Death is a normal part of life. While most people die with predictable reasons, some people die rather ironic deaths. The world has seen numerous deaths in which the universe seemed to have conspired with fates to make an ironic statement. Some of these deaths include historical figures, royalties, celebrities and inventors. Remembering these various accounts of ironic deaths never fail to bring an eerie kind of sense.
Hans Steininger
Hans Steininger is known in the history books as the man with the longest beard (4.5 feet). Artists have fondly sketched his glorious expression of facial hair and even immortalized his crowning achievement in stone. However, his hairy asset is what brought him to sudden death. As he was caught in a fire, he accidentally tripped over his long beard, broke his neck and died.
Marcus Licinius Crassus
Marcus Licinius Crassus was a well known general. He was also a very wealthy man- wealthy enough to fund armies and invasions. However, his defeat with the Parthians ended his glory. The Parthians punished him for his greed by pouring molten gold down his throat.
Bobby Leach
In more recent centuries, Bobby Leach was a world-renowned daredevil. He was known to history as the first person to successfully navigate the Niagara Falls (1911). In his lifetime, Leach survived broken knee caps and jaw. A fateful tripping accident caused by a banana peel fractured his leg. He eventually died of gangrene.
Franz Reichelt
Franz Reichelt, an Austrian tailor famous for his overcoat and parachute hybrid, tested his invention by jumping from the first deck of the Eiffel Towel. In front of spectators and media crews, the world witnessed his death as he fell straight down.
Otto Lilienthal
Another glider by the name of Otto Lilienthal, one of the pioneers in human aviation, died in his last aerial glide in August 9, 1896 as he fell 17 meters and broke his spine.
Thomas Midgley Jr
The American chemist Thomas Midgley Jr. was the inventor of leaded petrol and CFC. Needless to say, his inventions caused millions of deaths in human history as well as severe impacts to the environment. Later on in his life, he contracted lead poisoning and polio, causing him to be disabled and tied to his bed. He then created an elaborate system of ropes and pulleys that allow him to move and adjust his body in his bed. At the age of 55, he was accidentally strangled by his ropes and pulleys.
Marie Curie
Another scientist by the name of Marie Curie, a 1903 Nobel Prize winner for her theory of radioactivity and isolation of isotopes, contracted aplastic anemia due to her prolonged exposure to radiation. The disease eventually killed her.
Jerome Rodale
Jerome Rodale is known as the founder of the organic food revolution. As a naturalist, he promoted clean living. He was a huge advocate of the life-extending benefits of organic lifestyle. At the age of 72, he died of a heart attack after claiming in an interview that he is fit enough to reach his 100th birthday.
Clement Vallandigham
Clement Vallandigham was a lawyer known for his dedication in defending his clients. In 1871, while he was demonstrating during a court case, he accidentally shot himself dead.
Myra Davis
The Psycho double, Myra Davis, died similar death to the character she portrayed in the mega-hit movie. In 1988, she was raped and killed by a “psycho”, re-enacting the famous shower scene that she did in this Alfred Hitchcock classic.
George Story
George Story was featured in the cover page of Life Magazine’s “Life Baby” issue. As a newborn baby, his picture was used in the headline “Life Begins”. The magazine published details of Story’s life, from infancy to old age. A week after the magazine announced the release of its last issue, Story died of heart failure. Hence, the last issue of Life Magazine took the headline “Life Ends”.
Jim Fixx
Jim Fixx, was the writer of the 1977 bestseller “The Complete Book of Running”. He was an advocate of the longevity effects of running and even made a fortune out of his fitness campaigns. One day, Fixx had a fatal heart attack while he was running.
Steve Irwin
Lastly, who would even forget the recent death of Steve Irwin, the eccentric and beloved Australian naturalist that hosted a number of wildly popular TV shows? In his career, he had traveled the globe to unravel an adventure in exploring the animal kingdom. In 2006, while swimming above an adult sting ray, the 8-inch barb of the ray’s tail hit Irwin’s heart, which led to his death.
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