Suicide is, unfortunately, something common in humans since ancient times. All kinds of characters have gone through this ordeal: from kings and queens to artists and writers.
The common denominator in most cases is depression and emotional instability, psychological problems that, in the past, did not enjoy the same treatments as today.
Let’s see some of the historical figures who ended their lives in this tragic way
Below, you will find a list of 7 characters in history who took their own lives (and the circumstances under which this occurred).
1. Cleopatra VII (69 – 30 BC)
It is probably one of the most famous suicides in history, but also in fiction. The life and death of the queen of Egypt has given rise to numerous novels, films and plays, in which she is invariably portrayed haughtily and serenely placing the asp on her chest.
Cleopatra VII was the last queen of an independent Egypt, since, after her defeat at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, the country became a province of the Roman Empire. The queen and her then-husband, Mark Antony, succumbed to the troops of Octavian Augustus Faced with such shame, Cleopatra and her husband decide to end her life. Him, stabbing himself; her, through the poison of an Egyptian cobra.
The story is so fictional that many historians have questioned it. The only sources we have are those of ancient authors such as Strabo and Plutarch and, as is well known, the chroniclers did not always reflect the truth in their writings. Thus, some scholars suggest the possibility that Cleopatra was, in fact, murdered.
2. Mariano José de Larra (1809-1837)
Larra was the great chronicler of romantic Spain, the one who reflected the Spanish character and society like no one else in his journalistic articles, full of irony not exempt from bitterness. Larra dreamed of a better future for his country, and the reality, the sad reality, plunged him into a despair that grew as he realized that the situation was not going to change.
The 27 years that the writer spent in the world allowed him to witness several coups d’état and regime changes , which were the leitmotiv of that Spain at the beginning of the 19th century. Profoundly enlightened (he was educated in liberal France), Larra was horrified by the rancid customs and deception that still prevailed in Spain.
His impossible relationship with Dolores Armijo, a married woman, did not help his state of mind, although what some authors maintain that his suicide was for love is not true. Whoever claims this is based on the fact that Dolores left Larra the same day he committed suicide. This new misfortune probably accelerated his decision, but the truth is that, for some months now, Larra’s writings had exuded a deep pain that did not bode well.
On the night of February 13, 1837, the writer took a pistol and shot himself in the temple. His little daughter Adela found his body bathed in blood.
3. Francesco Borromini (1599-1667)
Unfortunately, Francesco Castelli, Borromini’s real name, has gone down in history more for his eternal rivalry with Gian Lorenzo Bernini than for his creative genius. Partly because of this disregard of his contemporaries, partly also because of his chronic depression, the fact is that, on the morning of August 2, 1667, the artist threw himself on the edge of his sword.
Borromini had a changeable character, and his emotional imbalances became more acute with age A true visionary, his Roman works, such as the famous San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, are a feat of imagination, which many have wanted to see superior in ingenuity to the pure classicism of his rival. The originality of his work did not prevent Bernini from becoming the favorite of the popes, which caused the unstable Borromini to suffer serious depression that culminated in a fatal outcome.
4. Sylvia Plath (1932-1963)
Considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, Sylvia Plath’s poetry is one of the best examples of so-called confessional poetry, in which the poet recounts her most intimate experiences and emotions. Her capital work, the novel The bell jarpublished a month before her suicide, tells the story of a young woman who suffers from serious mental disorders, which is why it is usually considered a semi-autobiographical work.
Poetic expression was probably an important escape valve for the unstable Sylvia , who always displayed an emotionally unbalanced character. In fact, the poet had a clinical diagnosis of depression for almost her entire life, for which she was treated, by the way, with aggressive electroshock therapy.
The continuous infidelities of her husband, Ted Hughes, did not help her emotional stability; nor the abortion she suffered in 1961. Finally, in February 1963, sick and immersed in a precarious situation, she Plath put her head in the gas oven. She was 30 years old.
5. Vincent Van Gogh
In May 1889, after a conflictive coexistence with Gauguin in Arlès, where they had gone to paint the Mediterranean light, Van Gogh voluntarily confined himself to the Saint-Remy sanatorium. The news that his brother Theo sends him about him is encouraging: he has sold his painting The red vines and the critics of the newspaper Mercure de France praise it. A year later, apparently recovered, Van Gogh leaves the sanatorium and ends up in the small town of Auvers-sur-Oise.
In summary, we can say that, During the months before his supposed suicide, Van Gogh was going through one of his best times Why, then, did she shoot herself?
In June 1890, Vincent received a letter from his brother informing him that he was experiencing certain difficulties, both financial and physical. This news saddened the painter and seems to have plunged him back into a certain melancholy, as can be seen from his writings. On July 27, Vincent, who was painting in the fields of Auvers, returned to the hostel with a gunshot wound to the stomach.
Van Gogh died in the early morning of July 29, accompanied by his faithful brother Theo, who had arrived from Paris. Although the artist’s death has always been considered a suicide, some questions have recently been raised : Is a shot in the stomach the way a suicide would choose to kill himself? Wouldn’t a headshot have been more plausible? The possibility that Van Gogh’s death was accidental has been considered; It seems that some little boys were near him that July day, playing with a firearm. Did they accidentally shoot him and he omitted the fact so that they would not suffer reprisals? The questions remain open.
At midnight on April 29, 1945, Adolf Hitler married Eva Braun in an intimate ceremony. The next day, he dictated his will to his secretary. On April 30, faced with the news of the inevitable defeat of the Reich, both committed suicide: she took a cyanide pill and he shot himself. According to some witnesses, upon entering the private office they found the lifeless bodies on the sofa. Blood dripped from Hitler’s right temple and the room gave off an intense aroma of bitter almonds, the characteristic smell of cyanide.
After the official news of the dictator’s death, some versions circulated, mainly generated by the Soviet Union, which said that the Führer had not died and his whereabouts were unknown. However, everything indicates that Hitler did indeed meet his death on April 30. In accordance with his last will, his body and that of his wife were taken to the garden of the Reich Chancellery and doused with gasoline. Shortly after the Führer’s death, Germany surrendered and World War II finally ended after almost six years of conflict.
7. Mark Rothko (1903-1970)
On the morning of February 25, 1970, the painter’s assistant found his body in his New York studio. The absence of a suicide note and the theatricality of the disposition of the corpse have caused rivers of ink to flow about the artist’s true intention. Rothko had taken an overdose of barbiturates, but he had also cut his forearms, so he was lying in an immense pool of blood, which many have compared to his famous paintings of red stains. **A last “work of art” before dying? **
The painter had insisted many times that the work of art was linked to death. During the last years of his life, his canvases became increasingly darker and more sombre. One of his wives, Edith Sachar, described his creative process as a “tormented act…”. Perhaps Rothko (by the way, a victim of emotional disturbances and depression), wanted with his death to give away his last artistic creation. A certainly risky way to create.
