Died Circa 455BC
According to Valerius Maximus, Aeschylus, the eldest of the three great Athenian tragedians, was killed by a tortoise dropped by an eagle that had mistaken his bald head for a rock suitable for shattering the shell of the reptile.
Pliny, in his Naturalis Historiæ, adds that Aeschylus had been staying outdoors to avert a prophecy that he would be killed by a falling object

Died 258BC
The deacon Saint Lawrence was roasted alive on a giant grill during the persecution of Valerian. Prudentius tells that he joked with his tormentors, "Turn me over—I'm done on this side". He is now the patron saint of cooks, chefs and comedians

Died 5 May 2018
Driving home from a wedding, Prabhu Bhatara idled the car on the roadside to relieve himself in the woods. From a squatting position he spied an INJURED bear--but instead of calling the authorities to help the bear, he opted to get a #selfie with the distressed animal.
Meanwhile, instead of intervening, the passengers in his car pulled out their mobiles and filmed the carnage...

As he neared the bear, the passengers advised him against his plan. Mr. Bhatara, however, was determined to fulfill his selfie mission. Once he was within reaching distance, though, the bear was not as injured as it seemed (or it was just having a bad hair day) and lunged forward, pinning Mr. Bhatara to the ground, "killing him on the spot," according to Forest ranger Dhanurjaya Mohapatra.

Then, perhaps disgusted at this epic display of homo-sapien apathy, a stray dog joined the fray in an attempt to save the man, and tried to fight off the bear! The bear, however, seemed to believe that the world had one too many selfie-seeking humans and finished off poor Mr. Bhatara.

According to media reports, once the body was retrieved, forest officials treated the bear for its injuries. The dog, although probably still disgusted, was unharmed.

Died 30 November 1016
Edmund Ironside, King of England in 1016, was allegedly stabbed whilst on a toilet, by an assassin hiding underneath.

Died 26 August 1346
John of Bohemia, after being blind for 10 years, died in the Battle of Crecy when—at his command—his companions tied their horses' reins to his own and charged. He was slaughtered in the ensuing fight

Died 21 October 1556
The influential Italian author and libertine Pietro Aretino is said to have died of suffocation from laughing too much at an obscene joke during a meal in Venice. Another version states that he fell from a chair from too much laughter, fracturing his skull.

Died 1667
James Betts died from asphyxiation after being sealed in a cupboard by Elizabeth Spencer, at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge in an attempt to hide him from her father, John Spencer.

Died 22 March 1687
Jean-Baptiste Lully, the French composer, died of a gangrenous abscess after accidentally piercing his foot with a staff while he was vigorously conducting a Te Deum. It was customary at that time to conduct by banging a staff on the floor. He refused to have his leg amputated so he could still dance

Died March 1809
After seeing a circus performer do a knife-swallowing trick, Seaman John Cummings began actually swallowing knives. On the first of three occasions, he swallowed 4 knives and quickly passed 3 with no ill-health. On the second occasion, he swallowed 14 knives and after a few days with abdominal pain he passed all of them. On the third occasion, he swallowed 20 knives and a case, but after a few days he had only passed the case. After around four years of pain, he died. On autopsy, a knife blade and spring were found in his intestines, and between 30 to 40 fragments of metal, wood, and horn were found in his stomach

Died 17 June 1871
Clement Vallandigham, a lawyer and Ohio politician defending a man accused of murder, accidentally shot himself to death while demonstrating how the victim might have accidentally done so. His client was cleared.

Died 1924
Thornton Jones, a lawyer in Bangor, Wales, woke up to find that he had his throat slit. Motioning for a paper and pencil, he wrote, "I dreamt that I had done it. I awoke to find it true," and died 80 minutes later. He had done it himself while unconscious. An inquest at Bangor delivered a verdict of "suicide while temporarily insane".

Died 15 April 1982
Michael Scaglione died after smashing his golf club against a golf cart. The head broke off and impaled him in the throat, severing his jugular vein.

Died 1983
Jimmy Ferrozzo, a bouncer at the Condor Club in San Francisco, died while engaging in sexual intercourse with his girlfriend, Theresa Hill, on a grand piano that was lowered from the ceiling by a hydraulic motor. He accidentally activated the lifting mechanism which pinned him against the ceiling leading to his suffocation. Hill survived the accident

João Maria de Souza, 45, was crushed in his bed by a cow falling through the roof of his home in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, in Southeast Brazil. It had climbed on top of the house from a steep hillside behind it. Both it and de Souza's wife (who was in the bed next to him) were unharmed.

Died 1988
A poodle named Cachy, in Caballito, Buenos Aires, fell from 13 floors and fatally hit 75-year-old Marta Espina, killing both instantly. In the course of the events, 46-year-old Edith Sola, who came to see the incident, was fatally hit by a bus. An unidentified man, who witnessed her death, had a heart attack and also died on his way to the hospital