Weird History Famous Poisoning Deaths  

Notable Famous Deaths
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The list of famous people who died of poisoning includes all the notable people who met their end at the hands of a poison. Death due to poison could not be detected in earlier ages and so was the most popular method used to kill people, resulting in many famous poisoning cases. Only in the recent past, has the cause of death by poison been detectable through autopsy.

What famous people were poisoned to death? Did you know, in the previous centuries, most poison victims died of arsenic poisoning? These famous poisonings are the stuff of legends and have happened throughout history. From cyanide poisonings to other methods, here is a list of all famous people who were poisoned and killed. This list includes all famous poisoning victims and can be sorted by any column.

Alan Turing is listed (or ranked) 1 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 42 (1912-1954)

British mathematician; Apparently committed suicide by injecting an apple with cyanide and taking a bite.

 Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS was a British pioneering computer scientist, mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, philosopher, mathematical biologist, and marathon and ultra distance runner. He ...more

Adolf Hitler is listed (or ranked) 2 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 56 (1889-1945) Cyanide and gunshot simultaneously before capture Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician who was the leader of the Nazi Party. He was chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945 and Führer of Nazi Germany from 1934 to 1945. As ...more

Cleopatra is listed (or ranked) 3 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 39 (68 BC-29 BC)

Poisoned herself with an asp's bite

 Cleopatra VII Philopator, known to history simply as "Cleopatra", was the last active pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, only shortly survived by her son, Caesarion as pharaoh. Cleopatra was a ...more

Socrates is listed (or ranked) 4 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths

Greek philosopher. According to Plato, sentenced to kill himself by drinking poison hemlock

 Socrates was a classical Greek philosopher credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy. He is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of classical writers, especially ...more

Heinrich Himmler is listed (or ranked) 5 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 45 (1900-1945) Leader of the Nazi Schutzstaffel Heinrich Luitpold Himmler was Reichsführer of the Schutzstaffel, a military commander, and a leading member of the Nazi Party of Nazi Germany. Nazi leader Adolf Hitler later appointed him ...more

Hermann Göring is listed (or ranked) 6 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Hermann Göring Leader of the Nazi Luftwaffe; suicide by cyanide capsule, long after being captured and only hours before his hanging was to take place

Juan Ponce de León is listed (or ranked) 7 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Juan Ponce de León was a Spanish explorer and conquistador. He became the first Governor of Puerto Rico by appointment of the Spanish crown. He led the first European expedition to ...more

Erwin Rommel is listed (or ranked) 8 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 53 (1891-1944) German general Erwin Johannes Eugen Rommel, popularly known as the Desert Fox, was a German field marshal of World War II. He earned the respect of both his own troops and his enemies. Rommel was a highly ...more

Ibn al-Khattab is listed (or ranked) 9 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 33 (1969-2002) A Sunni Jihadi fighter, died from a poisoned letter sent by Russian FSB agency Thamir Saleh Abdullah Al-Suwailem, more commonly known as Ibn al-Khattab or Emir Khattab meaning Commander Khattab, or Leader Khattab, and also known as Habib Abdul Rahman, was a Saudi ...more

Ali ibn Abi Talib is listed (or ranked) 10 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Ali ibn Abi Talib Caliph

Demosthenes is listed (or ranked) 11 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 62 (383 BC-321 BC) Athenian politician Demosthenes was a prominent Greek statesman and orator of ancient Athens. His orations constitute a significant expression of contemporary Athenian intellectual prowess and provide an insight ...more

Love Canal is listed (or ranked) 12 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Love Canal Buried toxic waste was covered and used as a building site for housing and school in Niagara Falls, New York, resulting in claims of chronic poisoning and a massive environmental cleanup.

Alexander Litvinenko is listed (or ranked) 13 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Died at 44 (1962-2006) Russian ex-spy and investigator, died three weeks after being poisoned by radioactive polonium-210 Alexander Valterovich Litvinenko was a fugitive officer of the Russian FSB secret service. Litvinenko was arrested the following March on charges of exceeding the authority of his position. He ...more

Pope Clement VII is listed (or ranked) 14 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 56 (1478-1534) Ate the death cap mushroom Pope Clement VII, born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici, was Pope from 19 November 1523 to his death in 1534.

Eva Braun is listed (or ranked) 15 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Eva Hitler

Marshall Applewhite is listed (or ranked) 16 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 66 (1931-1997) Cult suicide Marshall Herff Applewhite, Jr., also known as "Bo" and "Do", among other names, was an American cult leader who founded what became known as the Heaven's Gate religious group ...more

Olive Thomas is listed (or ranked) 17 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 26 (1894-1920) Silent film actress, accidentally ingested a large dose of mercury bichloride Olive Thomas was an American silent film actress and model. Thomas began her career as an illustrators' model in 1914, and moved on to the Ziegfeld Follies the following year. During her time as ...more

Georgi Markov is listed (or ranked) 18 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 49 (1929-1978)

Bulgarian dissident; Assassinated in London with ricin

 Georgi Ivanov Markov was a Bulgarian dissident writer. Markov originally worked as a novelist and playwright in his native country, then governed by a communist regime under chairman Todor ...more

Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor is listed (or ranked) 19 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 55 (1685-1740) Ate poisonous mushrooms Charles VI succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary and Croatia, and King of Serbia, Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711. He unsuccessfully ...more

Stepan Bandera is listed (or ranked) 20 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 50 (1909-1959) Poisoned by a cyanide capsule shot from a gun by KGB agents Stepan Andriyovych Bandera was a Ukrainian political activist and leader of the Ukrainian nationalist and independence movement. Bandera is a controversial historical figure honoured by the ...more

Odilo Globocnik is listed (or ranked) 21 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 41 (1904-1945) D. 1945 Odilo Lotario Globocnik or Odilo Lothar Ludwig Globocnik, also Germanized Globotschnig, nicknamed Globus was a prominent Austrian Nazi and later an SS leader. As associate of Adolf Eichmann, he ...more

Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz is listed (or ranked) 22 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz Umayyad caliph

Musa al-Kadhim is listed (or ranked) 23 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Musa al-Kadhim Dec. at 54 (745-799) Shia Imam Mûsâ ibn Ja‘far al-Kâdhim, also called Abul Hasan, Abu Abd Allah, Abu Ibrahim, and al-Kadhim, was the seventh Shiite Imam after his father Ja'far al-Sadiq. He is regarded by ...more

Constantine II, Prince of Arme... is listed (or ranked) 24 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Constantine II, Prince of Armenia D. 1129 Constantine II, also Kostandin II, was the fourth lord of Armenian Cilicia or “Lord of the Mountains”. The Chronique Rimée de la Petite Arménie of Vahram of Edessa records that he ...more

Margaret Drummond is listed (or ranked) 25 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Margaret Drummond Dec. at 26 (1475-1501) Mistress of King James IV of Scotland Margaret Drummond was a daughter of John Drummond, 1st Lord Drummond, and a mistress of King James IV of Scotland. She was a great-great-great-great-niece of the Margaret Drummond who was King ...more

Baldwin III of Jerusalem is listed (or ranked) 26 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 33 (1130-1163) D. 1162 Baldwin III was king of Jerusalem from 1143 to 1163. He was the eldest son of Melisende and Fulk of Jerusalem. He became king while still a child, and was at first overshadowed by his mother ...more

Johann Schobert is listed (or ranked) 27 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 32 (1735-1767) German composer, ate poisonous mushrooms believing them to be edible Johann Schobert was a composer and harpsichordist. His date of birth is given variously as about 1720, about 1735, or about 1740, his place of birth as Silesia, Alsace, or Nuremberg. In 1760 or ...more

Abram Slutsky is listed (or ranked) 28 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 40 (1898-1938) Head of Soviet spy service, poisoned with hydrogen cyanide by NKVD Abram Aronovich Slutsky headed the Soviet foreign intelligence service, then part of the NKVD, from May 1935 to February 1938.

Antipater the Idumaean is listed (or ranked) 29 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Antipater the Idumaean Father of Herod the Great Antipater I the Idumaean was the founder of the Herodian Dynasty and father of Herod the Great. According to Josephus, he was the son of Antipas and had formerly held that name. A native of ...more

Yamada Nagamasa is listed (or ranked) 30 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Yamada Nagamasa Dec. at 40 (1590-1630) Japanese adventurer Yamada Nagamasa was a Japanese adventurer who gained considerable influence in the Ayutthaya Kingdom at the beginning of the 17th century and became the governor of Nakhon Si Thammarat province, ...more

Drusus Julius Caesar is listed (or ranked) 31 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 35 (12 BC-23) Son of Tiberius Nero Claudius Drusus, later Drusus Julius Caesar, was the only child of Roman Emperor Tiberius and his first wife, Vipsania Agrippina. He was also a maternal cousin of the Emperor Caligula, a ...more

Romanus II is listed (or ranked) 32 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Romanus II Byzantine Emperor

The Goebbels children is listed (or ranked) 33 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
The Goebbels children Poisoned by their parents Magda and Joseph Goebbels

Roman Tsepov is listed (or ranked) 34 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Roman Tsepov Dec. at 42 (1962-2004) Russian businessman poisoned by unspecified radioactive material Roman Igorevich Tsepov was a Saint Petersburg businessman and confidant to Vladimir Putin during Putin's work at the Saint Petersburg City Administration. Born Belinson, Tsepov changed his ...more

Alfonso Jordan is listed (or ranked) 35 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Alfonso Jordan Dec. at 45 (1103-1148) D. 1148 Alfonso Jordan was the Count of Tripoli, Count of Rouergue and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne.

Constance of Normandy is listed (or ranked) 36 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Constance of Normandy Daughter of King William I of England Constance of Normandy was a daughter of William the Conqueror and Matilda of Flanders. She was a Princess of England by birth and also Duchess of Brittany through her marriage to Alan IV, Duke ...more

Blanche of Bourbon is listed (or ranked) 37 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Blanche of Bourbon First wife of King Pedro of Castile

Aratus of Sicyon is listed (or ranked) 38 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Aratus of Sicyon Dec. at 58 (270 BC-212 BC) Tyrant of Sicyon Aratus was a statesman of the ancient Greek city-state of Sicyon and a leader of the Achaean League. He deposed the Sicyonian tyrant Nicocles in 251 BC. Aratus was an advocate of Greek unity and ...more

Nestor Lakoba is listed (or ranked) 39 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Nestor Lakoba Dec. at 43 (1893-1936) Abkhaz Communist leader, was poisoned by NKVD chef Lavrenti Beria Nestor Apollonovich Lakoba was an Abkhaz Communist leader.

Robert, Count of Eu is listed (or ranked) 40 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Robert, Count of Eu D. 1387

Theodore Romzha is listed (or ranked) 41 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Theodore Romzha Dec. at 36 (1911-1947) A Bishop of the Greek Catholic Church, was poisoned in 1947 with injection of curare on the order from Nikita Khrushchev Blessed Theodore Romzha was bishop of the Ruthenian Catholic Eparchy of Mukacheve from 1944 to 1947. Assassinated by Joseph Stalin's NKVD, he was beatified as a martyr by Pope John Paul II on ...more

Alan III, Duke of Brittany is listed (or ranked) 42 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 43 (997-1040) D. 1040 Alan III of Rennes was Count of Rennes and duke of Brittany, by right of succession from 1008 to his death.

Ladislaus, King of Naples is listed (or ranked) 43 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Ladislaus, King of Naples D. 1414

Nikolai Koltsov is listed (or ranked) 44 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 68 (1872-1940) Famous Russian biologist, was poisoned by secret police NKVD Nikolai Konstantinovich Koltsov was a Russian biologist and a pioneer of modern genetics. One of his students was Nikolay Timofeeff-Ressovsky.

Peoples Temple cult-members is listed (or ranked) 45 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Peoples Temple cult-members Over 900 killed by cyanide-laced punch at Jonestown.

Bandō Mitsugorō VIII is listed (or ranked) 46 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 69 (1906-1975) Japanese kabuki actor, ate four livers of fugu fish Bandō Mitsugorō VIII was one of Japan's most revered Kabuki actors from the 1930s until his death. He was a renowned tachiyaku and katakiyaku, specializing in particular in the aragoto style. He ...more

Timoji is listed (or ranked) 47 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Timoji Hindu privateer and Portuguese ally Timoji was a Hindu privateer who served the Vijayanagara Empire and the Portuguese Empire during the first decade of the 16th century. He claimed to have been born in Goa and to have escaped the ...more

Emperor Hui of Jin China is listed (or ranked) 48 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Emperor Hui of Jin China D. 304

Louis, Count of Gravina is listed (or ranked) 49 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Louis, Count of Gravina D. 1362

Madge Oberholtzer is listed (or ranked) 50 on the list Famous Poisoning Deaths
Dec. at 29 (1896-1925) rape victim of KKK leader D. C. Stephenson, mercuric bichloride Madge Augustine Oberholtzer was an American schoolteacher who played a critical role in the demise of the second incarnation of the Ku Klux Klan. In March 1925, while working for the state of ...more