Unusual Deaths from the 16th to the 19th Century

Death is inevitable… but it sometimes strikes in strangely spectacular ways. Here is a collection of remarkable cases from the 16th to the 19th century, where fate took some truly unexpected turns.

1519 — Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg

According to tradition, Maximilian died on January 12 after overindulging in melon following a hunting expedition. A royal feast that ended rather abruptly.

1559 — King Henry II of France

During the jousts celebrating the marriage of his daughter Elisabeth to Philip II of Spain, Henry II faced Gabriel de Montgomery, captain of his Scottish Guard. The golden grille of the king’s helmet failed to stop Montgomery’s lance, which pierced his eye and likely reached the brain.
Henry agonized for ten days despite the efforts of the royal physicians, including Ambroise Paré — who was allowed to practice on the severed heads of executed criminals — and Andreas Vesalius, the famed anatomist summoned from Brussels.

1601 — Tycho Brahe, Danish Astronomer

Tycho Brahe died on October 24, reportedly from a burst bladder or septicemia after holding his urine for hours during a carriage ride or a long banquet with Emperor Rudolf II. His death inspired a Czech expression: “I don’t want to die like Tycho Brahe,” meaning “I really need to pee.”
Some sources also suggest he may have been poisoned.

1687 — Jean-Baptiste Lully, Composer

Lully died of gangrene after striking his own foot with his heavy conducting staff — a long, ornate cane used at the time to beat time on the floor — during a rehearsal of the Te Deum. Ironically, the performance was meant to celebrate the king’s recovery from illness.

1691 — Joachim Feller, Professor at Leipzig University

Feller died after falling out of a window in his sleep. He was a somnambulist.

1771 — King Adolf Frederick of Sweden

The king died of digestive complications after an extravagant meal of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, and champagne — followed by fourteen servings of his favorite dessert, semla in hot milk.
Swedish schoolchildren still remember him as “the king who ate himself to death.”

1780 — Nicolas Gilbert, French Poet

Gilbert died after swallowing a key during a fit of madness.

1798 — Aristide Aubert Du Petit-Thouars, French Naval Captain

During the Battle of Aboukir aboard Le Tonnant, English grapeshot tore off one of his arms and both legs. He had himself placed in a tub filled with bran and ordered his men to keep fighting. As long as he remained conscious, he continued encouraging his crew.

1841 — William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States

Harrison delivered a 90‑minute inaugural speech in freezing rain without a coat or hat. He developed pneumonia shortly afterward and died a month later — the shortest presidency in U.S. history.

1884 — Allan Pinkerton, Detective

Pinkerton slipped on a sidewalk, bit his tongue badly, and later died of gangrene. A mundane accident with a tragic outcome.

1899 — Félix Faure, President of France

Faure died of a cerebral hemorrhage during a sexual encounter with Marguerite Steinheil. Popular jokes of the time claimed she caused the fatal climax, earning her the nickname “La Pompe funèbre.”
Clemenceau quipped: “He wanted to be Caesar; he ended up as Pompey.”
Another anecdote recounts a priest asking, “Does the president still have his consciousness?”
To which a guard allegedly replied: “No, Father — she left by the service stairs.”

(Source: Wikipedia)