Wasting Away

Today, most people only know Tuberculosis from films where a character delicately coughs up blood into a handkerchief, before peacefully passing away. However, for much of history, TB was one of the most dangerous illnesses a person could have. It was easily transmitted and significantly shortened the lifespans of those afflicted, including the following 20 people.

Vivien_Leigh_Gone_Wind2.jpg: Trailer screenshot derivative work: Wilfredor (talk) on Wikimedia

1. Molière

In the 17th century, Molière made French the global language it is today. Regarded as one of the greatest playwrights and poets of all time, Molière frequently starred in his own material. While playing a hypochondriac in his final work, The Imaginary Invalid, Molière collapsed during a performance, continued the play, then passed away after the final curtain, aged 51.

Pyb on Wikimedia

2. John Keats

Today, John Keats is regarded as one of the greatest poets of the English language. However, he received little recognition in his lifetime and his work was only in print for a handful of years before he lost his life aged 25. Writing to his great love, Keats lamented "I have left no immortal work behind me."

William Hilton on Wikimedia

3. Shanawdithit

Largely unknown today, Shanawdithit was the last living member of the Beothuk people of Newfoundland, Canada. Like other Indigenous groups, the Beothuk were greatly impacted by old world infections and encroaching settler colonies. Shanawdithit lost her battle with TB at the age of 28, but her contributions to a documenting a largely unknown culture gave her people a voice long after they were gone. 

William Gosse more likely Philip Henry Gosse on Wikimedia

4. Simón Bolívar

The namesake of Bolivia, Simón Bolívar was also known as the Liberator of America. Thanks to Bolívar's leadership, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Panama, and Bolivia all threw off the yoke of Spanish colonial leadership. Bolívar served as the first president of Colombia shortly before his unfortunate passing aged 47.

Luis Enrique Toro Moreno (1897-1933) on Wikimedia

5. James Monroe

Founding Father and fifth president of the United States, James Monroe was unique as far as tuberculosis patients go. Generally ranked as an above average president, Monroe was the last president to wear the typical colonial garb of a powdered wig, tricorne hat, and knee-breeches; Monroe was also the last president never to be photographed. Most notable of all, Monroe lived to the ripe old age of 73.

Bureau of Engraving and Printing & Smithsonian Institution on Wikimedia

6. The Brontë Siblings

Of the six total Brontë siblings—Maria, Elizabeth, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne—all but two would succumb to TB. Maria and Elizabeth caught the disease at school and perished soon thereafter, then only brother, Branwell, passed at the age of 31. Emily fell sick at her brother's funeral, and youngest sister, Anne, followed within a matter of months.

Branwell Brontë on Wikimedia

7. Frédéric Chopin

Polish piano prodigy Frédéric Chopin was in poor health for most of his life. Chopin elevated and revolutionized piano music, establishing new genres and deepening others, most inspired by Polish folk music. In between composing over 230 works, largely for solo piano Chopin consulted between 14 to 30 doctors on the matter of his precarious health, ultimately passing away at 39.

Louis-Auguste Bisson on Wikimedia

8. Dred Scott

Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man who unsuccessfully sued for his family's freedom in 1846. The landmark case lasted 11 years and resulted in the controversial decision that enslaved people were not US citizens. While Scott and his family were manumitted in 1857, Scott unfortunately perished due to TB a few months later.

Uncredited on Wikimedia

9. Henry David Thoreau

A leading transcendentalist, naturalist, and abolitionist, Henry David Thoreau wished to "live deep and suck out all the marrow of life". Thoreau's writing on civil disobedience influenced Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Thoroeau lived with TB for nearly 30 years, passing away aged 44.

Benjamin D. Maxham active 1848 - 1858 on Wikimedia

10. Doc Holliday

American gambler and gunfighter John "Doc" Holliday was best known for his participation in the legendary gunfight at the O.K. Corral. Holliday contracted tuberculosis while tending to his ailing mother; the infection eventually led him to go west for dry air. Holliday survived the iconic shootout along with a subsequent warrant for his arrest, passing away aged 36.

Deadstar on Wikimedia

11. Thérèse Of Lisieux

St. Thérèse of Lisieux was one of the greatest saints of modern times. Thérèse knew she was destined for the church from a young age, joining the Carmelite nuns of Lisieux as a teenager. Thérèse's health had been delicate since infancy, and she saw tuberculosis as an important part of her spiritual journey, eventually claiming her life at the age of 24.

Céline Martin on Wikimedia

12. Stephen Crane

The author of The Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane wrote naturalistic and unflinching portraits of American life. Crane's life and achievements were cut short by tuberculosis at the age of 28. Nearly forgotten for two decades after, Crane was a major influence on Ernest Hemingway.

unattributed on Wikimedia

13. Anton Chekhov

One of the greatest writers of all time, Russian playwright Anton Chekov helped introduce modernism into theatre. Chekhov initially began writing to support his medical profession, but soon his ambition and literary talent blossomed. Chekhov lived nearly 20 years with tuberculosis, passing away aged 44.

Osip Braz on Wikimedia

14. Paul Laurence Dunbar

Born to formerly enslaved parents, Paul Laurence Dunbar was the first African-American poet to break into the mainstream. Dunbar was one of the first Black writers to cross the color line, writing about white society in addition to poems and music using dialect. Dunbar lost his life to tuberculosis aged 33.

Baker, photographer on Wikimedia

15. Gavrilo Princip

The man who kickstarted WWI, Bosnian Gavrilo Princip mortally wounded the Austro-Hungarian archduke Franz Ferdinand. Because Princip was was 19, he was spared capital punishment and instead sentenced to 20 years imprisonment. The poor prison conditions led to Princip losing an arm and devloping TB, passing at the age of 23.

socolorization on Wikimedia

16. Katherine Mansfield

Born into a prominent New Zealand family, Katherine Mansfield was a celebrated writer of the modernist movement. Mansfield's work explored anxiety, existentialism, and female sexuality alongside a developing national identity. She perished from tuberculosis aged 34.

Original: UnknownUnknown Derivative work: Carnby on Wikimedia

17. Franz Kafka

Known for the surreal bureaucracy of The Metamorphosis and The Trial, Czech Jewish writer Franz Kafka was a key figure in the Interwar literary scene. Kafka is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, though he was relatively unknown during his lifetime. Kafka asked that his complete works be destroyed following his passing at age 40—thank goodness they weren't!

Unknown authorUnknown author on Wikimedia

18. George Orwell

Another allegorical writer who shaped the 20th century, George Orwell wrote Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Orwell spent several part of 1938 undergoing medical treatmeant for tuberculosis, and was so terrified of infecting his young son that he rarely showed affection to him. The smoggy air likely exacerbated Orwell's illness; he lost his life aged 46.

BBC on Wikimedia

19. Eleanor Roosevelt

Called "the First Lady of the World" for her human rights activism, Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving American first lady. Roosevelt's indomitable spirit and intelligence helped redefine the role from a largely ceremonial one to an active player in the government. Roosevelt's civil rights activism lasted until her passing at the age of 78.

Unknown authorUnknown author or not provided on Wikimedia

20. Vivien Leigh

One of few performers to win Best Actress twice, Vivien Leigh was one of the greatest movie stars of all time. Although best known for her roles in Gone with the Wind and A Streetcar Named Desire, Leigh was considered herself more of a stage performer. In addition to tuberculosis—which cut her life short at 53— Leigh also struggled with bipolar disorder.

Fawcett Publications on Wikimedia