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- Dante
- Mary Queen of Scots
- John Keats
- Napoleon Bonaparte
- William Blake
- Michael Collins
- John Dillinger
Life: Philosopher, Poet, Death Aficionado Death: September 13, 1320 Cause of Death: Malaria As with most historical figures who bucked the system, exile seemed to be the main course of action for their own actions (second to execution, of course.) Dante (whose death mask may not be genuine) served a long course of exile before his demise. Amidst th...
Life: Queen of Scotland, France (briefly) & almost England Death: February 8, 1587 Cause of Death: Beheading Mary Queen of Scotssuffered from what could be called an unpolished demise. After a life of political turmoil, bouncing around Europe, and collecting a long list of enemies, Mary sought asylum from her cousin Queen Elizabeth I. Instead she b...
Life: Poet Death: February 23, 1821 Cause of Death: Tuberculosis In 1819 John Keatscontracted tuberculosis, otherwise known as consumption at the time. On the advice of his doctor, he went to Rome with a friend for the warmer weather. For a while, he felt better, but after one year he was bedridden once again. His doctor kept him on a strict diet o...
Life: Military Leader, Political Leader, Emperor Death: May 5, 1821 Cause of Death: Gastric Cancer(Or MURDER?) It was definitely gastric cancer. (Science has proven this.) But at the time of his death, Napoleon believed British assassins had murdered him: “I die before my time, killed by the English oligarchy and its hired assassins," he was record...
Life: Artist, Poet Death: August 12, 1827 Cause of Death: Slightly Unknown While Napoleon’s death may have masqueraded as a mystery, William Blake’sremains so to this day. While it’s known he died of an illness, it’s unknown exactly what that illness was. Blake himself exclaimed that he suffered from "that sickness to which there is no name." Leadi...
Life: Activist, Military Leader, Political Leader Death: August 22, 1922 Cause of Death: Assassination Michael Collins' life was filled with violence up until the very end. He was one of the main leaders in Ireland's fight for independence and subsequently the Irish Civil War. During both times Collins utilized guerrilla warfare tactics that saw Ir...
Life: Thief, Organized Crime Boss Death: July 22, 1934 Cause of Death: Killed by the FBI John Dillingerwas America's most notorious bank robber. But is the face you see above Public Enemy #1 or a fall guy named Jimmy Lawrence? John Dillinger was shot and killed in a hail of gunfire by the FBI outside of Chicago's Biograph Theater. When his body was...
Dec 17, 2020 · Celebrity open casket funerals may seem morbid, but they offer a chance for fans to pay respects to the deceased famous people in a respectful setting.
- Mel Judson
Oct 31, 2017 · Death masks date back to ancient Egypt, where creating a sculpted mask to put on the deceased's face was very fashionable. Many famous names have had their faces cast, like actor James Dean.
Apr 24, 2008 · Celebrity Death Mask Collectibles - The growing interest in morbid curiosities and celebrity culture has fueled a market for collectible death masks, offering a niche avenue for enthusiasts to own a piece of famous individuals' postmortem legacy.
- KING HENRY IV OF FRANCE, DIED 1610. Most death masks are cast as soon as possible, before decay distorts features and makes applying plaster a slippery proposition.
- OLIVER CROMWELL, DIED 1658. When Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, died on September 3, 1658, the trappings of monarchy that he had rejected in life were showered upon him in death.
- PETER THE GREAT, DIED 1725. After Peter the Great of Russia died on February 8, 1725, his wife and successor Empress Catherine I ordered court sculptor Carlo Bartolomeo Rastrelli to make a death mask and molds of his hands and feet.
- JEAN-PAUL MARAT, DIED 1793. Jean-Paul Marat, doctor, journalist, and radical firebrand of the French Revolution, was plagued with a chronic skin disease so severe that by the end of his life he spent most of his time in a bath, warm towels draped over his painful scabs and lesions.
May 9, 2024 · Death masks are wax or plaster casts made of a person’s face after death. The McComas Collection (1955-2013), in the McDaniel College Archives, contains life and death masks of 66 famous and infamous persons, as well as other paper manuscript materials relating to the collection.
Oct 31, 2017 · The death mask of a notorious Victorian murderer, Benjamin Courvoisier, hanged in 1840 (and witnessed by a crowd of 40,000 including Charles Dickens), was recently found in an outbuilding on a...
