Fame does not guarantee that the person to whom the fame is attached will died with any level of dignity or respect. Often, people whose names were once known worldwide wind up exiting life in some incredibly embarrassing ways. Here are 10 famous people in history that perfectly exemplify this.
#1 Frederick Barbarossa, German Emperor
The famed military commander died in 1190 while on a Crusade. Rather than scale a mountain that was in the way of his army, Barbarossa jumped into the Calycadmus River to show his men that they could simply swim across. He was wrong. Barbarossa drowned within moments of jumping in the water. The Third Crusade ended in disaster for the Europeans.
#2 Allan Pinkerton, Detective
The creator of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, Allan Pinkerton, died in an undignified manner. He stumbled and bit his tongue. Gangrene set in, and the infection killed him a few weeks later. This photo shows Pinkerton (far left) standing with President Abraham Lincoln and Major General McClelland.
#3 Adolf Frederick, King Of Sweden
Adolf Frederick died in 1771 after eating far too much. His lavish meal triggered a stroke, and the king expired unexpectedly.
#4 Jack Daniel, Whiskey Mogul
Jack got frustrated one morning and kicked his safe. The resulting wound became infected, and Jack’s foot was amputated. But it wasn’t enough. The infection spread, and he lost a leg. Jack Daniel died of gangrene complications in 1911.
#5 Harry Houdini, Magician
Perhaps the greatest magician and illusionist of all time, Houdini was known for boasting that he could withstand punches to the abdomen. However, he needed time to brace himself for the impact, and a student who came to see his show did not allow him to do so. Houdini went on with his show that night, but suffered extreme pain. He performed another show two days later, still in horrible pain, and died on Halloween of a ruptured appendix.
#6 Tennessee Williams, Playwright
The writer behind “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “The Glass Menagerie” choked to death on a bottle cap. It was a small cap used to cover eye medicine. It’s theorized that Tennessee Williams put the cap in his mouth to hold it while he was using the medicine. The cap fell in and choked the great writer. His use of alcohol and barbituates may have affected his ability to spit out the cap.
#7 Sir Francis Bacon, Scholar
Bacon died experimenting on a chicken in the snow in 1626. Bacon hypothesized that a chicken could be preserved if it was stuffed with snow. However, Bacon became ill from standing in the snow to conduct the experiment, which didn’t work, and died.
#8 Aeschylus, Greek Philosopher
According to legend, the bald man was killed when an eagle thought his head was a rock and dropped a tortoise on it.
#9 Jimi Hendrix And John Bonham, Musicians
Hendrix was arguably the greatest guitarist of the rock era, and one of the best of all time. In 1970, at the age of only 27, Hendrix drank too much and took several high-powered sleeping pills before bedtime. Jimi choked on his own vomit and died.
Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham started a long day of drinking with 16 shots of vodka. He fell asleep and was found dead the next morning. The coroner concluded he had vomited and asphyxiated.
#10 Draco, Greek Legislator
The term “draconian law” comes from this ancient Greek. He was loved by many Grecians. So loved that after one stirring speech in the seventh century B.C., people threw their hats and coats on stage to honor him. Draco suffocated to death under all the adoration.
h/t and All Images: ILykeFunny
