10 Famous People From Past That Died In Embarrassing Ways

#1 Frederick Barbarossa, German Emperor

Famed military commander Barbarossa died in 1190 while on Crusade, but not at all in a heroic way. Rather than scale a mountain that was in the way of his army, Barbarossa jumped into the Calycadmus River to show his men that they could just swim across. He was wrong. Barbarossa drowned within moments of jumping in the water. The Third Crusade eventually ended in disaster for the Europeans.

#2 Allan Pinkerton, Detective

The creator of the famous Pinkerton Detective Agency, Allan Pinkerton, died in a most undignified manner. He stumbled and bit his tongue. Gangrene set in, and the infection killed him a few weeks later. This photo shows Pinkerton (far left) standing with President Abraham Lincoln and Major General McClernand.

#3 Adolf Frederick, King Of Sweden

Adolf Frederick died in 1771 after eating far, far too much. His lavish meal triggered a stroke, and the king perished unexpectedly.

#4 Jack Daniel, Whiskey Mogul

Jack Daniel made his name famous by distilling whiskey. Luckily, not many people know the embarrassing way in which he died. Jack got frustrated one morning and kicked his safe. The resulting wound became infected, and Jack's foot was amputated. It wasn't enough. The infection spread, and he lost a leg. Jack Daniel died of gangrene complications in 1911.

#5 Harry Houdini, Magician

Harry Houdini was the world's most famous magician in 1926. He was in his dressing room preparing for a show when two University students came by to see him. One of them hit Houdini in the stomach several times very hard. Houdini was known for boasting that he could withstand punches to the abdomen. It was true; he could do this. However, he needed time to brace himself for the impact and the student did not allow him to do so. Houdini went on with his show that night, but suffered extreme pain. He performed another show two days later, still agonized, and died on Halloween of a ruptured appendix.

#6 Tennessee Williams, Playwright

The colorful writer behind "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Glass Menagerie" choked to death on a bottle cap. It was a small cap used to cover eye medicine. It's theorized that Tennessee Williams put the cap in his mouth to hold it while he was using the medicine. The cap fell in, and so it goes. Drugs may have affected his ability to spit out the cap.

#7 Sir Francis Bacon, Scholar

Francis Bacon famously attended the court of Queen Elizabeth I and contributed a great deal to the British government of the day. He died experimenting on a chicken in the snow in 1626. Bacon figured that a chicken could be preserved if it was stuffed with snow. He became ill from standing in the snow to conduct the experiment, which did not work, and died.

#8 Aeschylus, Greek Philosopher

Aeschylus was famous for writing tragedies in ancient Greece, but he'll always be remembered for how he died around the year 455 B.C. According to legend, the bald man was killed when an eagle thought his head was a rock and dropped a tortoise on it.

#9 Jimi Hendrix And John Bonham, Musicians

Jimi Hendrix is regarded by many as one of the finest guitar players ever to live. His career was bright and still at its peak in 1970, when Hendrix tragically died at age 27. He drank too much and took too many drugs, and died choking on his own vomit.

A decade later, Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham started a long day of drinking with 16 shots of vodka. He eventually fell asleep, and was found dead the next morning. The coroner concluded he had vomited and asphyxiated.

#10 Draco, Greek Legislator

Draco was famous in his own time for his strict code of laws. The term "draconian law" comes from this ancient Greek. However, he was loved by many Grecians. So much so that after one stirring speech in the seventh century B.C., the people threw their hats and coats on stage to honor him. Draco suffocated to death under all the adoration, literally.