# Famous people who were killed by animals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 4, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967 "2015-08-04T13:10:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/21 "2015-08-04T16:08:46Z")
[King Alexander of Greece](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_of_Greece) died in 1920 from an infection after being bitten by a monkey on the palace grounds. (The monkey was a pet but not domesticated.) Ancient Greek playwright [Aeschylus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeschylus) was supposedly killed by a tortoise dropped by an eagle. > [@](#): > > Valerius Maximus wrote that he was killed outside the city by a tortoise dropped by an eagle which had mistaken his head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile.[17] Pliny, in his Naturalis Historiæ, adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avoid a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object.[17] ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/22 "2015-08-04T16:16:53Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > **Cleopatra** , of course, comes to mind. She was bitten by an asp, possibly intentionally. > > There’s also the ‘Grizzly Man’, bear activist **Timothy Treadwell**. While camping in Katmai too late in the season his campsite near a river was visited by an old, probably starving bear and both he and his girlfriend were mauled and killed, an event recorded on audio. Rangers unfortunately then had to put two bears down to retrieve their bodies. > [@gytalf2000](#): > > I can’t believe that I had forgotten about that guy! Thanks. [Ron White hasn’t.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UMWndnqyFE) ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/23 "2015-08-04T16:19:06Z")
Australian [Prime Minister Harold Holt](http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/australianpm.htm) disappeared while swimming in 1967. It has been speculated that he may have been attacked by a shark, although there are many other theories. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/24 "2015-08-04T16:21:29Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Folk singer Taylor Mitchell was killed by coyotes while hiking in 2009. Wow. I was curious about normally timid coyotes killing someone, but I found on Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > Mitchell’s death was the first recorded fatality from an attack on an adult. It shocked experts and led to a reassessment of the risk to humans from coyotes’ predation behaviour. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/25 "2015-08-04T16:27:15Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > FWIW, I went off the thread title, which doesn’t specify the level of the murder animal’s tameness. 🙂 He was injured by attempting a risky recreational activity involving an animal. That’s pretty different than being killed by an animal. That would be like saying someone who dies while dog sledding was killed by dogs. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/26 "2015-08-04T16:35:30Z")
Re: Treadwell > [@gytalf2000](#): > > Hadn’t he appeared on television before the fatal incident? While he certainly became much better known and achieved greater notoriety after his death, yes and Wiki providess this… _By 2001, Treadwell became notable enough to receive extensive media attention both on television and in environmental circles. He made frequent public appearances as an environmental activist. He traveled throughout the United States to educate school children about bears and appeared on the Discovery Channel, the Late Show with David Letterman, and Dateline NBC to discuss his experiences. He co-authored Among Grizzlies: Living with Wild Bears in Alaska with Jewel Palovak (his co-worker with whom he lived for 20 years).[3] The book describes his adventures on the Alaska Peninsula. Treadwell and Palovak founded Grizzly People, a grassroots organization devoted to protecting bears and preserving their wilderness habitat._ ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/27 "2015-08-04T16:41:24Z")
**Colibri** beat me to the punch with Aeschylus. Would dead animals count? Henry I of England was killed by a ‘surfeit of lampreys’. Oh, and an indirect animal death comes to mind. The 3rd century BC philosopher Chrysippus of Soli according to one account died in a paroxysm of laughter after watching a donkey eat some figs. (I guess you had to be there.) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/28 "2015-08-04T16:42:55Z")
They were famous _for_ their wild animals, but didn’t Siegfried or Roy go down that way? (He who lives by the lion dies by the lion.) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/29 "2015-08-04T16:43:18Z")
Lord Carnarvon, who funded Howard Carter’s dig of King Tutankhamun’s tomb, died from complications resulting from a mosquito bite on his left cheek. His story is sometimes used to promote “Curse of the Mummy” stories, although Carter himself lived on uncursed so take that for what it’s worth. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/30 "2015-08-04T16:44:01Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > **Colibri** beat me to the punch with Aeschylus. Would dead animals count? Henry I of England was killed by a ‘surfeit of lampreys’. Oh, and an indirect animal death comes to mind. The 3rd century BC philosopher Chrysippus of Soli according to one account died in a paroxysm of laughter after watching a donkey eat some figs. (I guess you had to be there.) These are both great. Cites? (Particularly the last one.) ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/31 "2015-08-04T16:49:43Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > They were famous _for_ their wild animals, but didn’t Siegfried or Roy go down that way? (He who lives by the lion dies by the lion.) Roy was mauled by one of their tigers, but he’s still alive. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/32 "2015-08-04T16:50:43Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > They were famous _for_ their wild animals, but didn’t Siegfried or Roy go down that way? (He who lives by the lion dies by the lion.) Roy Hoyn survived his tiger injuries, and the tiger (Mantecore) wasn’t wild anyway. The injury did end his career, though. > [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Fabio nearly got his head knocked off by a bird. He survived, though. Nah, it was just a broken nose. And the bird wasn’t exactly responsible; he was riding a roller coaster. > [@Colibri](#): > > Australian [Prime Minister Harold Holt](http://history1900s.about.com/od/1960s/qt/australianpm.htm) disappeared while swimming in 1967. It has been speculated that he may have been attacked by a shark, although there are many other theories. The area where Holt disappeared is better known for rip currents than sharks. Anyway, he was acting strangely on the day he died and he might well have committed suicide. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/33 "2015-08-04T17:55:58Z")
Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead at 49 He was bitten by a spider. ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/34 "2015-08-04T18:03:02Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Folk singer Taylor Mitchell was killed by coyotes while hiking in 2009. Wow, so according to National Geographic her attack is “the first fatal coyote attack on an adult human ever recorded.” Sounds like it’s been verified too. But, it’s hard to believe. I want to think she must have fallen and been hurt or unconscious, but I guess not. ---
**Author:** ![Bert\_Nobbins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@Bert\_Nobbins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bert_Nobbins)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/35 "2015-08-04T18:06:25Z")
William the Third of England seems to fit the bill. Death by mole. In February 1702, William’s horse stumbled on a molehill at Hampton Court and he was thrown, breaking his collarbone. His health, which had never been strong, deteriorated rapidly. He died on 8 March. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/36 "2015-08-04T18:12:59Z")
[Lots of famous people have died from malaria](http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-who-died-of-malaria/reference), including Amerigo Vespucci, Oliver Cromwell, and Vasco de Gama. That’s almost always from a mosquito bite. ---
**Author:** ![Fiveyearlurker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@Fiveyearlurker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiveyearlurker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/37 "2015-08-04T18:14:25Z")
> [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](#): > > Slayer Guitarist Jeff Hanneman Dead at 49 > > He was bitten by a spider. This was the initial story, but subsequent stories suggest this likely wasn’t true. The spider part, not the death part. That part was undeniably true. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/38 "2015-08-04T18:32:41Z")
One of the worlds premier herpetologists [Joseph Slowinski](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Bruno_Slowinski) died from a snake bite. That might not seem like so odd, considering his line of work, except that this was a guy at the top of the herpetology world, and the envenomation occurred because _he_ had misidentified the snake. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/39 "2015-08-04T18:36:00Z")
> [@bup](#): > > [Lots of famous people have died from malaria](http://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-who-died-of-malaria/reference), including Amerigo Vespucci, Oliver Cromwell, and Vasco de Gama. That’s almost always from a mosquito bite. If we count animal-transmitted diseases, we also should include [victims of bubonic plague](http://alchemipedia.blogspot.com/2009/09/bubonic-plague-famous-deaths.html), which is transmitted by fleas. Among the most famous were Pericles of Athens, Louis IX of France, and William of Ockham. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2015, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967/40 "2015-08-04T18:39:26Z")
> [@Bert\_Nobbins](#): > > William the Third of England seems to fit the bill. Death by mole. Similarly, William the Conqueror died from complications of riding a horse. He (who was very corpulent) was thrown violently against the saddle horn, apparently causing serious internal injuries, whereupon he subsequently died. But ‘The Rest of the Story,’ about what happened at the funeral is even more. . . ‘interesting.’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-who-were-killed-by-animals/726967.md?page=3)