Martian environmental conditions |year=2005 |last1=Heldmann |first1=Jennifer L. |first2=Owen B. |last2=Toon |first3=Wayne H. |last3=Pollard |first4=Michael T. |last4=Mellon |first5=John |last5=Pitlick |first6=Christopher P. |last6=McKay |first7=Dale T. |last7=Andersen |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=110 |issue=E5 |pages=E05004}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006GeoRL..3311201K |title=Recent high-latitude icy mantle in the northern plains of Mars: Characteristics and ages of emplacement |last1=Kostama |first1=V.-P. |last2=Kreslavsky |first2=M. A. |last3=Head |first3=J. W. |volume=33 |year=2006 |pages=11201 |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |doi=10.1029/2006GL025946 |issue=11}}</ref> Liquid water does not appear at the surface itself,<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006IJMSE...2...83H |title=Transient liquid water near an artificial heat source on Mars |last1=Hecht |first1=Michael H. |last2=Vasavada |first2=Ashwin R. |volume=2 |year=2006 |pages=83 |journal=International Journal of Mars Science and Exploration |doi=10.1555/mars.2006.0006}}</ref> but it could form in minuscule amounts around dust particles in snow heated by the Sun.<ref name=Shiga2009>{{cite web |first=David |last=Shiga |url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20427373.700 |date=December 7, 2009 |title=Watery niche may foster life on Mars |work=New Scientist}}</ref><ref name=Shiga2009 /><ref name="news.softpedia">{{cite web|author=Tudor Vieru |url=http://news.softpedia.com/news/Greenhouse-Effect-on-Mars-May-Be-Allowing-for-Life-129065.shtml |title=Greenhouse Effect on Mars May Be Allowing for Life |publisher=News.softpedia.com |date=2009-12-07 |accessdate=2011-08-20}}{{verify credibility|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref name="news.softpedia" /> Also, the ancient equatorial ice sheets beneath the ground may slowly sublimate or melt, accessible from the surface via caves.<ref>Michael T. Mellon [http://science.nasa.gov/media/medialibrary/2011/06/29/Mellon_Water_PPS_May2011_-_TAGGED.pdf Subsurface Ice at Mars: A review of ice and water in the equatorial regions] University of Colorado 10 May 2011 Planetary Protection Subcommittee Meeting</ref><ref>Robert Roy Britt [http://www.space.com/812-ice-packs-methane-mars-suggest-present-life.html Ice Packs and Methane on Mars Suggest Present Life Possible] space.com 22 February 2005</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1997JGR...10219357M |title=The persistence of equatorial ground ice on Mars |last1=Mellon |first1=Michael T. |last2=Jakosky |first2=Bruce M. |last3=Postawko |first3=Susan E. |volume=102 |year=1997 |pages=19357–69 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |doi=10.1029/97JE01346}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012LPICo1675.8001A |title=A Conceptual Model of Equatorial Ice Sheets on Mars |last1=Arfstrom |first1=J. D. |volume=1675 |year=2012 |pages=8001 |journal=Comparative Climatology of Terrestrial Planets}}</ref>

Water on Mars exists almost exclusively as water ice, located in the [[Martian polar ice caps]] and under the shallow Martian surface even at more temperate latitudes.<ref name="mars.jpl.nasa.gov">{{cite web| url=http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/odyssey/newsroom/pressreleases/20020528a.html |title=Mars Odyssey: Newsroom |publisher=Mars.jpl.nasa.gov |date=May 28, 2002 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref><ref name="Feildman, T. 2004">{{cite journal |bibcode=2004JGRE..10909006F |doi=10.1029/2003JE002160 |title=Global distribution of near-surface hydrogen on Mars |year=2004 |last1=Feldman |first1=W. C. |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |volume=109}}</ref> A small amount of water vapor is present in the [[Atmosphere of Mars|atmosphere]].<ref name="ucar">{{cite web| url=http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mars/exploring/MGS_water_clouds.html| title=Mars Global Surveyor Measures Water Clouds| accessdate=March 7, 2009}}</ref> There are no bodies of liquid water on the Martian surface because its atmospheric pressure at the surface averages {{Convert|600|Pa|sp=us}} —about 0.6% of Earth's mean sea level pressure— and because the temperature is far too low, ({{Convert|210|K|C}}) leading to immediate freezing. Despite this, about 3.8 billion years ago,<ref name=Baker>{{cite journal |bibcode=1991Natur.352..589B |title=Ancient oceans, ice sheets and the hydrological cycle on Mars |last1=Baker |first1=V. R. |last2=Strom |first2=R. G. |last3=Gulick |first3=V. C. |last4=Kargel |first4=J. S. |last5=Komatsu |first5=G. |volume=352 |year=1991 |pages=589 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/352589a0 |last6=Kale |first6=V. S. |issue=6336}}</ref> there was a denser [[atmosphere of Mars|atmosphere]], higher temperature, and vast amounts of liquid water flowed on the surface,<ref name=flashback>{{cite web| url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/flashback-water-on-mars-announced-10-years-ago-100622.html |title=Flashback: Water on Mars Announced 10 Years Ago |publisher=SPACE.com |date=June 22, 2000 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url=http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast05jan_1.htm
| title=Science@NASA, The Case of the Missing Mars Water
| accessdate=March 7, 2009}}</ref><ref name='Clay clues'>{{cite news | title = Mars Rover Opportunity Examines Clay Clues in Rock | date = May 17, 2013 | publisher = Jet Propulsion Laboratory | url = http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.php?release=2013-167 | work = NASA | accessdate = 2013-06-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = NASA Rover Helps Reveal Possible Secrets of Martian Life | date = November 29, 2005 | url = http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/nov/HQ_05415_rover_secrets_prt.htm | work = NASA | accessdate = 2013-06-20}}</ref> including large oceans.<ref>ISBN 0-312-24551-3{{page needed|date=June 2013}}{{full|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref name=Sea>{{cite web| url= http://www.psrd.hawaii.edu/July03/MartianSea.html |title=PSRD: Ancient Floodwaters and Seas on Mars |publisher=Psrd.hawaii.edu |date=July 16, 2003 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=26947 |title=Gamma-Ray Evidence Suggests Ancient Mars Had Oceans |publisher=SpaceRef |date=November 17, 2008 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref><ref name="2003JGRE..108.5042C">{{cite journal |bibcode=2003JGRE..108.5042C |title=Oceans on Mars: An assessment of the observational evidence and possible fate |last1=Carr |first1=Michael H. |last2=Head |first2=James W. |volume=108 |year=2003 |pages=5042 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research (Planets) |doi=10.1029/2002JE001963}}</ref><ref name="SFN-20130125">{{cite web |last=Harwood |first=William |title=Opportunity rover moves into 10th year of Mars operations |url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/news/n1301/25opportunity/ |date=January 25, 2013 |publisher=Space Flight Now |accessdate=February 18, 2013 }}</ref> It has been estimated that the primordial oceans on Mars would have covered between 36%<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite journal | last1 = Di Achille | first1 = Gaetano | last2 = Hynek | first2 = Brian M. | title = Ancient ocean on Mars supported by global distribution of deltas and valleys | journal=Nature Geoscience | volume = 3 | pages = 459–63 | year = 2010 | doi = 10.1038/ngeo891 |bibcode = 2010NatGe...3..459D | issue=7 |laysummary=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100613181245.htm |laysource=ScienceDaily |laydate=June 14, 2010}}</ref> and 75% of the planet.<ref name=Smith>{{cite journal |bibcode=1999Sci...286...94S |title=The gravity field of Mars: Results from Mars Global Surveyor |last1=Smith |first1=D. E. |last2=Sjogren |first2=W. L. |last3=Tyler |first3=G. L. |last4=Balmino |first4=G. |last5=Lemoine |first5=F. G. |last6=Konopliv |first6=A. S. |volume=286 |year=1999 |pages=94–7 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.286.5437.94 |pmid=10506567 |issue=5437}}</ref>

[[File:Warm Season Flows on Slope in Newton Crater (animated).gif|thumb|left|Warm-season flows on slope in [[Newton (Martian crater)|Newton Crater]] ]]
Analysis of Martian sandstones, using data obtained from orbital spectrometry, suggests that the waters that previously existed on the surface of Mars would have had too high a salinity to support most Earth-like life. Tosca ''et al.'' found that the Martian water in the locations they studied all had [[water activity]], aw ≤ 0.78 to 0.86—a level fatal to most Terrestrial life.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2008Sci...320.1204T |title=Water Activity and the Challenge for Life on Early Mars |last1=Tosca |first1=Nicholas J. |last2=Knoll |first2=Andrew H. |last3=McLennan |first3=Scott M. |volume=320 |year=2008 |pages=1204–7 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.1155432 |pmid=18511686 |issue=5880}}</ref> [[Haloarchaea]], however, are able to live in hypersaline solutions, up to the saturation point.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Extreme Halophiles Are Models for Astrobiology |journal=Microbe |year=2006 |first=Shiladitya |last=DasSarma |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=120–6 |url=http://forms.asm.org/microbe/index.asp?bid=41227}}</ref>

In June 2000, possible evidence for current liquid water flowing at the surface of Mars was discovered in the form of flood-like gullies.<ref name=underground>{{cite journal |bibcode=2000Sci...288.2330M |title=Evidence for Recent Groundwater Seepage and Surface Runoff on Mars |last1=Malin |first1=Michael C. |last2=Edgett |first2=Kenneth S. |volume=288 |year=2000 |pages=2330–5 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.288.5475.2330 |pmid=10875910 |issue=5475}}</ref><ref>{{cite conference |url=http://www.planets.ucla.edu/wp-content/form-data/mars-abstracts-2013/37-Martinez_2013_UCLA_Mars_Habitability.pdf |title=Present Day Liquid Water On Mars: Theoretical Expectations, Observational Evidence And Preferred Locations |first1=G. M. |last1=Martínez |first2=N. O. |last2=Renno |first3=H. M. |last3=Elliott |first4=E. |last4=Fischer |year=2013 |conference=The Present-day Mars Habitability Conference |location=Los Angeles}}</ref> Additional similar images were published in 2006, taken by the [[Mars Global Surveyor]], that suggested that water occasionally flows on the surface of Mars. The images did not actually show flowing water. Rather, they showed changes in steep crater walls and sediment deposits, providing the strongest evidence yet that water coursed through them as recently as several years ago.

There is disagreement in the scientific community as to whether or not the recent gully streaks were formed by liquid water. Some suggest the flows were merely dry sand flows.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.icarus.2009.09.009 | last1 = Kolb | first1 = K. | last2 = Pelletier | year = 2010 | first2 = Jon D. | last3 = McEwen | first3 = Alfred S. | title = Modeling the formation of bright slope deposits associated with gullies in Hale Crater, Mars: Implications for recent liquid water | url = | journal=Icarus | volume = 205 | pages = 113–137 |bibcode = 2010Icar..205..113K }}</ref><ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web| url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00191035 |title=Icarus | Vol 218, Iss 1, In Progress, (March, 2012) |publisher=ScienceDirect.com |date=2004-06-08 |accessdate=2012-01-16}}{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref name=moon>[http://uanews.org/cgi-bin/WebObjects/UANews.woa/1/wa/SRStoryDetails?ArticleID=12376 "University of Arizona Press Release"] March 16, 2006.</ref><ref>{{cite journal| title=Mars Orbiter's Swan Song: The Red Planet Is A-Changin' |journal=Science |date=2006 – 12 – 8|first=Richard| last=Kerr| volume=314|issue=5805 |pages=1528–1529 |doi=10.1126/science.314.5805.1528| pmid=17158298}}</ref> Others suggest it may be liquid [[brine]] near the surface,<ref name=voanews>{{cite web| url= http://www.voanews.com/english/news/science-technology/NASA-Finds-Possible-Signs-of-Flowing-Water-on-Mars-126807133.html| title=NASA Finds Possible Signs of Flowing Water on Mars| publisher=voanews.com| accessdate=August 5, 2011}}</ref><ref name=Ames>{{cite web|author=Source: Ames Research Center Posted Saturday, June 6, 2009 |url=http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=28377 |title=NASA Scientists Find Evidence for Liquid Water on a Frozen Early Mars |publisher=SpaceRef |date=June 6, 2009 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars-phoenix-water-salt-data-100831.html |title=Dead Spacecraft on Mars Lives on in New Study |publisher=SPACE.com |date=June 10, 2008 |accessdate=December 19, 2010}}</ref> but the exact source of the water and the mechanism behind its motion are not understood.<ref name=hirise>{{cite journal |bibcode=2011Sci...333..740M |title=Seasonal Flows on Warm Martian Slopes |last1=McEwen |first1=Alfred S. |last2=Ojha |first2=Lujendra |last3=Dundas |first3=Colin M. |last4=Mattson |first4=Sarah S. |last5=Byrne |first5=Shane |last6=Wray |first6=James J. |last7=Cull |first7=Selby C. |last8=Murchie |first8=Scott L. |last9=Thomas |first9=Nicolas |volume=333 |year=2011 |pages=740–3 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.1204816 |pmid=21817049 |issue=6043}}</ref>

=== Silica ===
[[File:Spirit Mars Silica April 20 2007.jpg|thumb|The silica-rich patch discovered by [[Spirit (rover)|Spirit rover]] ]]
In May 2007, the [[Spirit rover]] disturbed a patch of ground with its inoperative wheel, uncovering an area extremely rich in [[silica]] (90%).<ref>{{cite press release |title=Mars Rover Spirit Unearths Surprise Evidence of Wetter Past |date=May 21, 2007 |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mer/mer-20070521.html |accessdate=June 27, 2013}}</ref> The feature is reminiscent of the effect of [[hot spring]] water or steam coming into contact with volcanic rocks. Scientists consider this as evidence of a past environment that may have been favorable for microbial life, and theorize that one possible origin for the silica may have been produced by the interaction of soil with acid vapors produced by volcanic activity in the presence of water.<ref Name="20071210a">{{cite press release |title=Mars Rover Investigates Signs of Steamy Martian Past |publisher=[[Jet Propulsion Laboratory]] |date=December 10, 2007 |url=http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/newsroom/pressreleases/20071210a.html |accessdate=June 27, 2013}}</ref>

Based on Earth analogs, [[Hydrothermal vent|hydrothermal systems]] on Mars would be highly attractive for their potential for preserving [[Organic compound|organic]] and [[Inorganic compound|inorganic]] [[biosignature]]s.<ref name='Leveille'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2010AGUFM.P12A..07L |title=Mineralized iron oxidizing bacteria from hydrothermal vents: Targeting biosignatures on Mars |last1=Leveille |first1=R. J. |volume=12 |year=2010 |pages=07 |journal=American Geophysical Union}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1993Icar..101..129W |title=Preservation of Biological Information in Thermal Spring Deposits: Developing a Strategy for the Search for Fossil Life on Mars |last1=Walter |first1=M. R. |last2=Des Marais |first2=David J. |volume=101 |year=1993 |pages=129–43 |journal=Icarus |doi=10.1006/icar.1993.1011 |pmid=11536937 |issue=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2000Icar..147...49A |title=Microscopic Physical Biomarkers in Carbonate Hot Springs: Implications in the Search for Life on Mars |last1=Allen |first1=Carlton C. |last2=Albert |first2=Fred G. |last3=Chafetz |first3=Henry S. |last4=Combie |first4=Joan |last5=Graham |first5=Catherine R. |last6=Kieft |first6=Thomas L. |last7=Kivett |first7=Steven J. |last8=McKay |first8=David S. |last9=Steele |first9=Andrew |volume=147 |year=2000 |pages=49–67 |journal=Icarus |doi=10.1006/icar.2000.6435 |pmid=11543582 |issue=1}}</ref> For this reason, hydrothermal deposits are regarded as important targets in the exploration for fossil evidence of ancient Martian life.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1999JGR...104.8489W |title=A Mössbauer investigation of iron-rich terrestrial hydrothermal vent systems: Lessons for Mars exploration |last1=Wade |first1=Manson L. |last2=Agresti |first2=David G. |last3=Wdowiak |first3=Thomas J. |last4=Armendarez |first4=Lawrence P. |last5=Farmer |first5=Jack D. |volume=104 |year=1999 |pages=8489–507 |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |doi=10.1029/1998JE900049 |pmid=11542933 |issue=E4}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1995LPI....26....7A |title=A Mossbauer Investigation of Hot Springs Iron Deposits |last1=Agresti |first1=D. G. |last2=Wdowiak |first2=T. J. |last3=Wade |first3=M. L. |last4=Armendarez |first4=L. P. |last5=Farmer |first5=J. D. |volume=26 |year=1995 |pages=7 |journal=Abstracts of the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1997LPICo.916....1A |title=Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Thermal Springs Iron Deposits as Martian Analogs |last1=Agresti |first1=D. G. |last2=Wdowiak |first2=T. J. |last3=Wade |first3=M. L. |last4=Armendarez |first4=L. P. |volume=916 |year=1997 |pages=1 |journal=Early Mars: Geologic and Hydrologic Evolution}}</ref>

== Possible biosignatures ==
=== Methane ===
{{Main|Atmosphere of Mars#Methane}}
Trace amounts of [[methane]] in the atmosphere of Mars were discovered in 2003 and verified in 2004.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2003DPS....35.1418M |title=A Sensitive Search for Methane on Mars |last1=Mumma |first1=M. J. |last2=Novak |first2=R. E. |last3=Disanti |first3=M. A. |last4=Bonev |first4=B. P. |volume=35 |year=2003 |pages=937 |journal=American Astronomical Society}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2009Sci...323.1041M |title=Strong Release of Methane on Mars in Northern Summer 2003 |last1=Mumma |first1=Michael J. |last2=Villanueva |first2=Geronimo L. |last3=Novak |first3=Robert E. |last4=Hewagama |first4=Tilak |last5=Bonev |first5=Boncho P. |last6=Disanti |first6=Michael A. |last7=Mandell |first7=Avi M. |last8=Smith |first8=Michael D. |volume=323 |year=2009 |pages=1041–5 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.1165243 |pmid=19150811 |issue=5917}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2004Sci...306.1758F |title=Detection of Methane in the Atmosphere of Mars |last1=Formisano |first1=Vittorio |last2=Atreya |first2=Sushil |last3=Encrenaz |first3=Thérèse |last4=Ignatiev |first4=Nikolai |last5=Giuranna |first5=Marco |volume=306 |year=2004 |pages=1758–61 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.1101732 |pmid=15514118 |issue=5702}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2004Icar..172..537K |title=Detection of methane in the martian atmosphere: Evidence for life? |last1=Krasnopolsky |first1=Vladimir A. |last2=Maillard |first2=Jean Pierre |last3=Owen |first3=Tobias C. |volume=172 |year=2004 |pages=537–47 |journal=Icarus |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2004.07.004 |issue=2}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |title=Mars Express confirms methane in the Martian atmosphere |publisher=[[ESA]] |url=http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/Mars_Express/SEMZ0B57ESD_0.html |accessdate=March 17, 2006 |date=March 30, 2004}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2005Icar..178..277M |title=Desert methane: Implications for life detection on Mars |last1=Moran |first1=Mark |last2=Miller |first2=Joseph D. |last3=Kral |first3=Tim |last4=Scott |first4=Dave |volume=178 |year=2005 |pages=277–80 |journal=Icarus |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2005.06.008}}</ref> As methane is an unstable gas, its presence indicates that there must be an active source on the planet in order to keep such levels in the atmosphere. It is estimated that Mars must produce 270 ton/year of methane,<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006Icar..180..359K |title=Some problems related to the origin of methane on Mars |last1=Krasnopolsky |first1=Vladimir A. |volume=180 |year=2006 |pages=359–67 |journal=Icarus |doi=10.1016/j.icarus.2005.10.015 |issue=2}}</ref><ref>[http://www.pfs-results.it/ Planetary Fourier Spectrometer website] (ESA, Mars Express){{vs|needs a more specific reference|date=June 2013}}</ref> but [[asteroid]] impacts account for only 0.8% of the total methane production. Although geologic sources of methane such as [[serpentinization]] are possible, the lack of current [[volcanism]], [[hydrothermal activity]] or [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspots]]<ref name='thermal signature'>{{cite news | title = Hunting for young lava flows | date = June 1, 2011 | publisher = Red Planet | url = http://redplanet.asu.edu/?p=501 | work = Geophysical Research Letters | accessdate = 2013-10-04}}</ref> are not favorable for geologic methane. It has been suggested that the methane was produced by chemical reactions in meteorites, driven by the intense heat during entry through the atmosphere. Although research published in December 2009 ruled out this possibility,<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2009.09.041 |bibcode=2009E&PSL.288..382C |laysummary=http://www.physorg.com/news179499648.html |laysource=Phys.org |laydate=December 8, 2009 |title=Investigating the contribution of methane produced by ablating micrometeorites to the atmosphere of Mars |year=2009 |last1=Court |first1=Richard W. |last2=Sephton |first2=Mark A. |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=288 |issue=3–4 |pages=382–5}}</ref> research published in 2012 suggest that a source may be [[organic compound]]s on meteorites that are converted to methane by [[ultraviolet]] radiation.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012Natur.486...93K |title=Ultraviolet-radiation-induced methane emissions from meteorites and the Martian atmosphere |last1=Keppler |first1=Frank |last2=Vigano |first2=Ivan |last3=McLeod |first3=Andy |last4=Ott |first4=Ulrich |last5=Früchtl |first5=Marion |last6=Röckmann |first6=Thomas |volume=486 |year=2012 |pages=93–6 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature11203 |pmid=22678286 |issue=7401}}</ref>
[[File:Martian Methane Map.jpg|thumb|left|300px|right|Distribution of [[methane]] in the atmosphere of Mars in the Northern Hemisphere during summer]]
The existence of life in the form of [[microorganism]]s such as [[methanogen]]s is among possible, but as yet unproven sources. If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface, where it is still warm enough for liquid water to exist.<ref name=Steigerwald>{{cite news| first=Bill| last=Steigerwald| title=Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet| date=January 15, 2009 |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html |work=NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center| pages=| accessdate=June 6 24, 2013| quote= If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface, where it's still warm enough for liquid water to exist}}</ref>

Since the 2003 discovery of methane in the atmosphere, some scientists have been designing models and ''in vitro'' experiments testing growth of [[methanogen]]ic bacteria on simulated Martian soil, where all four methanogen strains tested produced substantial levels of methane, even in the presence of 1.0wt% [[perchlorate]] salt.<ref name=Kral>{{cite journal |bibcode=2009M&PSA..72.5136K |title=Can Methanogens Grow in a Perchlorate Environment on Mars? |last1=Kral |first1=T. A. |last2=Goodhart |first2=T. |last3=Howe |first3=K. L. |last4=Gavin |first4=P. |volume=72 |year=2009 |pages=5136 |journal=72nd Annual Meeting of the Meteoritical Society}}</ref> The results reported indicate that the perchlorates discovered by the [[Phoenix Lander]] would not rule out the possible presence of methanogens on Mars.<ref name=Kral /><ref name=Howe>{{cite journal |bibcode=2009LPI....40.1287H |title=Methane Production by Methanogens in Perchlorate-supplemented Media |last1=Howe |first1=K. L. |last2=Gavin |first2=P. |last3=Goodhart |first3=T. |last4=Kral |first4=T. A. |volume=40 |year=2009 |pages=1287 |journal=40th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref>

A team led by Levin suggested that both phenomena—methane production and degradation—could be accounted for by an ecology of methane-producing and methane-consuming microorganisms.<ref name=Howe /><ref name='Levin 2009'>{{cite book |bibcode=2009SPIE.7441E..12L |chapter=Methane and life on Mars |last1=Levin |first1=Gilbert V. |last2=Straat |first2=Patricia Ann |volume=7441 |year=2009 |pages=12–27 |title=Instruments and Methods for Astrobiology and Planetary Missions XII |doi=10.1117/12.829183 |editor1-last=Hoover |editor1-first=Richard B |editor2-last=Levin |editor2-first=Gilbert V |editor3-last=Rozanov |editor3-first=Alexei Y |editor4-last=Retherford |editor4-first=Kurt D |isbn=978-0-8194-7731-6}}</ref>

In June 2012, scientists reported that measuring the ratio of [[hydrogen]] and [[methane]] levels on Mars may help determine the likelihood of life on Mars.<ref name="PNAS-20120607">{{cite journal |last1=Oze |first1=Christopher |last2=Jones |first2=Camille |last3=Goldsmith |first3=Jonas I. |last4=Rosenbauer |first4=Robert J. |title=Differentiating biotic from abiotic methane genesis in hydrothermally active planetary surfaces |date=June 7, 2012 |journal=[[PNAS]] |volume=109| issue = 25 |pages=9750–9754 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1205223109 |bibcode=2012PNAS..109.9750O |pmid=22679287 |pmc=3382529}}</ref><ref name="Space-20120625">{{cite web |author=Staff |title=Mars Life Could Leave Traces in Red Planet's Air: Study |url=http://www.space.com/16284-mars-life-atmosphere-hydrogen-methane.html |date=June 25, 2012 |publisher=[[Space.com]] |accessdate=June 27, 2012 }}</ref> According to the scientists, "...low H2/CH4 ratios (less than approximately 40) indicate that life is likely present and active."<ref name="PNAS-20120607" /> Other scientists have recently reported methods of detecting hydrogen and methane in [[extraterrestrial atmospheres]].<ref name="Nature-20120627">{{cite journal |last1=Brogi |first1=Matteo |last2=Snellen |first2=Ignas A. G. |last3=de Krok |first3=Remco J. |last4=Albrecht |first4=Simon |last5=Birkby |first5=Jayne |last6=de Mooij |first6=Ernest J. W. |title=The signature of orbital motion from the dayside of the planet τ Boötis b |date=June 28, 2012 |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |volume=486 |pages=502–504 |doi=10.1038/nature11161 |arxiv=1206.6109 |bibcode=2012Natur.486..502B |issue=7404 }}</ref><ref name="Wired-20120627">{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Adam |title=New View of Exoplanets Will Aid Search for E.T. |url=http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2012/06/tau-bootis-b/ |date=June 27, 2012 |publisher=[[Wired (magazine)]] |accessdate=June 28, 2012 }}</ref>

In contrast to the findings described above, studies by Kevin Zahnle, a planetary scientist at NASA's [[Ames Research Center]], and two colleagues, conclude that "there is as yet no compelling evidence for methane on Mars". They argue that the strongest reported observations of the gas to date have been taken at frequencies where interference from methane in [[atmosphere of Earth|Earth's atmosphere]] is particularly difficult to remove, and are thus unreliable. Additionally, they claim that the published observations most favorable to interpretation as indicative of Martian methane are also consistent with no methane being present on Mars.<ref>{{citation | first = Kevin Zahnle | coauthors = Richard Freedman and David Catling | contribution = 42nd Lunar and Planetary Science Conference | title = Is there Methane on Mars? Part II | publisher = Lunar and Planetary Institute | year = 2011| id = | contribution-url = http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/lpsc2011/pdf/2427.pdf | format = PDF | accessdate = 2011-08-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = Methane on Mars. Now you see it. Now you don't... | date = 29 December 2010 | url = http://www.economist.com/node/17797286 | work = The Economist | accessdate = 2011-08-06}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Kevin Zahnle, Richard S. Freedman and David C. Catling |title=Is there methane on Mars?| journal=Icarus |volume=212 | issue=2 |pages= 493–503 |year=2011| url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S001910351000446X |doi= 10.1016/j.icarus.2010.11.027 |pmid= |bibcode = 2011Icar..212..493Z}}</ref>

The [[Curiosity rover]], which landed on Mars in August 2012, is able to make measurements that distinguish between different isotopologues of methane;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2765&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 |title=Making Sense of Mars Methane |accessdate=October 8, 2008 |last=Tenenbaum |first=David |date=June 9, 2008 |work=Astrobiology Magazine|archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080923195833/http://astrobio.net/news/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=2765&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0 |archivedate= 23 September 2008 | deadurl= no}}</ref> but even if the mission is to determine that microscopic Martian life is the seasonal source of the methane, the life forms likely reside far below the surface, outside of the rover's reach.<ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Steigerwald|coauthors=|authorlink=|title=Martian Methane Reveals the Red Planet is not a Dead Planet|date=January 15, 2009|publisher=NASA|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html|work=NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center|pages=| accessdate=January 24, 2009|language=| archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20090117141425/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/marsmethane.html|archivedate= 17 January 2009 | deadurl= no}}</ref> The first measurements with the [[Sample Analysis at Mars|Tunable Laser Spectrometer (TLS)]] in the ''Curiosity'' rover indicated that there is less than 5 ppb of methane at the landing site at the point of the measurement.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ustream.tv/nasajpl |title=Mars Curiosity Rover News Telecon -November 2, 2012}}</ref><ref name="Science-20121102">{{cite web |last=Kerr |first=Richard A. |title=Curiosity Finds Methane on Mars, or Not|url=http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/11/curiosity-finds-methane-on-mars-.html |date=November 2, 2012|publisher=[[Science (journal)]] |accessdate=November 3, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="Space-20121102">{{cite web|last=Wall |first=Mike |title=Curiosity Rover Finds No Methane on Mars — Yet|url=http://www.space.com/18333-mars-rover-curiosity-methane-measurements.html |date=November 2, 2012|publisher=[[Space.com]] |accessdate=November 3, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20121102">{{cite news |last=Chang|first=Kenneth |title=Hope of Methane on Mars Fades|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/03/science/space/hopes-for-methane-on-mars-deflated.html |date=November 2, 2012 |publisher=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=November 3, 2012 }}</ref> On July 19, 2013, NASA scientists published the results of a new analysis of the atmosphere of Mars, reporting a lack of [[methane]] around the [[Gale Crater|landing site]] of the [[Curiosity (rover)|''Curiosity'' rover]].<ref name="Wired-20130718">{{cite web |last=Mann |first=Adam |title=Mars Rover Finds Good News for Past Life, Bad News for Current Life on Mars |url=http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/07/curiosity-mars-atmosphere |date=18 July 2013 |work=[[Wired (magazine)]] |accessdate=19 July 2013 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20130719a">{{cite journal |author=Webster Chris R. et al. |title=Isotope Ratios of H, C, and O in CO2 and H2O of the Martian Atmosphere |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6143/260 |date=19 July 2013 |journal=[[Science (journal)]] |volume=341 |number=6143 |pages=260–263 |doi=10.1126/science.1237961 |accessdate=19 July 2013 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20130719b">{{cite journal |author=Mahaffy, Paul R. et al. |title=Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Gases in the Martian Atmosphere from the Curiosity Rover |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/content/341/6143/263 |date=19 July 2013 |journal=[[Science (journal)]] |volume=341 |number=6143 |pages=263–266 |doi=10.1126/science.1237966 |accessdate=19 July 2013 }}</ref> On September 19, 2013, NASA again reported no detection of [[atmospheric methane]] with a measured value of {{val|0.18|0.67}} ppbv corresponding to an upper limit of only 1.3 ppbv (95% confidence limit) and, as a result, conclude that the probability of current methanogenic microbial activity on Mars is reduced.<ref name="SJ-20130919">{{cite journal |last1=Webster |first1=Christopher R. |last2=Mahaffy |first2=Paul R. |last3=Atreya |first3=Sushil K. |last4=Flesch |first4=Gregory J. |last5=Farley |first5=Kenneth A. |title=Low Upper Limit to Methane Abundance on Mars |url=http://www.sciencemag.org/content/early/2013/09/18/science.1242902.abstract |date=September 19, 2013 |journal=[[Science (journal)]] |doi=10.1126/science.1242902 |accessdate=September 19, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="SCI-20130919">{{cite journal |last=Cho |first=Adrian |title=Mars Rover Finds No Evidence of Burps and Farts |url=http://news.sciencemag.org/space/2013/09/mars-rover-finds-no-evidence-burps-and-farts
|date=September 19, 2013 |work=[[Science (journal)]] |accessdate=September 19, 2013 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-20130919">{{cite news |last=Chang |first=Kenneth |title=Mars Rover Comes Up Empty in Search for Methane |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/science/space/mars-rover-comes-up-empty-in-search-for-methane.html |date=September 19, 2013 |work=[[New York Times]] |accessdate=September 19, 2013 }}</ref>

The [[Mars Trace Gas Mission]] orbiter planned to launch in 2016 would further study the methane, if present,<ref>{{cite news |first=Paul |last=Rincon |title=Agencies outline Mars initiative |date=July 9, 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8130393.stm |publisher=BBC News |accessdate=July 26, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=NASA orbiter to hunt for source of Martian methane in 2016 |date=March 6, 2009 |agency=[[Asian News International]] |url=http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/nasa-orbiter-to-hunt-for-source-of-martian-methane-in-2016_100163335.html |publisher=Thaindian News |accessdate=July 26, 2009}}</ref> as well as its decomposition products such as [[formaldehyde]] and [[methanol]].

=== Formaldehyde ===
In February 2005, it was announced that the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer (PFS) on the [[European Space Agency]]'s [[Mars Express Orbiter]] had detected traces of [[formaldehyde]] in the [[atmosphere of Mars]]. Vittorio Formisano, the director of the PFS, has speculated that the formaldehyde could be the byproduct of the oxidation of methane and, according to him, would provide evidence that Mars is either extremely geologically active or harbouring colonies of microbial life.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/news050221-15 |first=Mark |last=Peplow |title=Formaldehyde claim inflames martian debate |journal=Nature |date=February 25, 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Jenny|last=Hogan|coauthors=|title=A whiff of life on the Red Planet|date=February 16, 2005|publisher=New Scientist magazine|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7014|work=|pages=|accessdate=August 18, 2008|language=}}</ref> NASA scientists consider the preliminary findings well worth a follow-up, but have also rejected the claims of life.<ref name=PFS>{{cite journal |doi=10.1038/news050905-10 |title=Martian methane probe in trouble |date=September 7, 2005 |last1=Peplow |first1=Mark |journal=Nature}}</ref><ref name='NASA Releasease : 05-052'>{{cite news|first=|last=|coauthors=|title=NASA Statement on False Claim of Evidence of Life on Mars|date=February 18, 2005|publisher=NASA|url=http://www1.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2005/feb/HQ_05052_mars_claim.html|work=NASA News|pages=|accessdate=August 18, 2008|language=}}</ref>

=== Meteorites ===
[[NASA]] maintains a catalog of 34 [[Mars meteorite]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/index.html|title=Mars Meteorites|accessdate=February 16, 2010|publisher=NASA}}</ref> These assets are highly valuable since they are the only physical samples available of Mars. Studies conducted by NASA's [[Johnson Space Center]] show that at least three of the meteorites contain potential evidence of past life on Mars, in the form of microscopic structures resembling fossilized bacteria (so-called [[Organism|biomorphs]]). Although the scientific evidence collected is reliable, its interpretation varies. To date, none of the original lines of scientific evidence for the hypothesis that the biomorphs are of [[exobiological]] origin (the so-called biogenic hypothesis) have been either discredited or positively ascribed to non-biological explanations.<ref name="meteoritos-Bio">[http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs/sci/fifthconf99/6142.pdf Evidence for ancient Martian life]. E. K. Gibson Jr., F. Westall, D. S. McKay, K. Thomas-Keprta, S. Wentworth, and C. S. Romanek, Mail Code SN2, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston TX 77058, USA.</ref>

Over the past few decades, seven criteria have been established for the recognition of past life within terrestrial geologic samples. Those criteria are:<ref name="meteoritos-Bio" />
# Is the geologic context of the sample compatible with past life?
# Is the age of the sample and its stratigraphic location compatible with possible life?
# Does the sample contain evidence of cellular morphology and colonies?
# Is there any evidence of biominerals showing chemical or mineral disequilibria?
# Is there any evidence of stable isotope patterns unique to biology?
# Are there any organic biomarkers present?
# Are the features indigenous to the sample?

For general acceptance of past life in a geologic sample, essentially most or all of these criteria must be met. All seven criteria have not yet been met for any of the Martian samples, but continued investigations are in progress.<ref name="meteoritos-Bio" />

As of 2010, reexaminations of the biomorphs found in the three Martian meteorites are underway with more advanced analytical instruments than previously available.

==== ALH84001 ====
[[File:ALH84001 structures.jpg|right|thumb|An electron microscope reveals bacteria-like structures in meteorite fragment [[ALH84001]]]]
The [[ALH84001]] meteorite was found in December 1984 in [[Antarctica]], by members of the [[ANSMET]] project; the meteorite weighs {{Convert|1.93|kg}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meteor/metbull.php?sea=alh+84001&sfor=names&ants=&falls=&stype=contains&lrec=50&map=ge&browse=&country=All&srt=name&categ=All&mblist=All&phot=&snew=0&pnt=no&code=604|title=Allan Hills 84001|accessdate=August 21, 2008|month=April|year=2008|publisher=The Meteorolitical Society}}</ref> The sample was ejected from Mars about 17 million years ago and spent 11,000 years in or on the Antarctic ice sheets. Composition analysis by NASA revealed a kind of [[magnetite]] that on Earth, is only found in association with certain microorganisms.<ref name="meteoritos-Bio" /> Then, in August 2002, another NASA team led by Thomas-Keptra published a study indicating that 25% of the [[magnetite]] in ALH 84001 occurs as small, uniform-sized crystals that, on Earth, is associated only with biologic activity, and that the remainder of the material appears to be normal inorganic magnetite. The extraction technique did not permit determination as to whether the possibly biological magnetite was organized into chains as would be expected. The meteorite displays indication of relatively low temperature secondary mineralization by water and shows evidence of preterrestrial aqueous alteration.{{Clarify|date=February 2013}} Evidence of [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]] (PAHs) have been identified with the levels increasing away from the surface.

Some structures resembling the mineralized casts of terrestrial bacteria and their appendages (fibrils) or by-products (extracellular polymeric substances) occur in the rims of carbonate globules and preterrestrial aqueous alteration regions.<ref name=disbelief>{{cite web|title=After 10 years, few believe life on Mars|url=http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/ap_060806_mars_rock.html|last=Crenson|first=Matt|publisher=[[Associated Press]] (on [http://www.space.com/ space.com])|date=August 6, 2006|accessdate=August 6, 2006}}{{Toter Link|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1996Sci...273..924M |title=Search for Past Life on Mars: Possible Relic Biogenic Activity in Martian Meteorite ALH84001 |last1=McKay |first1=David S. |last2=Gibson |first2=Everett K. |last3=Thomas-Keprta |first3=Kathie L. |last4=Vali |first4=Hojatollah |last5=Romanek |first5=Christopher S. |last6=Clemett |first6=Simon J. |last7=Chillier |first7=Xavier D. F. |last8=Maechling |first8=Claude R. |last9=Zare |first9=Richard N. |volume=273 |year=1996 |pages=924–30 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.273.5277.924 |pmid=8688069 |issue=5277}}</ref> The size and shape of the objects is consistent with Earthly [[fossil]]ized [[nanobacteria]], but the existence of nanobacteria itself is controversial.

In November 2009, NASA scientists reported after more detailed analyses, that a biogenic explanation is a more viable hypothesis for the origin of the [[magnetite]]s in the meteorite.<ref>{{cite news | first = William P. Jeffs | title = New Study Adds to Finding of Ancient Life Signs in Mars Meteorite | date = 30 November 2009 | publisher = NASA News | url = http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/news/releases/2009/J09-030.html | work = NASA | accessdate = 2013-06-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2009GeCoA..73.6631T |title=Origins of magnetite nanocrystals in Martian meteorite ALH84001 |last1=Thomas-Keprta |first1=K. L. |last2=Clemett |first2=S. J. |last3=McKay |first3=D. S. |last4=Gibson |first4=E. K. |last5=Wentworth |first5=S. J. |volume=73 |year=2009 |pages=6631–77 |journal=Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta |doi=10.1016/j.gca.2009.05.064 |issue=21}}</ref>
[[File:Nakhla meteorite.jpg|thumb|left|Nakhla meteorite]]

==== Nakhla ====
The [[Nakhla meteorite]] fell on Earth on June 28, 1911 on the locality of Nakhla, [[Alexandria]], [[Egypt]].<ref name="NASA">{{cite web|url=http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/nakhla.html|title=The Nakhla Meteorite|accessdate=August 17, 2008|last=Baalke|first=Ron|year=1995|work=Jet Propulsion Lab|publisher=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/virtual-wonders/vrmeteorite5.html|title=Rotating image of a Nakhla meteorite fragment|accessdate=August 17, 2008|year=2008|publisher=London Natural History Museum}}</ref>

In 1998, a team from NASA's Johnson Space Center obtained a small sample for analysis. Researchers found preterrestrial aqueous alteration phases and objects<ref>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Rincon|coauthors=|title=Space rock re-opens Mars debate|date=February 8, 2006|publisher=|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4688938.stm|work=BBC News|pages=|accessdate=August 17, 2008|language=}}</ref> of the size and shape consistent with Earthly [[fossil]]ized [[nanobacteria]], but the existence of nanobacteria itself is controversial.
Analysis with [[gas chromatography]] and [[mass spectrometry]] (GC-MS) studied its high molecular weight [[polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons]] in 2000, and NASA scientists concluded that as much as 75% of the organic matter in Nakhla "may not be recent terrestrial contamination".<ref name="meteoritos-Bio" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/mmc/Nakhla.pdf|title=Mars Meteorite Compendium|accessdate=August 21, 2008|last=Meyer|first=C.|year=2004|format=PDF|publisher=NASA}}</ref>

This caused additional interest in this meteorite, so in 2006, NASA managed to obtain an additional and larger sample from the London Natural History Museum. On this second sample, a large dendritic [[carbon]] content was observed. When the results and evidence were published on 2006, some independent researchers claimed that the carbon deposits are of biologic origin. However, it was remarked that since carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the [[Universe]], finding it in curious patterns is not indicative or suggestive of biological origin.<ref>{{cite news|first=David|last=Whitehouse|coauthors=|title=Life on Mars – new claims|date=August 27, 1999|publisher=|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/289214.stm|work=BBC News|pages=|accessdate=August 20, 2008|language=}}</ref><ref>Compilation of scientific research references on the Nakhla meteorite: http://curator.jsc.nasa.gov/antmet/marsmets/nakhla/references.cfm</ref>

==== Shergotty ====
The [[Shergotty meteorite]], a 4 kg Martian meteorite, fell on Earth on [[Sherghati|Shergotty]], [[India]] on August 25, 1865 and was retrieved by witnesses almost immediately.<ref>[http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/shergotty.html Shergoti Meteorite – JPL, NASA]</ref> This meteorite is relatively young, calculated to have been formed on Mars only 165 million years ago from volcanic origin. It is composed mostly of [[pyroxene]] and thought to have undergone preterrestrial aqueous alteration for several centuries. Certain features in its interior suggest remnants of a biofilm and its associated microbial communities.<ref name="meteoritos-Bio" /> Work is in progress on searching for [[magnetite]]s within alteration phases.

== Geysers on Mars ==
{{Double image|right|Geysers on Mars.jpg|{{#expr: (200 * (516 / 726)) round 0}}|Mars Global Surveyor 1.jpg|{{#expr: (200 * (321 / 537)) round 0}}|Artist concept showing sand-laden jets erupt from geysers on Mars. | Close up of dark dune spots, likely created by cold geyser-like eruptions.}}
{{Main|Geysers on Mars}}

The seasonal frosting and defrosting of the southern ice cap results in the formation of spider-like radial channels carved on 1 meter thick ice by sunlight. Then, sublimed CO2 – and probably water –increase pressure in their interior producing geyser-like eruptions of cold fluids often mixed with dark basaltic sand or mud.<ref name=2006-100>{{cite news|first=|last=|coauthors=|authorlink=|title=NASA Findings Suggest Jets Bursting From Martian Ice Cap|date=August 16, 2006|publisher=NASA|url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2006-100|work=Jet Propulsion Laboratory|pages=|accessdate=August 11, 2009|language=}}</ref><ref name=Kieffer2000>{{cite journal |bibcode=2000mpse.conf...93K |title=Annual Punctuated CO2 Slab-Ice and Jets on Mars |last1=Kieffer |first1=H. H. |year=2000 |pages=93 |journal=International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration}}</ref><ref name=Portyankina>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006LPICo1323.8040P |title=Simulations of Geyser-type Eruptions in Cryptic Region of Martian South Polar Cap |last1=Portyankina |first1=G. |last2=Markiewicz |first2=W. J. |last3=Garcia-Comas |first3=M. |last4=Keller |first4=H. U. |last5=Bibring |first5=J.-P. |last6=Neukum |first6=G. |volume=1323 |year=2006 |pages=8040 |journal=Fourth International Conference on Mars Polar Science and Exploration}}</ref><ref name=Hugh2006>{{cite journal |bibcode=2006Natur.442..793K |title=CO2 jets formed by sublimation beneath translucent slab ice in Mars' seasonal south polar ice cap |last1=Kieffer |first1=Hugh H. |last2=Christensen |first2=Philip R. |last3=Titus |first3=Timothy N. |volume=442 |year=2006 |pages=793–6 |journal=Nature |doi=10.1038/nature04945 |pmid=16915284 |issue=7104}}</ref> This process is rapid, observed happening in the space of a few days, weeks or months, a growth rate rather unusual in geology – especially for Mars.

A team of Hungarian scientists proposes that the geysers' most visible features, dark dune spots and spider channels, may be colonies of [[photosynthetic]] Martian microorganisms, which over-winter beneath the ice cap, and as the [[sunlight]] returns to the pole during early spring, light penetrates the ice, the microorganisms photosynthesize and heat their immediate surroundings. A pocket of liquid water, which would normally evaporate instantly in the thin Martian atmosphere, is trapped around them by the overlying ice. As this ice layer thins, the microorganisms show through grey. When the layer has completely melted, the microorganisms rapidly desiccate and turn black, surrounded by a grey aureole.<ref name=Andras>{{cite journal |bibcode=2001LPI....32.1543H |title=Probable Evidences of Recent Biological Activity on Mars: Appearance and Growing of Dark Dune Spots in the South Polar Region |last1=Horváth |first1=A. |last2=Gánti |first2=T. |last3=Gesztesi |first3=A. |last4=Bérczi |first4=Sz. |last5=Szathmáry |first5=E. |volume=32 |year=2001 |pages=1543 |journal=32nd Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref><ref name="Pócs et al 2004">{{cite journal |bibcode=2004eab..conf..265P |title=Possible crypto-biotic-crust on Mars? |last1=Pócs |first1=T. |last2=Horváth |first2=A. |last3=Gánti |first3=T. |last4=Bérczi |first4=Sz. |last5=Szathemáry |first5=E. |volume=545 |year=2004 |pages=265–6 |journal=Proceedings of the Third European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology}}</ref><ref name="Pócs et al 2004" /><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1023/A:1025705828948 |year=2003 |last1=Gánti |first1=Tibor |last2=Horváth |first2=András |last3=Bérczi |first3=Szaniszló |last4=Gesztesi |first4=Albert |last5=Szathmáry |first5=Eörs |journal=Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere |volume=33 |issue=4/5 |pages=515–57 |title=Dark Dune Spots: Possible Biomarkers on Mars?}}</ref> The Hungarian scientists believe that even a complex sublimation process is insufficient to explain the formation and evolution of the dark dune spots in space and time.<ref name=Planetary>{{cite journal |bibcode=2002LPI....33.1108H |title=Morphological Analysis of the Dark Dune Spots on Mars: New Aspects in Biological Interpretation |last1=Horváth |first1=A. |last2=Gánti |first2=T. |last3=Bérczi |first3=Sz. |last4=Gesztesi |first4=A. |last5=Szathmáry |first5=E. |volume=33 |year=2002 |pages=1108 |journal=33rd Annual Lunar and Planetary Science Conference}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.monochrom.at/dark-dune-spots/|title=Dark Dune Spots – Could it be that it's alive?|accessdate=September 4, 2009|last=András Sik|first=Ákos Kereszturi|publisher=Monochrom }} (Audio interview, MP3 6 min.)</ref> Since their discovery, fiction writer [[Arthur C. Clarke]] promoted these formations as deserving of study from an [[astrobiology|astrobiological]] perspective.<ref name=Orme>{{cite journal |title=Martian Spiders |journal=Marsbugs |date=June 9, 2003 |first1=Greg M. |last1=Orme |first2=Peter K. |last2=Ness |volume=10 |issue=23 |pages=5–7 |url=http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/2003/20030609.pdf |accessdate=September 6, 2009 |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20070927032609/http://www.lyon.edu/projects/marsbugs/2003/20030609.pdf |archivedate=September 27, 2007}}</ref>

A multinational European team suggests that if liquid water is present in the spiders' channels during their annual defrost cycle, they might provide a niche where certain microscopic life forms could have retreated and adapted while sheltered from solar radiation.<ref name=Manrubia>{{cite journal |bibcode=2004eab..conf...77M |title=Comparative analysis of geological features and seasonal processes in 'Inca City' and 'Pityusa Patera' regions on Mars |last1=Manrubia |first1=S. C. |last2=Prieto Ballesteros |first2=O. |last3=González Kessler |first3=C. |last4=Fernández Remolar |first4=D. |last5=Córdoba-Jabonero |first5=C. |last6=Selsis |first6=F. |last7=Bérczi |first7=S. |last8=Gánti |first8=T. |last9=Horváth |first9=A. |volume=545 |year=2004 |pages=77–80 |journal=Proceedings of the Third European Workshop on Exo-Astrobiology |isbn=92-9092-856-5}}</ref> A British team also considers the possibility that [[organic matter]], [[microbe]]s, or even simple plants might co-exist with these inorganic formations, especially if the mechanism includes liquid water and a [[geothermal]] energy source.<ref name=Ness>{{cite journal |bibcode=2002JBIS...55...85N |title=Spider-Ravine Models and Plant-Like Features on Mars – Possible Geophysical and Biogeophysical Modes of Origin |last1=Ness |first1=Peter K. |first2=Greg M. |last2=Orme |volume=55 |issue=3/4 |year=2002 |pages=85–108 |journal=Journal of the British Interplanetary Society}}</ref> However, they also remark that the majority of geological structures may be accounted for without invoking any organic "life on Mars" hypothesis.<ref name=Ness /> It has been proposed to develop the [[Mars Geyser Hopper]] lander to study the geysers up close.<ref>{{cite conference |first1=Geoffrey |last1=Landis |first2=Steven |last2=Oleson |first3=Melissa |last3=McGuire |year=2012 |title=Design Study for a Mars Geyser Hopper |conference=50th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting |location=Nashville |url=http://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20120004036 |doi=10.2514/6.2012-631 |doi_brokendate=June 27, 2013}}</ref>

== Forward contamination ==
{{Details|Planetary protection}}
[[Planetary protection]] of Mars aims to prevent biological contamination of the planet.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Committee on an Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars |author2=National Research Council |year=2007 |chapter=Planetary Protection for Mars Missions |chapterurl=http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=11937&page=95 |pages=95–8 |title=An Astrobiology Strategy for the Exploration of Mars |publisher=The National Academies Press |isbn=978-0-309-10851-5}}</ref> A major goal is to preserve the planetary record of natural processes by preventing human-caused microbial introductions, also called [[forward contamination]]. There is abundant evidence as to what can happen when organisms from regions on Earth that have been isolated from one another for significant periods of time are introduced into each other's environment. Species that are constrained in one environment can thrive – often out of control – in another environment much to the detriment of the original species that were present. In some ways this problem could be compounded if life forms from one planet were introduced into the totally alien ecology of another world.<ref name='Cowing'>{{cite web | url = http://astrobiology.com/2013/04/planetary-protection-a-work-in-progress.html | title = Planetary Protection: A Work in Progress | accessdate = 2013-06-02 | first = Keith |last=Cowing | date = April 11, 2013 | work = Astrobiology}}</ref>

The prime concern of hardware contaminating Mars, derives from incomplete spacecraft sterilization of some hardy terrestrial bacteria ([[extremophiles]]) despite best efforts.<ref name=Beaty /><ref name=Debus>{{cite journal |bibcode=2005AdSpR..35.1648D |title=Estimation and assessment of Mars contamination |author1=Debus |first1=A. |volume=35 |year=2005 |pages=1648–53 |journal=Advances in Space Research |doi=10.1016/j.asr.2005.04.084 |pmid=16175730 |issue=9}}</ref> Hardware includes landers, crashed probes, end of mission disposal of hardware, and hard landing of entry, descent, and landing systems. This has prompted research on [[Radioresistance|radiation-resistant microorganisms]] including [[Brevundimonas]], [[Rhodococcus]], [[Pseudomonas]] genera and ''[[Deinococcus radiodurans]]'' survival rates under simulated Martian conditions.<ref name='Planetary protection – radiodurans'>{{cite journal |bibcode=2010AsBio..10..717D |title=Low-Temperature Ionizing Radiation Resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans and Antarctic Dry Valley Bacteria |author1=Dartnell |first1=Lewis R. |last2=Hunter |first2=Stephanie J. |last3=Lovell |first3=Keith V. |last4=Coates |first4=Andrew J. |last5=Ward |first5=John M. |volume=10 |year=2010 |pages=717–32 |journal=Astrobiology |doi=10.1089/ast.2009.0439 |pmid=20950171 |issue=7}}</ref> Results from one of these this experimental irradiation experiments, combined with previous radiation modeling, indicate that [[Brevundimonas]] sp. MV.7 emplaced only 30 cm deep in Martian dust could survive the cosmic radiation for up to 100,000 years before suffering 10⁶ population reduction.<ref name='Planetary protection – radiodurans' /> Surprisingly, the diurnal Mars-like cycles in temperature and relative humidity affected the viability of ''Deinococcus radiodurans'' cells quite severely.<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2007AdSpR..40.1672D |title=Simulation of the environmental climate conditions on martian surface and its effect on ''Deinococcus radiodurans'' |author1=de la Vega |first1=U. Pogoda |last2=Rettberg |first2=P. |last3=Reitz |first3=G. |volume=40 |year=2007 |pages=1672–7 |journal=Advances in Space Research |doi=10.1016/j.asr.2007.05.022 |issue=11}}</ref> In other simulations, ''Deinococcus radiodurans'' also failed to grow under low atmospheric pressure, under 0 °C, or in the absence of oxygen.<ref>{{cite journal | title = Growth of Serratia liquefaciens under 7 mbar, 0°C, and CO2-Enriched Anoxic Atmospheres | journal = Astrobiology | date = February 2013 | first = Andrew C. Schuerger | coauthors = Richard Ulrich, Bonnie J. Berry, and Wayne L. Nicholson. | volume = 13 | issue = 2 | pages = 115–131 | doi = 10.1089/ast.2011.0811 | url = http://online.liebertpub.com/doi/full/10.1089/ast.2011.0811 | accessdate = 2013-07-04|bibcode = 2013AsBio..13..115S }}</ref>

== Life under simulated Martian conditions ==
On 26 April 2012, scientists reported that an [[extremophile]] [[lichen]] survived and showed remarkable results on the [[adaptive capacity|adaptation capacity]] of [[photosynthesis|photosynthetic activity]] within the [[simulation]] time of 34 days under Martian conditions in the Mars Simulation Laboratory (MSL) maintained by the [[German Aerospace Center]] (DLR).<ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2010AsBio..10..215D |title=Survival Potential and Photosynthetic Activity of Lichens Under Mars-Like Conditions: A Laboratory Study |last1=de Vera |first1=Jean-Pierre |last2=Möhlmann |first2=Diedrich |last3=Butina |first3=Frederike |last4=Lorek |first4=Andreas |last5=Wernecke |first5=Roland |last6=Ott |first6=Sieglinde |volume=10 |year=2010 |pages=215–27 |journal=Astrobiology |doi=10.1089/ast.2009.0362 |pmid=20402583 |issue=2}}</ref><ref name="EGU-20120426">{{cite journal |bibcode=2012EGUGA..14.2113D |title=The adaptation potential of extremophiles to Martian surface conditions and its implication for the habitability of Mars |last1=de Vera |first1=J.-P. P. |last2=Schulze-Makuch |first2=D. |last3=Khan |first3=A. |last4=Lorek |first4=A. |last5=Koncz |first5=A. |last6=Möhlmann |first6=D. |last7=Spohn |first7=T. |volume=14 |year=2012 |pages=2113 |journal=EGU General Assembly 2012}}</ref><ref name="dlrMarsStudy">[http://www.dlr.de/dlr/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-10081/151_read-3409/ Surviving the conditions on Mars] DLR, 26 April 2012</ref><ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.1016/j.funeco.2012.01.008 |title=Lichens as survivors in space and on Mars |year=2012 |last1=de Vera |first1=Jean-Pierre |journal=Fungal Ecology |volume=5 |issue=4 |pages=472–9}}</ref><ref>R. de la Torre Noetzel, F.J. Sanchez Inigo, E. Rabbow, G. Horneck, J. P. de Vera, L.G. Sancho [http://norlx51.nordita.org/~brandenb/astrobiology/EANA2012/single_abstracts/Delatorre.pdf Survival of lichens to simulated Mars conditions]{{self-published inline|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=2012P&SS...72..102S |title=The resistance of the lichen ''Circinaria gyrosa'' (nom. Provis.) towards simulated Mars conditions—a model test for the survival capacity of an eukaryotic extremophile |last1=Sánchez |first1=F. J. |last2=Mateo-Martí |first2=E. |last3=Raggio |first3=J. |last4=Meeßen |first4=J. |last5=Martínez-Frías |first5=J. |last6=Sancho |first6=L. G. |last7=Ott |first7=S. |last8=de la Torre |first8=R. |volume=72 |issue=1 |year=2012 |pages=102–10 |journal=Planetary and Space Science |doi=10.1016/j.pss.2012.08.005}}</ref> However, the ability to survive in an environment is not the same as the ability to thrive, reproduce and evolve in that same environment, necessitating further study.

== Missions ==
=== Mariner 4 ===
{{Double image|right|Mars m04 11e.jpg|220|Streamlined Islands in Maja Vallis.jpg|200|Mariner Crater, as seen by Mariner 4 in 1965. Pictures like this suggested that Mars is too dry for any kind of life.|Streamlined Islands seen by Viking orbiter showed that large floods occurred on Mars. Image is located in [[Lunae Palus quadrangle]].}}
{{Main|Mariner 4 }}

[[Mariner 4]] probe performed the first successful [[Planetary flyby|flyby]] of the planet Mars, returning the first pictures of the Martian surface in 1965. The photographs showed an arid Mars without rivers, oceans, or any signs of life. Further, it revealed that the surface (at least the parts that it photographed) was covered in craters, indicating a lack of plate tectonics and weathering of any kind for the last 4 billion years. The probe also found that Mars has no [[Magnetosphere|global magnetic field]] that would protect the planet from potentially life-threatening [[cosmic rays]]. The probe was able to calculate the [[atmospheric pressure]] on the planet to be about 0.6 kPa (compared to Earth's 101.3 kPa), meaning that liquid water could not exist on the planet's surface.<ref name="chambers" /> After Mariner 4, the search for life on Mars changed to a search for bacteria-like living organisms rather than for multicellular organisms, as the environment was clearly too harsh for these.

=== Viking orbiters ===
{{Main|Viking program}}
Liquid water is necessary for known life and [[metabolism]], so if water was present on Mars, the chances of it having supported life may have been determinant. The Viking orbiters found evidence of possible river valleys in many areas, erosion and, in the southern hemisphere, branched streams.<ref>Strom, R.G., Steven K. Croft, and Nadine G. Barlow, "The Martian Impact Cratering Record," Mars, University of Arizona Press, ISBN 0-8165-1257-4, 1992.{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref>Raeburn, P. 1998. Uncovering the Secrets of the Red Planet Mars. National Geographic Society. Washington D.C.{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref><ref>Moore, P. et al. 1990. The Atlas of the Solar System. Mitchell Beazley Publishers NY, NY.{{page needed|date=June 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Sagan Viking.jpg|thumb|[[Carl Sagan]] poses next to a replica of the Viking landers.]]

=== Viking experiments ===
{{Main|Viking biological experiments}}

The primary mission of the [[Viking probes]] of the mid-1970s was to carry out experiments designed to detect microorganisms in Martian soil because the favorable conditions for the evolution of multicellular organisms ceased some four billion years ago on Mars.<ref name=BC>{{cite web | url = http://biocab.org/Astrobiology.html | title = Astrobiology | accessdate = 2011-01-17 | date = September 26, 2006 | publisher = Biology Cabinet}}</ref> The tests were formulated to look for microbial life similar to that found on Earth. Of the four experiments, only the Labeled Release (LR) experiment returned a positive result,{{dubious|date=July 2013}} showing increased 14CO2 production on first exposure of soil to water and nutrients. All scientists agree on two points from the Viking missions: that radiolabeled 14CO2 was evolved in the Labeled Release experiment, and that the [[Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry|GCMS]] detected no organic molecules. However, there are vastly different interpretations of what those results imply.

A 2011 [[astrobiology]] textbook notes that the GCMS was the decisive factor due to which "For most of the Viking scientists, the final conclusion was that the ''Viking'' missions failed to detect life in the Martian soil."<ref name="PlaxcoGross2011">{{cite book|author1=Kevin W. Plaxco|author2=Michael Gross|title=Astrobiology: A Brief Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x83omgI5pGQC&pg=PA282|year=2011|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0194-2|pages=282–283}}</ref>

One of the designers of the Labeled Release experiment, [[Gilbert Levin]], believes his results are a definitive diagnostic for life on Mars.<ref name="chambers" /> Levin's interpretation is disputed by many scientists.<ref name="cnn">Richard Stenger [http://edition.cnn.com/2000/TECH/space/11/07/mars.sample/ Mars sample return plan carries microbial risk, group warns], CNN, November 7, 2000</ref> A 2006 [[astrobiology]] textbook noted that "With unsterilized Terrestrial samples, though, the addition of more nutrients after the initial incubation would then produce still more radioactive gas as the dormant bacteria sprang into action to consume the new dose of food. This was not true of the Martian soil; on Mars, the second and third nutrient injections did not produce any further release of labeled gas."<ref name="Plaxco2006">{{cite book|author=Kevin W. Plaxco and Michael Gross|title=Astrobiology: A Brief Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=OjYSAA5oHdcC&pg=PA223|year=2006|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-0-8018-8366-8|page=223}}</ref> Other scientists argue that [[superoxide]]s in the soil could have produced this effect without life being present.<ref name="PlaxcoGross2011_2">{{cite book|author1=Kevin W. Plaxco|author2=Michael Gross|title=Astrobiology: A Brief Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x83omgI5pGQC&pg=PA285|year=2011|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0194-2|pages=285–286|edition=2nd}}</ref> An almost general consensus discarded the Labeled Release data as evidence of life, because the gas chromatograph & mass spectrometer, designed to identify [[natural organic matter]], did not detect organic molecules.<ref name="Levin">{{cite journal |bibcode=2007arXiv0705.3176L |arxiv=0705.3176 |title=Analysis of evidence of Mars life |last1=Levin |first1=Gilbert V. |journal=Electroneurobiología |volume=15 |issue=2 |year=2007 |pages=39–47 |url=http://electroneubio.secyt.gov.ar/Gilbert_V_Levin_Seminar_Carnegie_Institution_Washington.htm}}</ref> The results of the Viking mission concerning life are considered by the general expert community, at best, as inconclusive.<ref name="chambers" /><ref name="PlaxcoGross2011_2" /><ref>{{cite journal |bibcode=1976Sci...194...99K |title=The Viking Biological Investigation: Preliminary Results |last1=Klein |first1=Harold P. |last2=Horowitz |first2=Norman H. |last3=Levin |first3=Gilbert V. |last4=Oyama |first4=Vance I. |last5=Lederberg |first5=Joshua |last6=Rich |first6=Alexander |last7=Hubbard |first7=Jerry S. |last8=Hobby |first8=George L. |last9=Straat |first9=Patricia A. |volume=194 |year=1976 |pages=99–105 |journal=Science |doi=10.1126/science.194.4260.99 |pmid=17793090 |issue=4260}}</ref>

In 2007, during a Seminar of the Geophysical Laboratory of the [[Carnegie Institution]] (Washington, D.C., USA), [[Gilbert Levin]]'s investigation was assessed once more.<ref name="Levin" /> Levin still maintains that his original data were correct, as the positive and negative control experiments were in order.<ref name="Bianciardi-2012">{{cite journal |bibcode=2012IJASS..13...14B |title=Complexity Analysis of the Viking Labeled Release Experiments |last1=Bianciardi |first1=Giorgio |last2=Miller |first2=Joseph D. |last3=Straat |first3=Patricia Ann |last4=Levin |first4=Gilbert V. |volume=13 |issue=1 |year=2012 |pages=14–26 |journal=[[International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences]] |doi=10.5139/IJASS.2012.13.1.14}}</ref> Moreover, Levin's team, on 12 April 2012, reported a statistical speculation, based on old data —reinterpreted mathematically through [[cluster analysis]]— of the [[Viking biological experiments#Labeled Release|Labeled Release experiments]], that may suggest evidence of "extant microbial life on Mars."<ref name="Bianciardi-2012" /><ref>[http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/04/120413-nasa-viking-program-mars-life-space-science/ Life on Mars Found by NASA's Viking Mission?]</ref> Critics counter that the method has not yet been proven effective for differentiating between biological and non-biological processes on Earth so it is premature to draw any conclusions.<ref name="Discovery-20120412">{{cite web |last=Klotz |first=Irene |title=Mars Viking Robots 'Found Life' |url=http://news.discovery.com/space/mars-life-viking-landers-discovery-120412.html |date=12 April 2012 |publisher=[[Discovery Channel|DiscoveryNews]] |accessdate=16 April 2012 }}</ref>

A research team from the [[National Autonomous University of Mexico]] headed by [[Rafael Navarro-González]], concluded that the GCMS equipment (TV-GC-MS) used by the [[Viking program]] to search for organic molecules, may not be sensitive enough to detect low levels of organics.<ref name="Navarro">{{cite journal |bibcode=2006PNAS..10316089N |title=The limitations on organic detection in Mars-like soils by thermal volatilization-gas chromatography-MS and their implications for the Viking results |last1=Navarro-González |first1=Rafael |last2=Navarro |first2= Karina F. |last3=de la Rosa |first3=José |last4=Iñiguez |first4=Enrique |last5=Molina |first5=Paola |last6=Miranda |first6=Luis D. |last7=Morales |first7=Pedro |last8=Cienfuegos |first8=Edith |last9=Coll |first9=Patrice |volume=103 |year=2006 |pages=16089–94 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |doi=10.1073/pnas.0604210103 |issue=44 |jstor=30052117 |pmid=17060639 |pmc=1621051}}</ref> [[Klaus Biemann]], the principal investigator of the GCMS experiment on ''Viking'' wrote a rebuttal.<ref>{{cite journal
| title = On the ability of the Viking gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer to detect organic matter
| last = Biemann
| first = Klaus
| journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
| volume = 104
| issue = 25
| pages = 10310–10313
| year = 2007
| doi = 10.1073/pnas.0703732104
| pmid = 17548829
| pmc = 1965509
|bibcode = 2007PNAS..10410310B }}</ref> Because of the simplicity of sample handling, TV–GC–MS is still considered the standard method for organic detection on future Mars missions, so Navarro-González suggests that the design of future organic instruments for Mars should include other methods of detection.

After the discovery of [[perchlorate]]s on Mars by the [[Phoenix (spacecraft)|Phoenix lander]], practically the same team of Navarro-González published a paper arguing that the Viking GCMS results were compromised by presence of perchlorates.<ref name=Webster>Webster, Guy; Hoover, Rachel; Marlaire, Ruth; Frias, Gabriela (2010-09-03). "[http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-286 Missing Piece Inspires New Look at Mars Puzzle]". NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Retrieved 2010-10-24.</ref> A 2011 astrobiology textbook notes that "while perchlorate is too poor an oxidizer to reproduce the LR results (under the conditions of that experiment perchlorate does not oxidize organics), it does oxidize, and thus destroy, organics at the higher temperatures used in the Viking GCMS experiment."<ref name="PlaxcoGross2011">{{cite book|author1=Kevin W. Plaxco|author2=Michael Gross|title=Astrobiology: A Brief Introduction|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=x83omgI5pGQC&pg=PA282|year=2011|publisher=JHU Press|isbn=978-1-4214-0194-2|pages=282–283|edition=2nd}}</ref> Biemann has written a commentary critical of this Navarro-González paper as well,<ref>{{DOI|10.1029/2011JE003869}}</ref> to which the latter have replied;<ref>{{DOI|10.1029/2011JE003880}}</ref> the exchange was published in December 2011.

=== ''Gillevinia straata'' ===
The claim for life on Mars, in the form of ''Gillevinia straata'', is based on old data reinterpreted as sufficient evidence of life, mainly by [[Gilbert Levin]].<ref name="Levin" /> The evidence supporting the existence of ''Gillevinia straata'' microorganisms relies on the data collected by the two Mars ''Viking'' landers that searched for [[biosignature]]s of life, but the analytical results were, officially, inconclusive.<ref name="chambers" />

In 2006, [[Mario Crocco]], a neurobiologist at the [[Borda Hospital|Neuropsychiatric Hospital Borda]] in [[Buenos Aires]], [[Argentina]], proposed the creation of a new [[Taxonomy (biology)|nomenclatural rank]] that classified the Viking landers' results as 'metabolic' and therefore belonging to a form of life. Crocco proposed to create new biological ranking categories ([[taxon|taxa]]), in the new [[kingdom (biology)|kingdom]] system of life, in order to be able to accommodate the genus of Martian microorganisms. Crocco proposed the following taxonomical entry:<ref>{{cite journal |title=Los taxones mayores de la vida orgánica y la nomenclatura de la vida en Marte: primera clasificación biológica de un organismo marciano |journal=Electroneurobiología |date=April 14, 2007 |first=Mario |last=Crocco |volume=15 |issue=2 |pages=1–34 |url=http://electroneubio.secyt.gov.ar/First_biological_classification_Martian_organism.htm |accessdate=August 14, 2008 |language=Spanish |trans_title=The higher taxa of organic life and nomenclature of life on Mars: first biological classification of a Martian organism}}</ref>
* Organic life system: Solaria
* [[Biosphere]]: Marciana
* [[kingdom (biology)|Kingdom]]: Jakobia (named after neurobiologist Christfried Jakob)
* [[Genus]] and [[species]]: ''Gillevinia straata''

As a result, the hypothetical ''Gillevinia straata'' would not be a bacterium (which rather is a terrestrial taxon), but a member of the kingdom 'Jakobia' in the biosphere 'Marciana' of the 'Solaria' system. The intended effect of the new nomenclature was to reverse the burden of proof concerning the life issue, but the taxonomy proposed by Crocco has not been accepted by the scientific community and is considered a single ''[[nomen nudum]]''. Further, no Mars mission has found traces of [[biomolecules]].<ref>''[http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/what_life_leaves_behind/ What Life Leaves Behind]'' by Veronique Greenwood.</ref><ref>[http://www.astronomynow.com/news/n1305/22organics/#.UczPFZ0o7XI Curiosity tasked with hunting for elusive Mars organics]. Astronomy Now. 22 May 2013</ref>

[[File:Pia09344.jpg|thumb|left|An artist's concept of the Phoenix spacecraft]]

=== Phoenix lander, 2008 ===
{{Main|Phoenix (spacecraft)}}
The [[Phoenix (spacecraft)|Phoenix]] mission landed a robotic spacecraft in the polar region of Mars on May 25, 2008 and it operated until November 10, 2008. One of the mission's two primary objectives was to search for a "habitable zone" in the Martian [[regolith]] where microbial life could exist, the other main goal being to study the [[Geology|geological]] history of water on Mars. The lander has a 2.5 meter robotic arm that was capable of digging shallow trenches in the regolith. There was an electrochemistry experiment which analysed the [[ion]]s in the regolith and the amount and type of [[antioxidant]]s on Mars. The [[Viking program]] data indicate that oxidants on Mars may vary with latitude, noting that [[Viking 2]] saw fewer oxidants than [[Viking 1]] in its more northerly position. Phoenix landed further north still.<ref name="MarsDaily">[http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Piecing_Together_Life_Potential_999.html Piecing Together Life's Potential]</ref>
Phoenix's preliminary data revealed that Mars soil contains [[perchlorate]], and thus may not be as life-friendly as thought earlier.<ref>{{cite news|first=|last=|coauthors=|authorlink=|title=NASA Spacecraft Confirms Perchlorate on Mars|date=August 5, 2008|publisher=NASA|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/phoenix/multimedia/audioclips-20080805.html|work=NASA|pages=|accessdate=January 28, 2009|language=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-sci-phoenix6-2008aug06,0,4986721.story|title=Perchlorate found in Martian soil|date=August 6, 2008|publisher=Los Angeles Times|last=Johnson|first=John}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080805192122.htm|publisher=Science Daily|date=August 6, 2008|title=Martian Life Or Not? NASA's ''Phoenix'' Team Analyzes Results}}</ref> The [[pH]] and salinity level were viewed as benign from the standpoint of biology. The analysers also indicated the presence of bound water and CO2.<ref>{{cite web|last=Lakdawalla|first=Emily|title=''Phoenix'' sol 30 update: Alkaline soil, not very salty, "nothing extreme" about it!|work=[http://planetary.org/blog/ The Planetary Society weblog]|publisher=[[Planetary Society]]|date=June 26, 2008|url=http://www.planetary.org/blog/article/00001526/|accessdate=June 26, 2008}}</ref>

=== Mars Science Laboratory ===
[[File:PIA16239 High-Resolution Self-Portrait by Curiosity Rover Arm Camera.jpg|thumb|[[Curiosity rover]] self-portrait at ''"[[Rocknest (Mars)|Rocknest]]"'' (October 31, 2012), with the rim of [[Gale Crater]] and the slopes of [[Aeolis Mons]] in the distance.]]
{{Main|Mars Science Laboratory|Curiosity rover}}
The [[Mars Science Laboratory]] mission is a [[NASA]] project that launched on November 26, 2011 the ''[[Curiosity rover]]'', a nuclear-powered robotic vehicle, bearing instruments designed to assess past and present [[planetary habitability|habitability]] conditions on Mars.<ref>{{cite web | date=26 November 2011 | url =http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/launch/index.html |title = Mars Science Laboratory Launch | accessdate = 2011-11-26 }}</ref><ref name="NYT-MSL">{{cite web|author=[[Associated Press]] |title=NASA Launches Super-Size Rover to Mars: 'Go, Go!'| url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/11/26/science/AP-US-SCI-Mars-Rover.html |publisher=[[New York Times]] |date=26 November 2011| accessdate=2011-11-26 }}</ref> The ''Curiosity'' rover landed on Mars on [[Aeolis Palus]] in [[Gale (crater)|Gale Crater]], near [[Aeolis Mons]] (a.k.a.Mount Sharp),<ref name="IAU-20120516">{{cite web|author=USGS| title=Three New Names Approved for Features on Mars| url=http://astrogeology.usgs.gov/HotTopics/index.php?/archives/447-Three-New-Names-Approved-for-Features-on-Mars.html |date=16 May 2012| publisher=[[USGS]]| accessdate=28 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20120327">{{cite web |author=NASA Staff|title='Mount Sharp' on Mars Compared to Three Big Mountains on Earth| url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/multimedia/pia15292-Fig2.html |date=27 March 2012 |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=31 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="NASA-20120328">{{cite web |last=Agle|first=D. C.|title='Mount Sharp' On Mars Links Geology's Past and Future| url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/news/msl20120328.html| date=28 March 2012 |publisher=[[NASA]] |accessdate=31 March 2012}}</ref><ref name="Space-20120329">{{cite web| author=Staff |title=NASA's New Mars Rover Will Explore Towering 'Mount Sharp'| url=http://www.space.com/15097-mars-mountain-sharp-curiosity-rover.html |date=29 March 2012 |publisher=[[Space.com]] |accessdate=30 March 2012}}</ref> on August 6, 2012.<ref name="Gale Crater">{{cite web |last1=Webster |first1=Guy|last2=Brown |first2=Dwayne |title=NASA's Next Mars Rover To Land At Gale Crater |date=22 July 2011 |publisher=[[NASA JPL]] |url=http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2011-222#1 |accessdate=2011-07-22 }}</ref><ref name="Gale Crater2">{{cite web |last1= Chow |first1=Dennis| title=NASA's Next Mars Rover to Land at Huge Gale Crater| url=http://www.space.com/12394-nasa-mars-rover-landing-site-unveiled.html |date=22 July 2011 |publisher=[[Space.com]]| accessdate=2011-07-22 }}</ref><ref name="Gale Crater3">{{cite news |last1=Amos |first1=Jonathan |title=Mars rover aims for deep crater |date=22 July 2011| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14249524 |work=[[BBC News]] |accessdate = 2011-07-22}}</ref>

=== Future missions ===
* [[ExoMars]] is a European-led multi-spacecraft programme currently under development by the European Space Agency (ESA) and the [[Russian Federal Space Agency]] for launch in 2016 and 2018.<ref name='ESA signed'>{{cite news | title = ExoMars: ESA and Roscosmos set for Mars missions | date = 14 March 2013 | url = http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/ExoMars_ESA_and_Roscosmos_set_for_Mars_missions | work = European Space Agency (ESA) | accessdate = 2013-03-14}}</ref> Its primary scientific mission will be to search for possible [[biosignature]]s on Mars, past or present. A rover with a {{convert|2|m|ft|abbr5=on}} core drill will be used to sample various depths beneath the surface where liquid water may be found and where microorganisms might survive [[cosmic radiation]].<ref name='Wall'>{{cite news |last=Wall |first=Mike |title=Q & A with Mars Life-Seeker Chris Carr |date=25 March 2011 |url=http://www.space.com/11232-mars-life-evolution-carr-interview.html |work=Space.com | accessdate=2011-03-25}}</ref>
* [[Mars 2020 rover mission]] – The ''Mars 2020 rover mission'' is a [[Mars]] [[Rover (space exploration)|planetary rovermission]] concept under study by [[NASA]] with a possible launch in 2020. It is intended to investigate an [[astrobiology|astrobiologically]] relevant ancient environment on Mars, investigate its surface [[Geology of Mars|geological processes]] and history, including the assessment of its past [[Planetary habitability|habitability]] and potential for preservation of [[biosignature]]s within accessible geological materials.<ref name='Cowing'>{{cite web | url = http://spaceref.com/mars/science-definition-team-for-the-2020-mars-rover.html | title = Science Definition Team for the 2020 Mars Rover | accessdate = 21 December 2012 | first = Keith Cowing | date = 21 December 2012 | work = NASA | publisher = Science Ref}}</ref>
* [[Mars Sample Return Mission]] — The best life detection experiment proposed is the examination on Earth of a soil sample from Mars. However, the difficulty of providing and maintaining life support over the months of transit from Mars to Earth remains to be solved. Providing for still unknown environmental and nutritional requirements is daunting. Should dead organisms be found in a sample, it would be difficult to conclude that those organisms were alive when obtained.

== See also ==
* [[Astrobiology]]
* [[Astronomy on Mars]]
* [[Colonization of Mars]]
* [[Extraterrestrial life]]
* [[List of artificial objects on Mars]]
* [[List of rocks on Mars]]
* [[Planetary habitability]]
* [[Seasonal flows on warm Martian slopes]]
* [[Space medicine]]
* [[Terraforming]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/060420_mars_water.html Study Reveals Young Mars Was A Wet World]
* [http://marsprogram.jpl.nasa.gov/overview/ NASA – The Mars Exploration Program]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3560867.stm Scientists have discovered that Mars once had saltwater oceans]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3896335.stm BBC News: Ammonia on Mars could mean life]
* [http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/mars_microorganisms_040803.html Scientist says that life on Mars is likely today]
* [http://www.space.com/news/science_top10_041216.html Ancient salty sea on Mars wins as the most important scientific achievement of 2004 – Journal Science]
* [http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/snc/nasa1.html Mars meteor found on Earth provides evidence that suggests microbial life once existed on Mars]
* [http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00073A97-5745-1359-94FF83414B7F0000 Scientific American Magazine (November 2005 Issue) Did Life Come from Another World?]
* [http://www.monochrom.at/dark-dune-spots/ Audio interview about "Dark Dune Spots"]
{{Mars}}
{{Extraterrestrial life}}
{{Astrobiology}}
{{portal bar|Mars|Astrobiology}}

[[Category:Astrobiology]]
[[Category:Extraterrestrial life]]
[[Category:Mars]]
[[Category:Astronomical controversies]]

{{Link GA|ca}}
{{Link GA|ja}}
{{Link FA|sh}}

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-11-06T19:30:43Z

Cyclopia: Reverted. Add would be cool by me, but please let's avoid both *adding* and *removing*. I'm going to ask full page protection so we are forced to sit down and talk instead of edit warring.

{{dynamic list}}
<noinclude>{{Delrev}}</noinclude>
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{disputed-list|date=November 2013}}
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{citation |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{citation |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote. <ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[crisps]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman of [[Berryhill Fields|Berryhill]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Staffordshire]], 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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]], with her partner losing both his legs in the accident. The two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident. <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/train-tracks-sex-run-over-ukraine-_n_4017485.html | title=Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex On Railroad Tracks In Ukraine | publisher=Huffington Post | date=September 30, 2013, updated October 2, 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Dicker, Ron}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-11-06T17:00:33Z

Cyclopia: Better just staying vague until we have a consensus on the criteria. I wonder if we should ask full protection until we finally get the criteria down.

{{dynamic list}}
<noinclude>{{Delrev}}</noinclude>
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
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 sources. Some of the deaths are mythological or are considered to be unsubstantiated by contemporary researchers. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
{{Hatnote|'''Note:''' Many of these stories are likely to be [[wikt:apocryphal|apocryphal]].}}
[[File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg|thumb|The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>]]

*[[circa|c.]] 620 BC: '''[[Draco (lawgiver)|Draco]]''', Athenian law-maker, was smothered to death by gifts of cloaks and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: The martyr '''[[Saint Lawrence]]''' 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> [[Prudentius]] tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over — I'm done on this side".<ref>{{citation |page=42 |title=Enduring Creation: Art, Pain, and Fortitude |author=Nigel Jonathan Spivey |publisher=[[University of California Press]] |year=2001 |isbn=9780520230224}}</ref> He is now the [[patron saint]] of cooks and firefighters.<ref>{{citation |title=The Encyclopedia Americana |volume=vol. 17 |page=85 |year=1981 |isbn=9780717201129}}</ref>
*336 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg |'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
|File:Martyrdom of Lawrence - Edited.jpg |The martyrdom of [[Saint Lawrence]] by [[Titian]]. This painting so impressed [[Philip II of Spain|Philip II]] that he commissioned another one for his basilica in [[El Escorial]].
|File:Hypatia (Charles William Mitchell).jpg |[[Hypatia]] painted by [[Charles William Mitchell]] in 1885.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the [[Opening of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway|public opening of the world's first mechanically powered railway to offer a scheduled passenger service]], a railway which he had himself done much to promote. <ref>{{cite book|last=Garfield|first=Simon|title=The Last Journey of William Huskisson|year=2002|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=0571216080}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim might possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.civil-war-150.com/tag/clement-vallandigham/ |title=Fatal Accident to Mr. Vallandigham: The Western Reserve Chronicle, June 21, 1871, page 2 |publisher=civil-war-150.com |date=June 13, 2012 |accessdate=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim might have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a [[crisps]] packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman of [[Berryhill Fields|Berryhill]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Staffordshire]], 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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]], with her partner losing both his legs in the accident. The two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident. <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/train-tracks-sex-run-over-ukraine-_n_4017485.html | title=Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex On Railroad Tracks In Ukraine | publisher=Huffington Post | date=September 30, 2013, updated October 2, 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Dicker, Ron}}</ref>

==See also==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[List of causes of death by rate]]
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* ''[[1000 Ways to Die]]''
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}
{{portal bar|Death|History}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

==External links==
* [http://health.discovery.com/tv-shows/curious-and-unusual-deaths-pictures.htm Curious and Unusual Deaths Pictures]. Discovery Channel.

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-30T16:29:59Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 579488482 by Obiwankenobi (talk): Sorry but you removed, you've been reverted, per WP:BRD it is you that should take it to talk.

{{dynamic list}}

{{AfDM|page=List of unusual deaths (7th nomination)|year=2013|month=October|day=25|substed=yes|origtag=afdx|help=off}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{List dispute}}
[[File:Top 10 causes of death 2011 WHO.png|thumb|right|324px |The leading [[list of causes of death by rate|causes of death]] globally are now diseases of the circulation and lungs.<ref>{{citation |url=http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html |title=The top 10 causes of death |publisher=[[World Health Organisation]] |date=July 2013 |number=factsheet 310}}</ref> The list below highlights some of the more unusual causes of death in history.]]
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== 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 and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</ref>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: 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 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg |The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg|'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1258: '''[[Al-Musta'sim]]''', the last [[Abbasid]] [[Caliph]] of [[Baghdad]], was executed by his [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
[[File: KarenWetterhahn.jpg|thumb|220px|Karen Wetterhahn was poisoned by the few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] which had landed on her protective gloves ten months earlier]]
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a crisps packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman of [[Berryhill Fields|Berryhill]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Staffordshire]], 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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]], with her partner losing both his legs in the accident. The two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident. <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/train-tracks-sex-run-over-ukraine-_n_4017485.html | title=Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex On Railroad Tracks In Ukraine | publisher=Huffington Post | date=September 30, 2013, updated October 2, 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Dicker, Ron}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Death}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-30T14:26:41Z

Cyclopia: Reverted to revision 579464446 by Colonel Warden: Most of those entries were sourced as unusual in sources (I know, I added one); reverting subjective assessment of them as not unusual enough. (TW)

{{dynamic list}}

{{AfDM|page=List of unusual deaths (7th nomination)|year=2013|month=October|day=25|substed=yes|origtag=afdx|help=off}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{List dispute}}
[[File:Top 10 causes of death 2011 WHO.png|thumb|right|324px |The leading [[list of causes of death by rate|causes of death]] globally are now diseases of the circulation and lungs.<ref>{{citation |url=http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html |title=The top 10 causes of death |publisher=[[World Health Organisation]] |date=July 2013 |number=factsheet 310}}</ref> The list below highlights some of the more unusual causes of death in history.]]
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== 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 and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</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 Empire|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>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: 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 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Death of Aeschylus in Florentine Picture Chronicle.jpg |The death of '''[[Aeschylus]]''' illustrated in the 15th century ''Florentine Picture Chronicle'' by [[Maso Finiguerra]].<ref>{{citation |title=Meditation in Solitude |author=Ursula Hoff |journal=Journal of the Warburg Institute |volume=vol. 1 |number=44 |year=1938 |pages=292-294 |publisher=The Warburg Institute |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/749994}}</ref>
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual '''[[Philitas of Cos]]''', said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg|'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
[[File: KarenWetterhahn.jpg|thumb|220px|Karen Wetterhahn was poisoned by the few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] which had landed on her protective gloves ten months earlier]]
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a crisps packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman of [[Berryhill Fields|Berryhill]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Staffordshire]], 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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]], with her partner losing both his legs in the accident. The two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident. <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/train-tracks-sex-run-over-ukraine-_n_4017485.html | title=Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex On Railroad Tracks In Ukraine | publisher=Huffington Post | date=September 30, 2013, updated October 2, 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Dicker, Ron}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Death}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-30T13:00:20Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 579450249 by TheRedPenOfDoom (talk): please stop being WP:POINTy, Red Pen.

{{dynamic list}}

{{AfDM|page=List of unusual deaths (7th nomination)|year=2013|month=October|day=25|substed=yes|origtag=afdx|help=off}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{List dispute}}
[[File:Top 10 causes of death 2011 WHO.png|thumb|right|324px |The leading [[list of causes of death by rate|causes of death]] globally are now diseases of the circulation and lungs.<ref>{{citation |url=http://who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/en/index.html |title=The top 10 causes of death |publisher=[[World Health Organisation]] |date=July 2013 |number=factsheet 310}}</ref> The list below highlights some of the more unusual causes of death in history.]]
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. Oxford Dictionaries defines the word "unusual" as "not habitually or commonly occurring or done" and "remarkable or interesting because different from or better than others."<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/unusual?q=unusual | title=Definition of unusual in English | publisher=Oxford Dictionaries | accessdate=26 October 2013}}</ref>

Some other articles also cover deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== 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 and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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]]. His eunuch courtiers concealed the death while they plotted the succession and used carts of fish to disguise the smell of the corpse. He was then buried in a fantastic tomb which is still being excavated. His artifacts and treasures include the famous [[Terracotta Army]] which was created for him to rule from his grave.<ref>{{citation |author=Wright, David Curtis |year=2001 |title=The History of China |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=49 |isbn=0-313-30940-X}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The First Emperor |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=9780191527630 |pages=82, 150}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://www.esquire.com/blogs/culture/Royalty-and-their-strange-deaths |title=Royalty and their Strange Deaths |author=Nate Hopper |date=4 Feb 2013 |journal=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]}}</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 Empire|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>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: 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 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=6
|File:Antikythera philosopher.JPG|Greek intellectual [[Philitas of Cos]], said 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>
|File:Qinshihuang.jpg|'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]] who sought immortality but died an untimely death which was concealed by his courtiers using smelly fish.
}}

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

{{Gallery
|width=160| height=250|align=center|lines=2
|File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]
}}

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>

== 19th century ==
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

{{Gallery
|width=160|height=250|align=center|lines=4
|Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself
}}

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/theguardian/2012/sep/14/bulgaria-umbrella-murder-archive-1978 |title=From the archive, 14 September 1978: Bulgarian dissident killed by poisoned umbrella at London bus stop | From the Guardian |publisher=theguardian.com |date= |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
[[File: KarenWetterhahn.jpg|thumb|220px|Karen Wetterhahn was poisoned by the few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] which had landed on her protective gloves ten months earlier]]
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''Joe Buddy Caine''', 35, died in [[Anniston, Alabama]], when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a [[rattlesnake]], the snake bit them and Caine was the only fatality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Joravsky |first=Ben |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799 |title=News of the Weird | News of the Weird |publisher=Chicago Reader |date=1995-10-19 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*1998: 16 year-old Jonathan Capewell of [[Oldham]], [[Greater Manchester]], died of accidental poisoning by methane and butane, after obsessive use of [[aerosol]] [[deodorant]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/boy-who-wanted-to-smell-good-killed-by-deodorant-1181309.html |title=Boy who 'wanted to smell good' killed by deodorant - News |publisher=The Independent |date=1998-10-29 |accessdate=2013-10-25}}</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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a crisps packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''Shirley Perkins''', 55, a disabled woman of [[Berryhill Fields|Berryhill]], [[Stoke-on-Trent]], [[Staffordshire]], 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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of [[West Palm Beach, Florida]], died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}}</ref> Florence Vaccarello Dunkel, Associate Professor of Entomology at [[Montana State University]], said of Archbold's death: "I've never heard of that happening."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.wptv.com/dpp/news/region_c_palm_beach_county/west_palm_beach/edward-archbold-roach-eating-contest-death-what-really-killed-the-west-palm-beach-man |title=Edward Archbold, roach eating contest death: What really killed the West Palm Beach man? |author=By: Robert Nolin, Sun Sentinel |date=October 10, 2012 |accessdate=27 October 2013}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the [[Track (rail transport)|tracks]], with her partner losing both his legs in the accident. The two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident. <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/30/train-tracks-sex-run-over-ukraine-_n_4017485.html | title=Train Runs Over Couple Having Sex On Railroad Tracks In Ukraine | publisher=Huffington Post | date=September 30, 2013, updated October 2, 2013 | accessdate=25 October 2013 | author=Dicker, Ron}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Death}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-24T16:16:32Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 578565585 by JohnWilsone (talk): man beats woman with a stick? not exactly unusual. also, sourced to blogs.

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{dynamic list}}
{{original research|date=September 2012}}
{{listcruft|date=September 2013}}
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 deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
[[File:Aischylos 1885.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The tragedian [[Aeschylus]] is said to have been killed by a tortoise dropped from a height by an eagle.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>]]
{{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 and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC/><ref name=tortue/>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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>
*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 Empire|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>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: 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 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|thumb|150px|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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>

*1782: Mrs Fitzherbert [[death from laughter|died from laughter]]. On a Wednesday evening she had seen Mr. Bannister at [[The Beggar's Opera]], and laughed with the rest of the audience upon his comical entrance. She was unable to stop laughing, and had to leave the theater. She continued laughing until her death on Friday morning.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=7CEJAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA302&dq=A+Selection+of+Curious+Articles+from+the+Gentleman's+Magazine+Bannister&hl=en&sa=X&ei=KTppUuCBNYHkyAGXn4GIAw&ved=0CC0Q6AEwAA#v=snippet&q=Bannister%20laugh&f=false A Selection of Curious Articles from the Gentleman's Magazine,] Volume 4 By John Walker, page 302. The chapter title states "Deaths of Persons" ..."peculiar circumstances". </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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== 19th century ==
[[Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|150px|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself]]
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
[[File: KarenWetterhahn.jpg|thumb|220px|Karen Wetterhahn was poisoned by the few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] which had landed on her protective gloves ten months earlier]]
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''[[Joe Buddy Caine]]''' died when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a rattlesnake , the snake bit them and joe was the only fatality.<ref>http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/news-of-the-weird/Content?oid=888799</ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a crisps packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of West Palm Beach, Florida, died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}} </ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the tracks, with her partner losing both his legs in the accident (the two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident). <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-23T14:31:26Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 578409057 by JohnWilsone (talk): WP:BRD

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{dynamic list}}
{{original research|date=September 2012}}
{{listcruft|date=September 2013}}
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 deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
[[File:Aischylos 1885.jpg|thumb|right|180px|The tragedian [[Aeschylus]] was killed by a tortoise dropped from a height by an eagle.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>]]
{{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 and hats 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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC/><ref name=tortue/>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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>
[[File:Qinshihuang.jpg|thumb|right|180px|'''[[Qin Shi Huang]]''', the first [[Emperor of China]]]]
*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>
*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 Empire|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>
*212 AD: '''[[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 AD: 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 AD: '''[[Arius]]''', [[presbyter]] of [[Alexandria]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 AD: '''[[Hypatia]] of Alexandria''', Greek mathematician, philosopher and intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=400}}</ref>
*1326 : '''[[Richard The Raker]]''' ,Raker means cesspit emptier .On his day off , He fell into his cesspit and drowned and died , He was in the Famous show Horrible Histories As a stupid death.
*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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|thumb|150px|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]

*1726: '''[[Sophia Dorothea Of Celle]]''' died from 60 gallbladder stones. [[Sophia_Dorothea_of_Celle#Death_and_burial]]

*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== 19th century ==
[[Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|150px|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself]]
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</ref>
[[File:Sherwood Anderson (1933).jpg|thumb|180px|Sherwood Anderson, who died after swallowing a toothpick]]
*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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 1950s ===
[[File:Dyatlov Pass incident 02.jpg|thumb|right|A view of the campsite, the location of the [[Dyatlov Pass incident]], as the rescuers found it on February 26, 1959. The tent had been cut open from inside, and most of the skiers had fled in socks or barefoot.]]
*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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1956: '''[[Zilphia Horton]]''', American [[musician]], [[community organizer]], [[educator]], [[Civil Rights]] activist, and [[folklorist]]. On 11 April 1956, she died of [[kidney failure]] after accidentally drinking a glass of [[typewriter]] cleaning fluid containing [[carbon tetrachloride]] she mistook for water.
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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>

=== 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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</ref>
[[File:Soviet Union-1964-stamp-Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov.jpg|thumb|USSR postage stamp honoring Vladimir Komarov, the first person to die during a space mission]]
* 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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
[[File:Kurt gödel.jpg|thumb|180px|Kurt Gödel who, due to his extreme paranoia, died of starvation when his wife was hospitalized]]
*1976: '''[[Keith Relf]]''', former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practising 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=11 December 2010}}</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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</ref>
[[File:Tennessee Williams NYWTS.jpg|thumb|220px|Tennessee Williams who died when he choked on an eyedrop bottle-cap]]
*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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>

=== 1990s ===
[[File: KarenWetterhahn.jpg|thumb|220px|Karen Wetterhahn was poisoned by the few drops of [[dimethylmercury]] which had landed on her protective gloves ten months earlier]]
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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>
*1995: '''[[Joe Buddy Caine]]''' died when he and friend got drunk and played catch with a rattlesnake , the snake bit them and joe was the only fatality.<ref></ref> http://www.snopes.com/horrors/freakish/darwin04.asp<ref></ref>
*1996: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 2006 |agency=Associated Press |accessdate= 30 August 2012}}</ref>
[[File:Steve Irwin.jpg|thumb|220px|Steve Irwin, whose heart was impaled by a [[stingray]] barb]]
* 2006: '''[[Steve Irwin]]''', an Australian television personality and naturalist known as [[the Crocodile Hunter]], died when his heart was impaled by a [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and their father '''Trevor Wallwark''' (and their two dogs) died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a crisps packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room of their cottage in Gurteen, [[County Sligo]], Ireland.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of West Palm Beach, Florida, died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}} </ref>
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirties was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the tracks, with her partner losing both his legs in the accident (the two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident). <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*Dale Dreher, ebook ''Death by Misadventure: 210 Dumb Ways to Die.''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-10-01T08:17:27Z

Cyclopia: Undid revision 575210195 by TheRedPenOfDoom (talk): according to source, it is weird news.

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{dynamic list}}
{{original research|date=September 2012}}
{{listcruft|date=September 2013}}
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 deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
[[File:Aischylos 1885.jpg|thumb|right|The tragedian [[Aeschylus]] was killed by a tortoise dropped from a height by an eagle.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>]]
{{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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC/><ref name=tortue/>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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>
*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 Empire|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>
*c. 98: '''[[Antipas of Pergamum|Saint Antipas]]''', Bishop of [[Pergamon]], 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=11 December 2010}}</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]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|thumb|150px|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]
*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== 19th century ==
[[Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|150px|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself]]
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1956: '''[[Zilphia Horton]]''', American [[musician]], [[community organizer]], [[educator]], [[Civil Rights]] activist, and [[folklorist]]. On 11 April 1956, she died of [[kidney failure]] after accidentally drinking a glass of [[typewriter]] cleaning fluid containing [[carbon tetrachloride]] she mistook for water.
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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 (19 February 2008). St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 9 February 2010.</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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
*1976: '''[[Keith Relf]]''', former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practising 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=11 December 2010}}</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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on 9 December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|first=Shawn G. | last=Kennedy}}</ref><ref name="salon1">{{cite web|url=http://open.salon.com/blog/jrobertg/2009/07/08/10_strange_celebrity_deaths |title=10 Strange Celebrity Deaths - J. Robert Godbout |publisher=Open Salon |date=2009-07-08 |accessdate=2013-09-27}}</ref>
*1981: '''[[Kenji Urada]]''', a Japanese factory worker, was killed by a malfunctioning robot he was working on at a [[Kawasaki Heavy Industries Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref><ref name="salon1"/>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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>
*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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
* 1986: Lewis Davis, a 40-year-old man from Miami, Florida, died after a fish bone pierced his liver.[122]

=== 1990s ===
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''' was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]] with symptoms originally thought to be related to her cervical cancer. Before she died Ramirez's body released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees very ill. Scientists still don't agree on any of the theories as to what could've caused this.<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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 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 [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Peralta |first=Eyder |url=http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/07/133565050/weird-news-california-man-fatally-stabbed-by-rooster |title=Weird News: California Man Fatally Stabbed By Rooster : The Two-Way |publisher=NPR |date=2011-02-07 |accessdate=2013-09-26}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and '''Trevor Wallwark''' died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a snack packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of West Palmm Beach, Florida, died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}} </ref>
*2013: '''Noah and Connor Barthe''', ages 5 and 7 of [[New Brunswick]], Canada, were killed by an [[African rock python]]. The snake had escaped its enclosure in a pet shop on the ground floor, and apparently made its way into their apartment through the ventilation system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/boys-dead-python-escapes-store-canada-19875437 |title=Python's Strangling of 2 Boys in Canada Probed |publisher=ABC News |date= 3 August 2013 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref>{{dead link|date=September 2013}}
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>
*2013: In [[Ukraine]], a woman in her thirtes was killed when she was run over by a train while having sex on the tracks, with her partner losing both his legs in the accident (the two had reportedly been drinking prior to the incident). <ref>{{cite web|author=Anthony Bond |url=http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/woman-having-sex-railway-tracks-2323644 |title=Woman having sex on railway tracks killed by train in Zaporozhye, Ukraine while partner loses legs - Mirror Online |publisher=Mirror.co.uk |date= |accessdate=2013-09-30}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-09-26T08:20:29Z

Cyclopia: /* 2010s */ fixed ref

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{dynamic list}}
{{original research|date=September 2012}}
{{listcruft|date=September 2013}}
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 deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
[[File:Aischylos 1885.jpg|thumb|right|The tragedian [[Aeschylus]] was killed by a tortoise dropped from a height by an eagle.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>]]
{{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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC/><ref name=tortue/>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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>
*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 Empire|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>
*c. 98: '''[[Antipas of Pergamum|Saint Antipas]]''', Bishop of [[Pergamon]], 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=11 December 2010}}</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]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|thumb|150px|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]
*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== 19th century ==
[[Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|150px|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself]]
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1956: '''[[Zilphia Horton]]''', American [[musician]], [[community organizer]], [[educator]], [[Civil Rights]] activist, and [[folklorist]]. On 11 April 1956, she died of [[kidney failure]] after accidentally drinking a glass of [[typewriter]] cleaning fluid containing [[carbon tetrachloride]] she mistook for water.
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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 (19 February 2008). St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 9 February 2010.</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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
*1976: '''[[Keith Relf]]''', former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practising 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=11 December 2010}}</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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on the 9th of December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|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 Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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: '''[[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=18 October 1984}}</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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
* 1986: Lewis Davis, a 40-year-old man from Miami, Florida, died after a fish bone pierced his liver.[122]

=== 1990s ===
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''', suffering from complications of advanced cervical cancer, was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]]. Before she died Ramirez's body apparently released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees 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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 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 [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and '''Trevor Wallwark''' died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a snack packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room.<ref name="bolton2011">{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of West Palmm Beach, Florida, died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}} </ref>
*2013: '''Noah and Connor Barthe''', ages 5 and 7 of [[New Brunswick]], Canada, were killed by an [[African rock python]]. The snake had escaped its enclosure in a pet shop on the ground floor, and apparently made its way into their apartment through the ventilation system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/boys-dead-python-escapes-store-canada-19875437 |title=Python's Strangling of 2 Boys in Canada Probed |publisher=ABC News |date= 3 August 2013 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref>{{dead link|date=September 2013}}
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]

Liste ungewöhnlicher Todesfälle

2013-09-26T08:15:30Z

Cyclopia: /* 2010s */ Added incident that source reports as being called "extraordinary", "coincidental and incredible"

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{dynamic list}}
{{original research|date=September 2012}}
{{listcruft|date=September 2013}}
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 deaths that might be considered unusual or ironic, 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]].
{{TOC limit|2}}

== Antiquity ==
[[File:Aischylos 1885.jpg|thumb|right|The tragedian [[Aeschylus]] was killed by a tortoise dropped from a height by an eagle.<ref name=CGC>{{citation |page=136 |quote=The unusual nature of Aeschylus's death... |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982103}}</ref><ref name=tortue>{{citation |title=La tortue d'Eschyle et autres morts stupides de l'Histoire |isbn=9782352042211 |publisher=Editions Les Arènes |year=2012}}</ref>]]
{{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>
*564 BC: '''[[Arrhichion]] of [[Phigalia]]''', Greek [[Pankration|pankratiast]], caused his own death by accident during 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>{{citation |title=The Salt Lake Loonie |author=Brett Matlock, Jesse Matlock |publisher=University of Regina Press |year=2011 |page=81}}</ref><ref>{{citation |title=The Pankration and Wrestling |author=EN Gardiner |title=The Journal of Hellenic Studies |year=1906 |quote=Fatal accidents did occur as in the case of Arrhichion, but they were very rare...}}</ref>
*455 BC: '''[[Aeschylus]]''', the great Athenian author of [[tragedy|tragedies]]. [[Valerius Maximus]] wrote that he was killed by a [[tortoise]] dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile. [[Pliny the Elder|Pliny]], in his ''[[Natural History (Pliny)|Naturalis Historiæ]]'', adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.<ref name=CGC/><ref name=tortue/>
*401 BC: '''[[Mithridates (soldier)|Mithridates]]''', a soldier who embarrassed his king, [[Artaxerxes II]], by boasting of killing his rival, [[Cyrus the Younger]], was executed by [[scaphism]]. The king's physician, [[Ctesias]], reported that he survived the insect torture for 17 days.<ref name=10tbd>{{citation |chapter=10 truly bizarre deaths |title=Listverse.Com's Ultimate Book of Bizarre Lists |author=Jamie Frater |publisher=Ulysses Press |year=2010 |isbn=9781569758175 |pages=12-14}}</ref><ref name=acogc>{{citation |title=A Cabinet of Greek Curiosities: Strange Tales and Surprising Facts from the Cradle of Western Civilization |page=102 |author=J. C. McKeown |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2013 |isbn=9780199982127 |quote=Ctesias, the Greek physician to Artaxerxes, the king of Persia, gives an appallingly detailed description of the execution inflicted on a soldier named Mithridates, who was misguided enough to claim the credit for killing the king's brother, Cyrus...}}</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 [[pedant]]ry.<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>
*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 Empire|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>
*c. 98: '''[[Antipas of Pergamum|Saint Antipas]]''', Bishop of [[Pergamon]], 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=11 December 2010}}</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]], [[Arius#Exile, return, and death|is said]] to have died of sudden diarrhea followed by copious [[Bleeding|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 intellectual, often called the last librarian of the [[Library of Alexandria]], though it was destroyed long before her time, was murdered by a [[Christianity|Christian]] mob that ripped off her skin with sharp seashells. 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>

== Middle Ages ==
[[File:Charles le Mauvais.jpg|thumb|upright|An illustration of [[Charles II of Navarre]], burned alive when brandy-soaked bandages, in which he was wrapped, were set on fire.]]
*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>
*1131: '''[[Philip of France (1116–1131)|Crown Prince Philip of France]]''' died while riding through Paris, when his horse tripped over a black pig running out of a dung heap.<ref>Ordericus Vitalis, ''The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy'', v. 4, p. 129</ref>
*1219: '''[[Inalchuq]]''', 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 [[Mongols|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 [[Mongols|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|page=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 A red-hot poker? It was just a red herring | General | Times Higher Education]</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 ==
[[File:PietroAretinobyMarcantonio.PNG|thumb|150px|Pietro Aretino, who died from [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]]]]
*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>{{dead link|date=April 2013}}
*1552: '''Henry Pert''' a gentleman, of [[Welbeck]], [[Nottinghamshire]], died when he stretched his bow to its full extent and the arrow got lodged. While he was leaning over to look at it, the arrow released.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=BBC News|title=10 strange ways Tudors died|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-13762313}}</ref>
*1556: '''[[Pietro Aretino]]''', an Italian poet, satirist and pornographer, is said to have died by suffocation caused by [[Death from laughter|uncontrollable laughter]].<ref>Waterfield, Gordon, ed. ''First Footsteps in East Africa'', (New York: Praeger Publishers, 1966) pg. 59 footnote.</ref>
*1567: '''Hans Steininger''', the [[burgomaster]] of [[Brunau]], [[Austria]], died when he broke his neck by tripping over his own beard.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1= Charles Winslow|year=1910 |title=The Nobility of the Trades: Barbers and Hairdressers|journal= National Magazine|volume=32 |issue=1 |page=472 |publisher= |date=April 1910}}</ref> The beard, which was 4.5 feet (1.4 meters) long at the time, was usually kept rolled up in a leather pouch.<ref>{{cite web|title=HowStuffWorks - 10 Bizarre Ways to Die|url=http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/human-biology/10-ways-to-die3.htm}}</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>

== 18th century ==
[[File:Crown prince Sado of Joseon.jpg|thumb|upright|150px|Crown Prince Sado was sealed alive in a rice chest to prevent him inheriting the throne of Korea.<ref name=sado/>]]
*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=7 August 2011|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 name=sado>{{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=27 November 2009 | accessdate=30 May 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 23 May 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 fellow trading 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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
{{clear}}

== 19th century ==
[[Image:Clement Vallandigham - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb|150px|Clement Vallandigham - died after demonstrating how a victim may have accidentally shot himself]]
*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 run over by a locomotive ([[Stephenson's Rocket]]), at the public opening of the world's first mechanically powered passenger railway, becoming the first person ever to die in a [[railway accident]].<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=jfkYX1Ul0_oC&pg=PA101 |title=Mesmerists, Monsters, And Machines |author=Martin Willis |publisher=Kent State University Press |year=2006 |isbn=9780873388573}}</ref>
*1834: '''[[David Douglas]]''', Scottish [[botany|botanist]], fell into a [[pit trap]] where he was trampled by a wild bull.<ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=74QkpEL5TCoC&pg=PA106 |title=Early American Naturalists: Exploring The American West, 1804-1900 |page=106 |author=John Moring |publisher=Taylor Trade Publications |year=2005 |isbn=9781589791831}}</ref><ref>{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=yDC7gu-sCMsC&pg=PA160 |page=160 |title=Flower Hunters |author=John and Mary Gribbin |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780192807182}}</ref>
*1871: '''[[Clement Vallandigham]]''', a lawyer and Ohio politician, accidentally shot himself demonstrating how a victim may possibly have shot himself while in the process of drawing a weapon from a kneeling position. Though the defendant, Thomas McGehan, was ultimately cleared, Vallandigham died from his wound.<ref>[http://www.historiclebanonohio.com/?q=vallandigham Death of Clement Vallandigham | HistoricLebanonOhio.com]</ref>

== 20th century ==

=== 1920s ===
*1920: '''[[Ray Chapman|Ray "Chappie" Chapman]]''', shortstop for the Cleveland Indians baseball team, was killed when a [[submarine (baseball)|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>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/08.17.html |title=The Death of Ray Chapman|work=[[New York Times]] |date=17 August 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 Garden 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=New York Times |date=5 June 1923 |accessdate=20 February 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=11 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |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=5 April 1923 |accessdate=12 August 2008 }}</ref>

[[Image:Isadora Duncan portrait.jpg|thumb|150px|Isadora Duncan, ballerina, died when her long scarf, caught on the wheel of a car, broke her neck.]]

*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=11 December 2010}}</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 31 October 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=4 August 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=9 May 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=Brown|first=Ismene|title=Isadora Duncan, Sublime or Ridiculous?|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/theatre/dance/4949201/Isadora-Duncan-sublime-or-ridiculous.html|work=The Telegraph|date=6 March 2009|accessdate=26 April 2013}}</ref>

=== 1930s ===
*1930: '''[[William Kogut]]''', an inmate on death row at [[San Quentin State Prison|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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1932: '''[[Eben Byers]]''', an American golfer and industrialist, died from multiple cancers caused by drinking more than 1400 bottles of a radioactive "health potion" called [[Radithor]].<ref>{{cite news |author= |coauthors= |title=Death Stirs Action on Radium 'Cures'. |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0F16F93D5A13738DDDAB0894DC405B828FF1D3 |quote=Federal and local agencies, as well as medical authorities in various parts of the country, were stirred to action yesterday as a result of the death of Eben M. Byers, wealthy Pittsburgh steel manufacturer and sportsman, who died here Wednesday at the Doctors' Hospital from causes attributed to radium poisoning resulting from the drinking of water containing radium in solution. ... |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |date=2 April 1932 |accessdate=1 October 2011 }}</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>

=== 1940s ===

*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>
*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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1956: '''[[Zilphia Horton]]''', American [[musician]], [[community organizer]], [[educator]], [[Civil Rights]] activist, and [[folklorist]]. On 11 April 1956, she died of [[kidney failure]] after accidentally drinking a glass of [[typewriter]] cleaning fluid containing [[carbon tetrachloride]] she mistook for water.
*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. Coincidentally, Jones' character was to have a heart-attack, which is what Jones suffered and died of. <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 (19 February 2008). St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 9 February 2010.</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 [[Mitrofan Ivanovich Nedelin|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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1960: '''[[Inejiro Asanuma]]''', 61, the head of the [[Social Democratic Party (Japan)|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= 14 November 1960|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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>
*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=11 May 2010
}}</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]], 25 May 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1967: Cosmonaut '''[[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=24 April 2007|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</ref>

=== 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://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20081012062830/http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/H/history/n-s/space.html|archivedate=12 October 2008|title=Space disasters and near misses|publisher=Channel 4 |accessdate=29 June 2011}}</ref>
*1974: '''Thomas Bayliss''' died after being run over by two [[Semi-trailer truck|semi-trailers]] and a [[pickup truck]] on [[State Road 64 (Florida)|State Road 64]] near [[Bradenton, Florida]]. None of the three vehicles stopped immediately after the accident.<ref>{{cite news|title=Bizarre death in Manatee probed by Highway Patrol|url=http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SQswAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PnkDAAAAIBAJ&dq=bizarre%20death&pg=1989%2C828207|accessdate= May 2013|newspaper=St Petersburg Times|date=17 October 1974}}</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=20 February 1974 | accessdate=12 June 2010| 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 15 July. 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>
*1976: '''[[Keith Relf]]''', former singer for British [[rhythm and blues]] band [[The Yardbirds]], died while practising 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=11 December 2010}}</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 torn in half as the car ploughed into him at a speed exceeding 270 km/h (170 mph).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/posts/tom_pryce_35th_anniversary_formula_one_south_african_grand_prix|title=The tragedy of Tom Pryce, Wales' Formula One hero|date=4 March 2012|accessdate=10 September 2013|first=James|last=Roberts|publisher=BBC}}</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=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |date=11 August 1983|url=http://docs.newsbank.com/g/GooglePM/PI/lib00187,0EB295F7D995F801.html |accessdate=11 September 2007}}</ref>
*1979: '''John Bowen''', a 20-year-old from [[Nashua, New Hampshire]], was attending a half-time show at a [[New York Jets]] football game at [[Shea Stadium]] on the 9th of December. 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=8 August 2011}}</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, 28 September 2008.</ref>
*1979: '''Nitaro Ito''', a candidate for [[House of Representatives (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 20 July 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 nearly [[decapitation|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=24 May 1981|accessdate=11 May 2010|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 Motorcycle & Engine|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=8 June 2006|accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: Actor '''[[Vic Morrow]]''' and child-actor '''Myca Dinh Le''' (age 7) were decapitated by a rotating helicopter blade, and child-actress '''Renee Shin-Yi Chen''' (age 6) was crushed by a helicopter 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=11 December 2010}}</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=8 August 2011}}</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=3 March 1993 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
*1982: '''Navy Lieutenant George M. Prior''', 30, died in [[Arlington County, Virginia|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=2 September 2006|accessdate=6 March 2011}}</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=25 July 1983| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=27 February 1983}}</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]]. A serve from [[Stefan Edberg]] hit his groin, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement.<ref>{{cite news |title=Odd mishap fells tennis official |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: '''[[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=18 October 1984}}</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=20 May 2009 | date=21 August 1986}}</ref>
* 1986: Lewis Davis, a 40-year-old man from Miami, Florida, died after a fish bone pierced his liver.[122]

=== 1990s ===
*1990: '''[[Bo Díaz]]''', a 37-year-old former baseball player, was killed at his home in Caracas on 23 September. 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=8 August 2011}}</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=[[Associated Press|(AP)]] |newspaper= [[The New York Times]] |issn=0362-4331 |oclc=1645522 |date=4 May 1991 |page=8 |accessdate=19 March 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=11 December 2010}}</ref>
*1993: '''[[Garry Hoy]]''', a 38-year-old lawyer in [[Toronto]], fell to his death on 9 July 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," a demonstration he had done many times before. 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, 15 March 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 in 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=19 October 1993| accessdate=11 May 2010}}</ref>
*1994: '''Jennifer Jones''', a 15-year-old student, died 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=9 June 1994}}</ref>
*1994: '''[[Gloria Ramirez]]''', suffering from complications of advanced cervical cancer, was admitted to a hospital in [[Riverside, California]]. Before she died Ramirez's body apparently released mysterious toxic fumes that made several hospital employees 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=1 March 1995 |accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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: '''[[Death of Sharon Lopatka|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=21 July 2011}}</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=16 November 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaomt.org/testfoundation/dimethylmercury.htm |title=The Trembling Edge of Science |publisher=Iaomt.org |date= |accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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 | publisher=BBC News | title=Lightning kills football team | date=28 October 1998 | accessdate=11 May 2010}}</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=15 March 2006| accessdate=2 September 2011 | location=London | first=James | last=Dart}}</ref>{{Unreliable source inline|date=July 2013}}
*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=26 April 2012 |newspaper=The Independent |date=11 June 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=26 April 2012 |publisher=BBC News |date=10 June 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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4752797.stm |title=German cannibal guilty of murder|publisher=BBC News|date= 9 May 2006}}</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=22 October 2001 |accessdate=11 December 2010 |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>{{cite web|url=http://static.espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/0319/1354060.html|title=Girl dies after getting hit by puck at NHL game|publisher=ESPN.com|date= 20 May 2002}}</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=19 July 2007| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,289860,00.html| accessdate=30 September 2008 | publisher=Fox News}}</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] BBC News</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1476175/Man-trapped-in-cupboard-died-as-water-gushed-down.html|title= Man trapped in cupboard died as water gushed down|work= 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=8 August 2011}}</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= 11 October 2011|accessdate=16 November 2011}}</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>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4137782.stm |title=Technology | S Korean dies after games session |publisher=BBC News |date=10 August 2005 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</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=5 August 2006|accessdate=11 December 2010}}</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=11 December 2012}}</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= 16 January 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 [[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], 4 September 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 Woman found dead behind bookcase - US news - Weird news | NBC News]</ref>
* 2006: '''[[Alexander Litvinenko]]''', a former officer of the [[Federal Security Service (Russia)|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=8 August 2011}}</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, 22 June 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=23 June 2007 |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</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=27 May 2007 |last=Bale |first=Joanna |date=24 March 2007 |work=Times Online | location=London}}{{dead link|date=March 2011}}</ref>
* 2007: A ten month old camel killed the woman who owned it, by knocking her to the ground and straddling her. A camel expert confirmed the attack was sexual in nature.<ref>{{cite web|author=By metrowebukmetro |url=http://metro.co.uk/2007/08/19/humped-to-death-by-a-pet-camel-47660/ |title=Humped to death by a pet camel | Metro News |publisher=Metro.co.uk |date=2007-08-19 |accessdate=2013-09-21}}</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=11 December 2010}}</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 himself 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=22 November 2008 | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/7737721.stm |publisher=BBC News | title=Man cut off head in flat protest | date=19 November 2008}}</ref>
* 2009: '''[[Taylor Mitchell]]''', a Canadian [[Folk music|folk]] singer, was attacked and killed by three [[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=12 October 2009|accessdate=29 October 2009}}</ref><ref>''A History of Urban Coyote Problems'', Robert M. Tim & Rex O. Baker, University of Nebraska – Lincoln, 2007</ref>

===2010s===

*2010: '''[[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=27 September 2010}}</ref>
*2010: '''[[Mike Edwards (musician)|Mike Edwards]]''', British founding member and cellist for the band [[ELO]], died when a large round bale of hay rolled down the hill and smashed his car while he was out driving.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-20259274 |title=ELO cellist Mike Edwards's hay bale death 'preventable' |publisher=BBC News |date=8 November 2012 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref><ref>[http://ultimateclassicrock.com/mike-edwards-strange-rock-deaths/ Mike Edwards — Killed by a Hay Bale]</ref>
*2011: '''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 |publisher=BBC News |date=8 February 2011 |accessdate=19 March 2011}}</ref>
*2011: '''Harry''', '''Kimberly''' and '''Trevor Wallwark''' died of [[carbon monoxide poisoning]] when a snack packet became lodged in the chimney and caused the carbon monoxide to flood the room.<ref group=bolton2011>{{cite news|last=Jeremy Culley|title=Dad and two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning after discarded snack packet got stuck in chimney|url=http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/10695202.Dad_and_two_children_died_after_discarded_snack_packet_got_stuck_in_chimney/|accessdate=26 September 2013|newspaper=Bolton News|date=24 September 2013}}</ref>
*2012: '''Erica Marshall''', a 28-year-old British [[veterinarian]] in Ocala, Florida, died when the horse she was treating in a [[hyperbaric chamber]] kicked the wall, released a spark from its [[horseshoe]]s and triggered 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=13 February 2012}}</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 Explosion at Fla. horse center kills worker, horse | CNS News]</ref>
*2012: '''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=17 October 2012}}</ref>
* 2012:''' Edward Archbold''', 32, a man of West Palmm Beach, Florida, died after winning a cockroach eating contest. The cause of death was determined to be accidental choking due to "arthropod body parts." <ref>{{cite news| url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/26/15460502-florida-man-who-died-in-cockroach-eating-contest-choked-to-death-autopsy-says?lite |title=Florida man who died in cockroach-eating contest choked to death, autopsy says |work=[[NBC News]] |date=26 November 2012}} </ref>
*2013: '''Noah and Connor Barthe''', ages 5 and 7 of [[New Brunswick]], Canada, were killed by an [[African rock python]]. The snake had escaped its enclosure in a pet shop on the ground floor, and apparently made its way into their apartment through the ventilation system.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/boys-dead-python-escapes-store-canada-19875437 |title=Python's Strangling of 2 Boys in Canada Probed |publisher=ABC News |date= 3 August 2013 |accessdate=7 August 2013}}</ref>{{dead link|date=September 2013}}
*2013: In [[Belarus]], a 60-year-old ex-serviceman died of [[exsanguination|blood loss]] after being attacked by a [[beaver]]. The man was bitten multiple times by the rodent, which sliced an artery with its sharp teeth. It has been suggested that the man was trying to catch the beaver to have his photo taken with it. Attacks are said to be on the rise in Belarus due to the increasing beaver population, but this is the first recorded fatality.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22707094|publisher=BBC News|date=29 May 2013|title=Belarus: Man dies after being attacked by beaver}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/29/beaver-kills-fisherman_n_3352353.html|publisher=HuffingtonPost|first=Yuras |last=Karmanau|date=29 May 2013|title=Beaver Kills Fisherman In Belarus; Wildlife Experts Blame Aggressive Behavior For Upsurge In Attacks}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[List of inventors killed by their own inventions]]
* [[List of people who disappeared mysteriously]]
* [[Darwin Awards]]
* [[Execution by elephant]]
* [[Death from laughter]]
* [[Spontaneous human combustion]]
* [[Toilet-related injuries and deaths]]
{{div col end}}

== References ==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=JS5mHAAACAAJ |title=Curious and Unusual Deaths|author=[[Russell Robert Winterbotham]] |publisher= Haldeman-Julius, Girard, Kansas |date=1929}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=7HTfGRRllAQC |title=Curious Events in History |author=Michael Powell |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc |date=5 August 2008}}
*Nick Daws ''Daft Deaths and Famous Last Words''
*Tracey Turner, ''Dreadful Fates''
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Mysterious_Deaths_and_Disappearances.html?id=HCExOEknBQ0C&redir_esc=y |title=Mysterious Deaths and Disappearances |author=[[David Southwell]] and Sean Twist |publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |date=1 September 2007}}
*[[John Dunning (journalist)|John Dunning]] ''Strange Deaths'' (true crime)
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=fijmTMOJrJcC |title=Strange Deaths: More Than 375 Freakish Fatalites}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=1wrJygAACAAJ |title=Strange Inhuman Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=5RpLMwEACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of Strange Deaths}}
*{{citation |url=http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=py_ZAAAACAAJ |title=The Fortean Times Book of More Strange Deaths}}

{{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]]