Buzz
There are moments when it feels like the world is bearing down on us. In the most extreme cases, we might even believe that the universe is out to get us, throwing every challenge in our way and pushing us off the course we’ve chosen. However, the reality is that there is no cosmic vendetta or divine punishment; life is simply unpredictable, and it can be unfair. In such times, the best we can do is carry on, grit our teeth, and keep moving forward.
Yet, in rare cases, when you hear the hardships some have faced, it’s impossible not to wonder which unlucky force they've angered, or if some curse has been cast upon their family line, condemning generations to suffer. Here are ten individuals whose lives seem to have been at the mercy of a universe bent on making things difficult.
10. Lady Jane Grey (c. 1537–1544)
Have you ever been curious about who held the shortest reign in England’s royal history? The answer lies with Lady Jane Grey, who held the throne for a mere nine days, from July 10 to July 19, 1553.
At just 16 years old, Lady Jane Grey became queen after the death of the young King Edward VI. His dying wish was for her to ascend the throne, hoping she could maintain England’s Protestant faith, as opposed to his Catholic half-sister Mary, who was the rightful heir and would likely reverse Edward's religious policies.
Lady Jane was the great-granddaughter of King Henry VII, through his daughter, Mary Tudor. This made her the grandniece of King Henry VIII and the first cousin once removed of notable figures such as Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I. Despite this royal bloodline, the people of England rallied behind the direct heir, and Jane's reign ended in less than ten days.
After being overthrown, Jane was charged with high treason, along with several others. However, Queen Mary, despite her hostility, showed mercy, allowing Jane and her companions to live under house arrest rather than face execution. Shortly thereafter, Jane was involved in a rebellion against Queen Mary. Despite Mary’s offer of leniency—convert to Catholicism and be spared—Jane refused. As a result, Lady Jane Grey was executed for treason in February 1554.
9. Miltiades (d. 489 BC)
Miltiades was a prominent Athenian general, renowned for his military skill and strategic brilliance. His most famous achievement was leading the Greek forces to a stunning victory against the Persians at the Battle of Marathon. His tactics were pivotal in reshaping Greek military strategy, making him a hero in his time.
How could Miltiades’ fate be seen as unlucky? Here’s the story. After his resounding victory over the Persians, Miltiades was dispatched with a fleet of about 70 ships to subdue the regions that had sided with the Persians. Unfortunately, this campaign ended in failure. Upon his return, the public, quick to condemn, demanded his execution.
He was charged with dissent and slapped with a fine of 50 talents. Later, after suffering a leg injury, he contracted a severe gangrene infection, which eventually led to his death. Some accounts even suggest that he was imprisoned and died while incarcerated.
8. Adolphe Sax (1814-1894)
It may be inaccurate to label Adolphe Sax, the creator of the saxophone, as unlucky. In fact, one could argue the opposite. However, when you consider the sheer number of mishaps that seemed to stalk his life, it’s hard not to wonder about his run of bad luck.
At the tender age of three, Sax tumbled down a flight of stairs, leaving him bedridden for a week—possibly even comatose. He also managed to swallow and pass a needle during a time when medical intervention was far less advanced. He survived ingesting a deadly mix of white lead, copper oxide, and arsenic. And that’s not all—he fell onto a burning stove, suffering severe burns yet avoiding infection. As if that weren’t enough, he also survived a terrifying fall into river rapids at age 10, only to be discovered later, face down near a mill, but still alive.
His misfortunes didn’t stop there. After surviving an explosion from a gunpowder barrel, he narrowly escaped death once again when a massive slate tile fell from a roof and struck his head, plunging him into another coma. A life marked by relentless misfortune and smooth jazz.
7. Diego de Almagro (1475–1538)
De Almagro played a crucial role in the fall of the Incan Empire, as he and his fellow Spanish conquistadors wreaked havoc across South America. However, his life was far from lucky—he encountered numerous misfortunes.
To begin with, Almagro lost an eye after being struck by a javelin during a skirmish with a local army. He pressed on, hoping to strike it rich by finding silver and gold in Chile. However, all he encountered were mountains. His army was decimated by the perilous Andes and the Mapuche Natives, forcing him to retreat after two years of struggle.
Upon returning to Panama, he found himself embroiled in a civil war with fellow Spanish conquistadors, a conflict in which he initially held the upper hand. But when reinforcements arrived, his forces were overwhelmed. Almagro was captured and sentenced to death by garrote, a torturous iron collar that slowly chokes its victim. His head was severed and displayed publicly as a grim warning. Ouch!
6. Rosalind Franklin (1920–1958)
Rosalind Franklin tragically passed away at the age of 37, succumbing to an aggressive form of ovarian cancer. While this painful loss certainly shaped her legacy, her untimely death is not the sole reason for her place on this list.
When James Watson and Francis Crick unveiled the structure of the DNA double-helix, a groundbreaking revelation about our very genetic makeup, they overlooked a vital contributor. Rosalind Franklin's x-ray diffraction images played a key role in this discovery, yet she was never credited in their announcement.
Despite Watson and Crick winning the Nobel Prize for their work, they only gave a passing mention to Franklin’s research, calling it an inspiration. Franklin, however, never lived to share in this honor, as she passed away four years before the award was given, making her ineligible to receive it. Her legacy, marked by this unfortunate exclusion, endures.
5. Pheidippides (530–490 BC)
Imagine dreading the thought of getting up early on a weekend to run a 5K, then consider the plight of Pheidippides, the ancient runner who inspired the marathon. His challenge was far greater—literally.
Pheidippides, an Athenian runner and messenger, played a crucial role in the Greek victory by carrying messages between the armies and conflict zones. His most remarkable feat, however, was a grueling 300-mile run from Athens to Sparta to urge the Spartans to aid in the defense, only to find out their reinforcements wouldn’t make it in time.
Pheidippides' final run was a heroic 25-mile journey from the Marathon battlefield to Athens, where he collapsed and died from sheer exhaustion.
Helen Palmer Geisel (1898–1967)
The name Dr. Seuss is often associated with whimsical rhymes and stories that offer a moral compass. However, the life of his wife, Helen Palmer Geisel, tells a different story—one not filled with fairy tales, but with more somber realities.
Helen Palmer, Dr. Seuss's first wife, led a tumultuous life. Despite Dr. Seuss's infidelity, the couple stayed married until her untimely passing. There are even claims that Geisel was having an affair with his future wife while Helen, battling severe depression and suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome—a debilitating illness attacking the nervous system—endured her struggles.
Helen faced numerous challenges: polio as a child, resulting in a limp; infertility struggles; and later, cancer that required extensive treatment and radiation. To make matters worse, she suffered from partial blindness and deafness, which led to her addiction to barbiturates to manage her pain. Ultimately, Helen took her own life by overdosing on the very drugs that had been her solace.
3. Carlos II of Spain (1661–1700)
Carlos II, the last Habsburg king of Spain, was also known as Charles the Bewitched, a title reflecting the tragic nature of his life. His reign was marked by constant illness, and he lived a short and difficult life.
The Habsburg policy of keeping the royal bloodline within the family through generations of inbreeding took a devastating toll on Carlos. Physically deformed, with a large tongue that made speaking difficult, baldness at a young age, and plagued by epileptic seizures, his health was severely compromised by the family’s practice of close intermarriage.
The final years of Carlo’s life, which coincided with the last years of Habsburg rule, were marked by intense struggles over succession, as the king was unable to have children. This sparked the War of Succession and eventually led to the fragmentation of Spain's European territories.
2. Ignaz Semmelweis (1818–1865)
Imagine advocating for proper hygiene among physicians and surgeons only to be met with widespread disdain from the medical community.
Semmelweis, a gynecologist later recognized as the Father of Hygiene, discovered that puerperal fever, along with other infections, could be avoided by using hand disinfectants. Despite this revolutionary idea, he faced ridicule and rejection from the medical establishment, leading to continued unnecessary deaths in hospitals, much to his despair.
As Semmelweis struggled with depression, forgetfulness, and obsessive thoughts, his focus remained fixed on the ignored solution to a pervasive problem. Eventually, his deteriorating mental health—possibly linked to Alzheimer's, mental strain, or advanced syphilis—led him to be committed to an asylum, where he tragically died after being beaten by his caretakers. His pioneering work went unrecognized until many years later.
Alan Turing (1912–1954), a groundbreaking mathematician and computer scientist, was a visionary long before computing became mainstream. Turing's brilliant mind played a crucial role in deciphering enemy codes during World War II. Despite these monumental contributions, the era in which he lived proved hostile to his genius.
Turing was not only a brilliant mind but also a victim of the era's brutal injustices. As a man who was openly gay at a time when homosexuality was illegal, he was condemned under outdated Victorian laws. Labelled a criminal, he endured chemical castration. Despite his remarkable contributions, his brilliance was met with persecution.
Turing's life took a tragic turn as the persecution became unbearable. In the end, he took his own life by ingesting cyanide, unable to bear the weight of the cruel treatment he had endured. His untimely death stands as a stark reminder of the devastating effects of bigotry and discrimination.
In 2009, the British Government issued an apology for the wrongs done to Turing, and in 2013, he was granted a posthumous royal pardon. While these gestures may have provided some closure, they could not undo the damage caused by years of suffering in his lifetime.
