Popularity comes with a lot of challenges. While some personalities manage to keep a clean image without making any enemies, some of them, during their lifetime, end up making some enemies! Either driven by power hunger, money or jealousy, these enemies try to kill them. In ancient times, poison was used, while in recent times, drugs have become the common method of choice to kill, as these were easy ways to escape and avoid suspicion.
Take a look at some famous personalities who were drugged or poisoned to death.
Alan Turing
Alan Turing had ideas that helped in creating the first computers and was considered the father of theoretical computer science. His ideas also helped in winning World War II. Despite his contributions, he died as a criminal because of his homosexuality. Apparently, his mind was disturbed and he took his own life. Alan died due to cyanide poisoning in 1954. A half-eaten apple was beside the bed, and it was speculated that this was how he consumed the fatal dose.
Socrates
Socrates, who was found guilty of corrupting the youth of Athens, was sentenced to death by drinking a poison made from hemlock. He spent a day in prison. The Greek philosopher refused to take help, when his friends and followers tried to assist him in escaping. The next day he drank the poison, as per the sentence.
Cleopatra
Cleopatra, the Egyptian queen, died by suicide. It is said that she died by letting an asp bite her. However, as per the Roman-era writers, she poisoned herself with a toxic ointment or by introducing poison using a sharp implement such as a hairpin.
Marshall Applewhite
Marshall Applewhite was a founder of the California-based Heaven’s Gate cult. In 1997, he and his 38 followers committed suicide by eating apple sauce poisoned with a fatal dose of sedatives. Before committing suicide, everyone left a video statement. Their leader convinced them that their deaths would free them from their physical bodies and allow them to enter an alien spacecraft hidden behind the Hale-Bopp comet.
Eva Braun
Eva Braun died by biting and swallowing a cyanide capsule in 1945. She was a German photographer, longtime companion and briefly Adolf Hitler’s wife. Apparently, Eva married Hitler in a brief civil ceremony, and within less than 40 hours, they died by suicide in Berlin’s underground bunker. It is believed that Hitler died by gunshot to the head.
Heinrich Himmler
Heinrich Himmler, a German Nazi politician, committed suicide by taking poison after being captured by the Allies in 1945. Himmler was involved in several war crimes. While the Soviet army was fighting in Berlin, Himmler tried to avoid punishment by making a deal with Western Allies without Adolf Hitler’s knowledge. Hitler found out the same and ordered his arrest. While trying to escape, Himmler got caught and ended his life by taking cyanide poison.
Olive Thomas
In 1920, Olive Thomas died due to accidental poisoning. Apparently, the silent-film actress, who was on her second honeymoon to Paris, drank a solution from the hotel bathroom counter, which she thought would help her sleep. It is said that either she had trouble reading the product’s labelling because it was late at night or because the label was in French (as she was a native English speaker). Later, it was found that the solution she had was medicine prescribed for her husband for syphilis that contained mercury bichloride.
Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring died in 1946. The leader of the Nazi Party was sentenced to death by the International Military Tribunal at Nürnberg for his crimes as part of the Nazi regime during World War II. However, two hours before his execution, he committed suicide by taking a poison capsule that he concealed from the guards.
Juan Ponce de Leön
Juan Ponce de Leön was killed in 1521. During his second expedition to the peninsula. The Spanish explorer was wounded by an arrow during an Indian attack and died after being returned to Cuba. Apparently, the arrow was poisoned with the sap of a manchineel tree.
Ibn al-Khattab
In 2002, Samir Saleh Abdullah aka Ibn al-Khattab, a Saudi Arabian pan-Islamic jihadist, died from a poisoned letter that was sent by a Russian FSB agency.
Demosthenes
Demosthenes, the Greek statesman and orator in ancient Athens, tried to lead a revolt against Alexander the Great, the new Macedonian king, but failed in it. When Alexander’s successor, Antipater, sent people to catch Demosthenes, who swallowed poison to avoid arrest in 322 BC,
Alexander Litvinenko
In 2006, Alexander Litvinenko died in London, after being poisoned with polonium-210. Reportedly, he died after drinking tea, which was found to be laced with the deadly radioactive compound. He was a Russian security agent who investigated organized crime in Russia. He was a member of the KGB and its successor, the Federal Security Service (FSB). It was said that he was murdered by government agents acting on behalf of Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin.
Pope Clement VII
Pope Clement VII died in Rome. It is being said that the 219th pope and a member of the famous Italian Medici family, was poisoned by a death cap mushroom in 1534.
Stepan Bandera
Stepan Bandera, the Ukrainian nationalist and a Nazi collaborator, was killed by Soviet intelligence agents (KGB agents) in West Germany in 1959. Apparently, a KGB agent used a cyanide capsule from a gun to poison him.
Margaret Drummond
Margaret Drummond died of food poisoning, along with her sisters, in 1501. It is believed that the mistress of King James IV of Scotland was killed either by Scottish nobles who supported the English marriage or by English agents.
Baldwin III of Jerusalem
Baldwin III, the king of Jerusalem, died in 1163 in Beirut. It is believed that he was poisoned by pills given by his Syrian Orthodox doctor.
Abram Slutsky
Abram Slutsky died in 1938 in Russia. There are two versions of his death. As per the first version, the Soviet intelligence officer died of a heart attack. However, the second version claimed that while Slutsky was talking in a meeting, he was covered with a chloroform mask and then injected with poison into his right arm.
Yamada Nagamasa
Yamada Nagamasa was a Japanese adventurer. He died in 1630. There are several versions of his death. As per the first version, Nagamasa, who was still suffering from a wound, had a balm applied to it which was laced with poison. The poison was sent from Ayutthaya by Prasat Thong. Another version stated that his lover, a Siamese queen, eliminated her son first and then Nagamasa by poisoning them. According to the Japanese version, Nagamasa’s food was poisoned and it took a few months for him to die.
Drusus Julius Caesar
Drusus Julius Caesar, the son of Emperor Tiberius, died amid a feud with Sejanus, who was Praetorian prefect of Rome. It is said that Sejanus seduced Drusus’ wife Livilla and convinced her that he loved her. With Livilla’s help, Drusus was poisoned. His death was passed as natural causes.
Goebbels Children
Joseph Goebbels was a Nazi propaganda minister married to Magda Goebbels, who was a prominent member of the Nazi Party. The couple committed suicide after killing their 6 children as a means to escape punishment and humiliation by the Soviets. The couple arranged for an SS dentist, who injected the kids with morphine and later they were poisoned with cyanide, which causes rapid death by suffocation. Later, Joseph and Magda ended their lives by taking cyanide.
Roman Tsepov
Roman Tsepov was a Russian businessman and confidant of Vladimir Putin. After he had a cup of tea at his local FSB office, he fell ill and later died. A postmortem investigation revealed that he was poisoned by an unknown radioactive substance.
Nestor Lakoba
Abkhaz communist leader Nestor Lakoba is believed to have died under suspicious circumstances. Lakoba was poisoned by, the head of NKVD Lavrentiy Beria. NKVD is the Soviet security organization which was known for extrajudicial killings and the gulag system.
Theodore Romzha
Theodore Romzha was killed in 1947. A truck loaded with soldiers and police tried to knock the Bishop of the Greek Catholic Church and his companions who were returning from Lavki, making it look like an accident. Although the horses died, Romzha survived and his companions survived, but the soldiers tried to finish their jobs by beating them with iron bars and left them for dead. Luckily, some passersby found them and took them to the hospital. While others were discharged, Bishop was still in the hospital due to severe injuries. His condition started to improve, but the Basilian Sisters, who were nursing him, were suddenly replaced with a “trusted” nurse of the regime, who in turn poisoned him with gas and killed him.
Nikolai Koltsov
It is believed that the Russian biologist, Nikolai Koltsov died of a heart attack. But according to the biochemist Ilya Zbarsky, he was actually poisoned by the secret police of the Soviet Union- the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs.
Bandō Mitsugorō VIII
Japanese kabuki actor Bandō Mitsugorō VIII died under unusual circumstances. It is being said that the actor was poisoned after overindulgence in his favorite torafugu (tiger blowfish) liver at a restaurant in Kyoto, in 1975. Seven hours later, in his hotel room, he died from convulsions and paralysis.
Charles Francis Hall
During his expedition in 1871, Charles Francis Hall was believed to be poisoned by one of his co-commanders. It is said that the Arctic explorer complained about health problems, including gastrointestinal issues and accused members of the expedition of poisoning him. He died two weeks later. In the 1960s, his body was exhumed and tested. High levels of arsenic were found in parts of his hair and fingernails that had grown during the last two weeks of his life, confirming his suspicions.
Grigori Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin was killed by Prince Felix Yusupov and his associates by poisoning food and drink with potassium cyanide. The Russian mystic and faith healer survived the poison, but Yusupov got frantic and shot him. Despite being shot, he was able to run out into the courtyard, where Purishkevich shot him again. They later threw him into the Nevaka River, where he drowned.
Yusupov’s narration about what happened to Rusputin helped him turn into a legendary figure, sparking many theories about how Rasputin might have survived the poisoning.
Guangxu
The emperor of the Qing dynasty, Guangxu was placed under house arrest after he was removed from power. After spending a decade under house arrest, Guangxu died in 1908. Although official records stated that he died due to natural causes, it is believed that he was poisoned. In 2008, his body was examined and high levels of arsenic were found. It is still unknown as to who poisoned him.
Slobodan Praljak
In 2017, Slobodan Praljak, a former Bosnian Croat military commander, had his sentence upheld, when he appealed his 20-year prison sentence for war crimes before a United Nations tribunal in The Hague. It is then that Praljak said he wasn’t a war criminal and quickly drank something from a vial, announcing to the court that he just swallowed poison. A few hours later, he died in the hospital. Since the footage was livestreamed on the court’s website, it went viral online and became a meme. During the investigation it was found that he poisoned himself with potassium cyanide, but it was never determined how he got the toxin while being held at the UN Detention Unit.
Napoleon Bonaparte
French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte died in 1821. It is believed that he was poisoned by his British captors. Autopsy reports concluded that he died from stomach cancer, worsened by bleeding gastric ulcers, which was due to a medicine that contained a huge dose of calomel, a compound containing mercury, that was given to him a day before his death.
Matthew Perry
Matthew Perry died in 2023 due to acute effects of ketamine. The Friends actor was undergoing ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety. A criminal investigation is being conducted to figure out the source of the drugs.
Jimi Hendrix
In 1970, Jimi Hendrix collapsed at a party in London. The guitarist died due to alcohol and barbiturate overdose, and police believed there was no foul play. However, some of them suspected murder.
In 2009, James Tappy Wright, a former roadie, alleged in his book that he was murdered by his manager, Michael Jeffrey, who feared a replacement as manager and wanted to cash in on his $2 million life insurance policy and forced Hendrix to take a sleeping pill.
Dwayne Haskins
Dwayne Haskins was struck by a truck in Florida in 2022. He was under the influence of alcohol. A toxicology report also tested positive for ketamine and norketamine. The NFL quarterback’s family believed that he was drugged to blackmail and rob him.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson was found dead in his home under mysterious circumstances in 2009. The king of pop died due to a combination of drugs- propofol and anti-anxiety benzodiazepines lorazepam and midazolam- given by his personal doctor Murray, which proved to be fatal. In 2011, Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter, but was released later in 2013 for his good conduct.
Jim Morrison
In 1971, Jim Morrison was discovered dead. The official cause of the singer’s death was said to be heart failure due to a possible heroin or cocaine overdose. However, the French authorities waived an autopsy. Several conspiracy theories suggested a possible cover-up.
Sid Vicious and Nancy Spungen
Sid Vicious was charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend Nancy Spungen. However, hours after his release on bail in 1979, he was found dead in his apartment. There are a number of theories suggesting he was murdered, one of which suggests that his mother might have given him an overdose as they had a rocky past.
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was found dead under mysterious circumstances in 1973. Although the official cause of death was said to be an allergic reaction to painkiller aspirin and tranquilizer meprobramate, there were several theories that his death could have involved foul play.
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe, who is remembered as a blonde bombshell, overdosed on prescribed medication barbiturates. Although officially it was reported as suicide, there are several theories about possible murder or foul play. Some of them speculated that she might have been targeted due to her connection with powerful people.
Kurt Cobain
In 1994, Kurt Cobain was found dead at his house. It was also reported that when he shot himself, the musician was high on heroin and toxicological tests determined morphine and valium in his blood. Although it was reported that he killed himself by shooting, many were not convinced and suspected foul play due to discrepancies in evidence.
Chris Farley
Drug overdose was the cause of Chris Farley’s death. Although the official report stated his death was due to overdose of speedball (morphine and cocaine), there were several speculations suggesting the possibility of foul play.
John Belushi
John Belushi died due to a drug overdose in 1982. The speedball overdose was given to the actor by a woman named Cathy Smith, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
Anna Nicole Smith
Anna Nicole Smith was found dead in Florida’s hotel room. She died due to an accidental overdose of the chloral hydrate (combined with the prescribed drug benzodiazepines). The Playboy playmate and actress’ sister believed that she was possibly murdered.
Elvis Presley
In 1977, Elvis Presley died of a heart attack. The reason for his death was said to be cardiac arrhythmia suspected due to antihistamine, codeine, demerol, valium and several other tranquilizers. All prescribed drugs were within therapeutic range, and none of them were in overdose. The death was apparently accidental and due to the combined reaction. There have been a lot of controversies surrounding his death due to inconsistent reports and conspiracy theories suggesting he might have been murdered.
