List of unusual deaths

==List of unusual deaths ==

This is a list of unusual deaths. This list includes unique or extremely rare circumstances of death recorded throughout history.

Ancient times

• 458 BC: Aeschylus, a Greek playwright, was killed by a tortoise dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his bald head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile.
• 207 BC: Chrysippus, a Greek philosopher, is said to have died of laughter after watching a donkey eat his figs.

Middle Ages

• 1219: Genghis Khan is said to have died after falling from his horse.
• 1327: Edward II of England was allegedly murdered by having a red-hot poker inserted into his rectum.

Renaissance

• 1567: Hans Steininger, the burgomaster of Braunau am Inn, died after tripping over his own beard, which was over four feet long.

19th century

• 1884: Allan Pinkerton, the founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, died after slipping on a pavement and biting his tongue, which led to gangrene.

20th century

• 1911: Jack Daniel, the founder of the Jack Daniel's Tennessee whiskey distillery, died from blood poisoning after kicking a safe and injuring his toe.
• 1923: George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, died from an infected mosquito bite, leading to speculation about the "Curse of the Pharaohs" after he opened the tomb of Tutankhamun.
• 1974: Basil Brown, a health food advocate, died from liver damage after consuming 70 million units of vitamin A and around 10 gallons of carrot juice over ten days.

21st century

• 2001: Bernd-Jürgen Brandes was killed and eaten by Armin Meiwes, a German man who had advertised for a willing volunteer for this purpose on the internet.
• 2007: Jennifer Strange died of water intoxication after participating in a radio station's water-drinking contest to win a Nintendo Wii.

See also

• List of unusual deaths in antiquity
• List of unusual deaths in the Middle Ages
• List of unusual deaths in the Renaissance
• List of unusual deaths in the 19th century
• List of unusual deaths in the 20th century
• List of unusual deaths in the 21st century
• List of inventors killed by their own inventions
• List of entertainers who died during a performance