List of suicides

This is a list of famous people who are known to have committed suicide. Template:Table Lists of people

Alphabetical

A

Johnny Ace, (1954), singer
Nick Adams, (1968), actor; died of drug overdose
Neil Aggett, (1982), South African worker's union leader; hanged in prison, murder is suspected by some
General Sergey Akhromeyev, (1991), Soviet military commander who led an unsuccessful coup against Mikhail Gorbachev
Salvador Allende, (1973), president of Chile whose left-wing government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet.
Louis Althusser, (1990), French philosopher
Jason Altom, (1998, PhD student
Jean Améry, (1978), Austrian writer
Fridolin Anderwert, (1880), Swiss Federal Councilor
Aman Andom, (1974), military ruler of Ethiopia; committed suicide to avoid his execution in a internal purge
Pier Angeli, (1971) (on the same day that Bella Darvi also took her own life)
Roger Angleton, (1998), brother of imprisoned Texas extortionist who admitted in his suicide note to killing his sister-in-law, socialite Doris Angleton.
Mark Antony, (30 BC), Roman politician and general
Hubert Aquin, (1977), author
Diane Arbus, (1971), art photographer
Edwin Armstrong, (1954), US inventor of FM radio; jumped from a 13th floor window believing FM was a failure (!!)
Mohammed Atta, (2001), suicide bomber

B

Mary Bacon, (1991), thoroughbred race horse jockey
Albert Ballin, (1918)
Barney Barnato, (1897), South African diamond entrepreneur, jumped overboard while his ship was south of Madeira
Isobel Barnett, (1980), British TV personality
Diana Barrymore, (1960), US actress, writer ('Too Much, Too Soon')
Uwe Barschel, (1987), German politician
Carl Barth, (1853)
Gert Bastian, (1992)
Cliff Baxter, (2002), Enron vice-chairman
Gertrude Bell, (1926), archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq"
Walter Benjamin, (1940), German cultural theorist
Pierre Bérégovoy, (1993), French politician, killed himself after serving a year as Prime Minister
Mary Kay Bergman (1999), American voice actress, shot herself.
Paul Bern, (1932), slashed his wrists after finding himself unable to consummate his marriage to Jean Harlow
Alain Bernardin, (1994), founder/owner of "Le Crazy Horse Saloon" - Paris
Ricky Berry, (1989), American NBA Basketball player (Sacramento Kings)
Bruno Bettelheim, (1990), child psychologist
Blossius of Cumae, Roman philosopher who led a failed revolt
Robert Bishop, (1991), fetish artist
Barcroft Boake, (1892), Australian poet, hanged himself from a tree
Ludwig Boltzmann, (1906), Austrian physicist
Ernest Borneman, (1995), German sexologist
Francesco Borromini, (1667), architect
Karin Boye, (1941), Swedish author
Charles Boyer, (1978), French actor
Jonathan Brandis, (2003), American actor
Eva Braun, (1945), mistress of Adolf Hitler
Richard Brautigan, (1984), American writer
Gaetano Bresci, (1901), Italian anarchist, assassin of King Umberto I (officially suicide, but he was found strangled)
Herman Brood, (2001), Dutch musician and painter
Oskar Brüsewitz, (1976)
Brutus, (42 BC), Roman politician, assassin of Julius Caesar
Eustace Budgell, (1737), remembered because his death was discussed in a conversation between Samuel Johnson and his friend and biographer Boswell
Bernard Buffet, (1999), French painter ('The Crucifixion')
Michael Buonauro, (2004), Web Cartoonist, Web author, "Marvelous Bob"

C

Capucine, (1990), French actress
Dora Carrington, (1932), artist
Joseph Daniel 'Danny' Casolaro, (1991), journalist
Paul Cassirer, (1926)
Gaius Cassius Longinus, (42 BC), Roman politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
Robert Stewart, Viscount Castlereagh, (1822), British politician
Cato the younger, (46 BC), Roman republican statesman
Ugo Cavallero, (1943), Italian Field Marshal
Paul Celan, (1970), Romanian poet
Valerie Chacon, (1982), wife of Bobby Chacon
Thomas Chatterton, (1770), English poet
Leslie Cheung, (2003), Hong Kong movie star and singer
Vere Gordon Childe, (1957), Australian archaeologist and historian, jumped off Govett's Leap in the Blue Mountains
Vern Christie, (1991), Australian businessman, General Manager of the Commonwealth Bank
Edwin P Christy, (1862), American entertainer, founder of the Christy Minstrels; jumped from a window
Christine Chubbuck, (1974), US newsreader, shot herself in the head on live TV after reading the news
Chung Mong-hun, (2003), Korean businessman, chairman of Hyundai Asan
Diana Churchill, (1963), UK social worker, daughter of Sir Winston Churchill
Jeremiah Clarke, (1707), composer of Trumpet Voluntary, shot himself
Charmian Clift, (1969), Australian writer, wife of George Johnston; her namesake, Cleopatra's maid Charmian also suicided
Kurt Cobain, (1994), American musician and singer (Nirvana) Some believe Cobain was murdered.
Billy Collins Jr., (1984), young boxer
Ray Combs, (1996), former host of popular American game show Family Feud
F. W. S. Craig, (1989), UK election expert
Hart Crane, (1932), American poet; born on the same date as Ernest Hemingway, another American writer who suicided
René Crevel, (1935), French painter, gassed himself
Harry Crosby, (1929), writer, publisher
Andrew Cunanan, (1997), killer of Gianni Versace and four others
Will Cuppy, (1949), American writer, humorist
Ian Curtis, (1980), English singer and songwritter (Joy Division)
Adam Czerniakow, (1942), Warsaw Ghetto leader killed himself rather than obey Nazi orders

D

Dalida, (1987), French singer
Bella Darvi, (1971), Polish-US actress (on the same day that Pier Angeli also took her own life)
Guy Debord, (1994), French philosopher, member of Situationist International
C J De Garis, (1926), Australian financier
Delphine Delamare, (1848), French woman, the basis for Flaubert's Madame Bovary
Gilles Deleuze, (1995), French philosopher
Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, (2001), young King of Nepal, committed suicide after assassinating his father, King Birendra, and other members of the royal family
Jenny Dolly, (1941), Hungarian/US entertainer, one of the Dolly Sisters
Terence Donovan, (1996), English celebrity photographer
Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado (1983), former president of Cuba
Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (1945), french novelist
Pete Duel, (1971), American actor
Isaak Dunayevsky, (1955), Soviet composer (Katyusha)
Budd Dwyer, (1987), American politician

E

George Eastman, (1932), inventor
Ronald 'Buster' Edwards, (1994), British Great Train robber and flower seller
Empedocles, (432 BC), Greek philosopher, threw himself into Mt Etna
Peg Entwistle, (1932), US actress, the first person to jump from the letter 'H' of the Hollywood sign; step-mother of Brian Keith who also committed suicide
Tom Evans, (1983), Guitarist for Badfinger

F

Richard Farnsworth, (2000), US actor, Oscar nominee
Justin Fashanu,(1998), British footballer
Rainer Werner Fassbinder, (1982), German film director
Andrea Feldman, (1972) Actor, Warhol superstar
Ed Flanders, (1995), US actor
John Gould Fletcher, (1950), Pulitzer Prize winning poet
James V Forrestal, (1949), US Secretary of the Navy who quoted Sophocles in his suicide note
Vincent Foster, (1993), Deputy White House Counsel
John Friedrich, (1991), Australian businessman and fraudster
Mike Furber, (1973), Australian singer

G

Zviad Gamsakhurdia, (1993), former president of Georgia
Romain Gary, (1980), Russian-French novelist, film director and diplomat
Michel Gauquelin, (1991), French psychologist and astrology researcher
Charlotte Perkins Gilman, (1935), American feminist and author (Herland)
Henri Giffard, (1882), French aeronautical engineer
Joseph Goebbels, (1945), German Nazi leader
Adam Lindsay Gordon, (1870), Australian poet ('Life is mostly froth and bubble')
Hermann Göring, (1946), German Nazi leader
Arshile Gorky, (1948), Armenian painter
Richard Greene, (1983), boxing referee
Robert von Greim, (1945), German Air Marshal
Anton Gustafsson, (2003), Swedish singer (Anton Maiden)
Antonio Guzmán Fernández, (1982), serving president of the Dominican Republic

H

Kenneth Halliwell, (1967), English writer, lover of Joe Orton whom he killed then killed himself
Mitch Halpern, (2000), boxing referee
Peter Ham, (1975), rock musician (Badfinger)
Lois Hamilton, (1943-1999), actress, model, author, aviatrix
Tony Hancock, (1968), British comedian
Hannibal, (182 BC), military commander
James Harden-Hickey, (1898), US eccentric who wrote a book listing 88 poisons and 51 instruments that could be used for suicide; he chose an overdose of morphine
Mary Hardy, (1985), Australian TV personality (found dead in the bath and was presumed to have suicided)
Larry James Harper, (2001), member of the Texas 7
Elizabeth Hartman, (1987), US actress who emulated a character in her film 'The Group' who jumped from a window
Donny Hathaway, (1979), singer, best known for his duets with Roberta Flack
Felix Hausdorff, (1942), mathematician. He committed suicide with his wife and sister-in-law in the concentration camp.
Benjamin Haydon, (1846), British painter
Jeanne Hébuterne (1898-1920), painter, partner of Modigliani
Ernest Hemingway, (1961), American novelist
Margaux Hemingway, (1996), American actress and model; Ernest's granddaughter
James Leo Herlihy, (1993), US novelist ('Midnight Cowboy')
Heinrich Himmler, (1945), German SS leader
Adolf Hitler, (1945), Nazi Germany's leader
Abbie Hoffman, (1989), US political activist and political demonstrator
Doug Hopkins, (1993), musician, founding member of rock group The Gin Blossoms. Killed himself with a .38 pistol December 5
Elmyr de Hory, (1976), Hungarian art forger
Hong Xiuquan, (1864), Chinese leader of the Taiping Rebellion
Michael Hutchence, (1997), Australian lead singer of rock group INXS

Phyllis Hyman, (1995), singer

I

William Inge, (1973), US playwright (Picnic, Come Back, Little Sheba, Bus Stop, Splendor in the Grass)
Isocrates, (338 BC), Greek rhetorician

J

Randall Jarrell (1965), US writer and poet
Rick Jason, (2000), US actor best known in 'Combat'
Jiang Qing, (1991), 3rd wife of Mao Zedong, leader of the Gang of Four
Jim Jones, (1978), reverend, leader of the "People's Temple" cult. Died during mass suicide that cost the lives of more than 500 in Guyana.
Nafisa Joseph, (2004), Miss India 1997, killed herself four weeks before being married.
Judas Iscariot, (1st century), according to the Bible, betrayed Jesus

K

Frida Kahlo, (1954), Mexican painter
Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, (1918), Cossack leader during the Russian Civil War
Sarah Kane, (1999), British playwright
Kostas Karyotakis, (1928), Greek poet, shot himself
Terry Kath, (1978), guitarist, Chicago (died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound)
Brian Keith, (1997), American actor (Family Affair)
Dr. David Kelly, (2003), British scientist, source of BBC story about the September Dossier
Heinrich von Kleist, (1811), German dramatist and poet
Jochen Klepper, (1942)
Hans von Kluge, (1944), German Field Marshal
Fletcher Knebel, (1993), US novelist ('Seven Days in May')
William F. Knowland, (1974), former Senate Majority Leader, self inflicted gun shot
Arthur Koestler, (1983), Hungarian novelist, political activist and social philosopher; suicided with his wife
Hannelore Kohl, (2001), wife of ex-chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl
Nestor Kombot-Naguemon 2004 diplomat and politician from the Central African Republic, jumped out of a window in Paris while serving as ambassador to France
Prince Fumimaro Konoe, (1945), Japanese war criminal
Jerzy Kosinski, (1991), Polish-American author
Philip Taylor Kramer, (1995), Rock musician and physicist
Ivar Kreuger, (1932), Swedish 'match-king'
Friedrich Krupp, (1902), German industrialist; suicided when his homosexuality was revealed

L

Paul Lafargue, (1911), son-in-law of Karl Marx, communist theorist and author of The Right to Be Lazy
Carole Landis, (1948), actress
Hans Langsdorff, (1939), captain of the Admiral Graf Spee
Héctor Lavoe, (1993), salsa music singer
Florence Lawrence, (1938), Hollywood's first movie Star
Katherine Lawrence, (2004), writer
Lee Kyung Hae, (2003), South Korean activist
Victoria Lee, (1888), daughter of Emma Lee French
Primo Levi, (1987), Italian author and Auschwitz survivor
Meriwether Lewis, (1809), US explorer with Clark; died in mysterious circumstances, either murder or suicide
Vachel Lindsay, (1931), US poet
Peter Llewellyn-Davies, (1960), UK publisher who as a boy was the inspiration for J M Barrie's Peter Pan
Jack London, (1916), US novelist (his doctor believed he had commited suicide by overdose of morphine and atropine, but his widow prevailed on a more senior doctor to ascribe the death to uremia, and had the body quickly cremated before an autopsy could be done)
Malcolm Lowry, (1957), British writer
Gherasim Luca, (1994), Romanian surrealist
Lucan, (65), Roman poet
Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov, (1918), Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist

M

Kid McCoy, (1940), world champion boxer (real name: Norman Shelby)
Billy MacKenzie, (1996), lead singer of 1980s pop group The Associates
Magnentius, (353), Roman usurper
Jan Masaryk, (1948), Czech politician and statesman who either jumped, fell, or was pushed out a window
Denis Matthews, (1988), UK pianist
Robert Maxwell, (1991), Czech-born UK newspaper magnate who jumped overboard in the Atlantic leaving a financial disaster in his wake
Vladimir Mayakovsky, (1930), Russian poet; his suicide note said 'I don't recommend it for others'
Joe Meek (1967), Record producer
Niklaus Meienberg, (1993), Swiss author
Kitty Melrose, (1912), English actress
Joseph Merrick, (1890), UK celebrity known as the Elephant Man; suicided by allowing his massive head to obstruct his windpipe
General Ioannis Metaxas, (1940), Greek military leader and dictator 1936-41
Charlotte Mew, (1928), English poet
Noel Mewton-Wood, (1953), Australian pianist; drank prussic acid
James Miller, fan man, (2003), parachutist
Walter M. Miller, Jr., (1996), science-fiction writer
Freddie Mills, (1965), world champion boxer
Yukio Mishima, (1970), Japanese novelist; committed public ritual seppuku
Walther Model, (1945), German Field Marshal
Moses Taiwa Molelekwa, (2001), South African jazz pianist
Jürgen W. Möllemann, (2003), German politician
Marilyn Monroe, (1962), American actress (some suspect foul play)
Henry de Montherlant, (1972), French writer
Donnie Moore, (1989), relief pitcher for the California Angels
Florencio Morales Ramos, 1989, Ramito, trova singer
Ted Moult, (1986), British television personality
Renate Müller, (1937), German actress
David Munrow, (1976), UK early music specialist, founder of the Early Music Consort

N

Oscar Nedbal, (1930), Czech composer ('The Tale of the Simply Johnny'); jumped out a window on Christmas Eve
Gérard de Nerval, (1855), French writer
Frank Nitti, (1943), US gangster, who shot himself rather than go to jail

O

Luis Ocaña, (1994), Spanish cyclist, Tour de France winner
Phil Ochs, (1976), American singer
Hugh O'Connor, (1995), actor
Johnny O'Keefe, (1978), Australian rock legend known as The Wild One; drug overdose
Dazai Osamu, (1948), Japanese novelist

P

Jan Palach, (1969), protesting Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring
Billy Papke, (1936), world champion boxer
Violeta Parra (1967), famous Chilean folk singer
Jules Pascin, (1930), French-American painter
John Patrick, (1995), US playwright and screenwriter; placed a plastic bag over his head
Cesare Pavese, (1950), Italian poet, novelist
Petronius Arbiter, (66), Roman satirist; opened his own veins
H. Beam Piper, (1964), American science fiction writer
Sylvia Plath, (1963), American poetess, author and essayist
Dana Plato, (1999), American actress
Stevie Plunder, (1995), Australian guitarist, The Whitlams
Jan Potocki, (1815), Polish aristocrat, traveler, writer; shot himself with a silver bullet
Felix Powell, (1942), UK song writer best known for 'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile', once described as 'the most optimistic song ever written'
Lucien Anatole Prevost-Paradol (1870), French journalist and diplomat
George R. Price American population geneticist.
Carlos Prío Socarrás, (1977), former president of Cuba.
Boris Pugo, (1991), serving minister of the Interior of the USSR

Q

Richard Quine, (1989), US film director
Robert Quine, (2004), guitar player of Richard Hell and the Voidoids

R

David Rappaport, (1990), actor
Geli Raubal, (1931), niece and possibly lover of Adolf Hitler; officially suicided but may have been murdered
George Reeves, (1959), US actor, played Superman on television
Carlos Roberto Reina, (2003), former president of Honduras
Erwin Rommel, (1944), German Field Marshal
Iris von Roten-Meyer, (1990), artist and jurist
Mark Rothko, (1970), Russian-American painter
Ruan Lingyu, (1935), Chinese actress
Irv Rubin, (2002), leader of the Jewish Defense League
Jakub Jan Ryba, (1815), Czech composer and teacher
Akutagawa Ryunosuke, (1927), Japanese novelist

S

Gen Alexander Samsonov, (1914), Russian military commander
George Sanders, (1972), English actor
Alberto Santos-Dumont, (1932), aviation pioneer
Savannah, (1994), pornographic actress
Romy Schneider, (1982), Austrian actress (officially cardiac arrest, but may have been self-induced)
Margie Schoedinger, (2003), Filed lawsuit against George W. Bush claiming she had been raped
William Seabrook (1886-1945), adventurer, travel writer
Jean Seberg, (1979), American actress
Seneca the Younger, (65), was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor Nero
Anne Sexton, (1974), American poet
Del Shannon, (1990), American singer
Harold Shipman, (2004), British doctor, serial killer
Elizabeth Siddal, (1862), Pre-Raphaelite icon
The Singing Nun, (1985), Belgian singer
Walter Slezak, (1983), US actor
John Hanning Speke, (1864), UK explorer of Africa
Sir Bernard Spilsbury, (1947), UK leading forensic pathologist; his evidence helped convict Dr. Crippen; gassed himself in an oven
Serge Stavisky, (1934), Russian-French swindler
Gary Stewart, (2003), country singer
Rory Storm, (1972), singer of the Hurricanes (the band Ringo Starr was in before he joined the Beatles), in a pact with his mother
David Strickland, (1999), actor
Screaming Lord Sutch, (1999), UK eccentric singer

T

Tawfik Abu al-Huda Baja, (1956), former prime minister of Jordan
Sara Teasdale, (1933), American poet
Pyotr Tchaikovsky, (1893), Russian composer (possible suicide)
Count Paul Teleki, (1941), Hungarian statesman
Ric Throssell, (1999), Australian diplomat, writer
Georg Tintner, (1999), Austrian-born conductor active in Canada and Australia; jumped 11 stories when he was no longer able to conduct due to illness
Ernst Toller, (1939), German writer
Wolfe Tone, (1798), Irish independence leader
John Kennedy Toole, (1969), American novelist
Marina Tsvetaeva, (1941), Russian poetess and writer
Kurt Tucholsky, (1935), German journalist and satirist
Alan Turing, (1954), British mathematician and computer scientist
Randy Turpin, (1966), British world champion boxer

U

Ernst Udet, (1941), German air ace and Luftwaffe inspector general
Gen Ushijima, (1945), Japanese military commander who lost the Battle of Okinawa

V

Amy Vanderbilt, (1974), etiquette writer
Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke, (1941), American film director
Peter Van Eyck, (1969), Dutch-UK film actor
Vincent van Gogh, (1890), Dutch painter
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, (1954), President of Brazil. Killed himself during impeachment trial.
Lupe Vélez, (1944), actress
Baroness Maria Vetsera, (1889), mistress of Crown Prince Rudolph - see Mayerling
Sid Vicious, (1979) bass player of the Sex Pistols, not long after killing his girlfriend
Hervé Villechaize, (1993), French actor

W

Stephen Ward, (1963), UK physician who was caught up in the Profumo affair
Peter Warlock, (1930), UK composer (also known as Philip Heseltine)
Doodles Weaver, (1983), US comedian, member of Spike Jones' City Slickers
Otto Weininger, (1903), Austrian philosopher
Ernst Weiß, (1940), German author
George Weldon, (1963), UK conductor, died in South Africa
Fred West, (1995), husband of convicted British killer Rosemary West. Hanged himself in prison whilst awaiting trial on the same crimes.
James Whale, (1957), UK film director
Paul Williams, (1973), singer (Temptations)
Rozz Williams, (1998), Musician, "Christian Death"
Wendy O. Williams, (1998), musician, The Plasmatics
Greg Wilton, (2000), the only Australian Federal politician who has ever successfully attempted suicide
Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, (1939), Polish author, novelist, painter, philosopher
Wally Wood, (1981), cartoonist
Virginia Woolf, (1941), British novelist

Y

Sergei Yesenin, (1925), poet, husband of Isadora Duncan
Haile Yimenu, (1991), former prime minister of Ethiopia
Gig Young, (1978), US actor

Z

Bernd Alois Zimmermann, (1970)
Mahmoud Zuabi, (2000), Syrian prime minister shot himself on May 21, two months after resigning over corruption charges
Stefan and Lotte Zweig, (1942), Austrian novelist and his wife

Monarchs

Shang Zhou, (1046 BC), the last king of the Shang Dynasty of China
Ying Fu Su, (210 BC), brother of Ying Huhai, forced to commit suicide by a fake decree
Ying Huhai, (207 BC), the second emperor of Qin dynasty
Cleopatra VII of Egypt, (30 BC), last Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt
Nero, (68), emperor of Rome (under duress)
Otho, (69), Roman emperor
Boudicca, (1st century), Celtic chieftainess
Decebal, (106), Dacian king
Clodius Albinus, (197), Roman emperor
Gordian I, (238), Roman emperor
Quintillus, (270), Roman emperor
Maximian, (310), Roman emperor
Eugenius, (394), Roman emperor
Chongzhen, (1644), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China
Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, (2001), young King of Nepal, committed suicide after assassinating his father, King Birendra, and other members of the royal family

By Seppuku

Oda Nobunaga, (1582)
Akou-Roushi (47 ronins), (1703)
Yoshida Shoin, (1859)
Takechi Hanpeita, (1865)
Saigo Takamori, (1876), Japanese politician
General Nogi, (1912)
Kimitake Hiraoka, better known as Yukio Mishima, (1970)

Known afterwards

Eric Harris, (1999), Columbine High shooter
Dylan Klebold, (1999), Columbine High shooter
Elizabeth Shin, (2000), MIT student