Famous Tuberculosis Deaths
Notable people who’ve suffered or died from tuberculosis, including many Canadians.
Throughout history, tuberculous has taken the lives of millions of people.
Here are some notable people who have suffered from, or died from, tuberculosis.
British Actress Vivien Leigh died of tuberculosis in 1967 at the age of 53
Welsh singer Tom Jones was diagnosed with tuberculosis at age 12 (credit: VMusic2016, Wikimedia Commons)
Jane Austen, English novelist (1775-1817), likely
Simón Bolívar, the liberator of Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru (1793-1830), likely
Emily Brontë, English novelist (1818-1848)
Robert Burns, Scottish poet (1759-1796)
John Calvin (Jean Cauvin), French leader of the Protestant Reformation (1509-1564), likely
Albert Camus, French philosopher and author (1913-1960)
Charles IX, King of France (1550-1574)
Anton Chekhov, Russian writer (1860-1904)
Frederic Chopin, pianist, composer (1810-1849)
Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the US (1767-1845), likely
Tom Jones, Welsh singer (1940-)
Franz Kafka, German-language writer (1883-1924)
John Keats, English poet (1795-1821)
Vivien Leigh, actress (1913-1967)
Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician (1918-2013)
Molière, French playwright (1622-1673)
George Orwell, English author (1903-1950)
Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin D Roosevelt (1884-1962)
Ringo Starr, English musician (1940-)
Henry David Thoreau, American author (1817-1862)
Notable Canadians who suffered from, or died of, tuberculosis
James Anderson, HBC chief factor and explorer (1812-1867)
William James Anderson, physician, amateur geologist, and historian (1812-1873)
Hugh Cossart Baker, businessman and politician (1818-1859)
Dina Bélanger, known as Marie Sainte-Cécile-de-Rome, Religious of Jesus and Mary, musician, author, and mystic (1897-1929)
Henry Norman Bethune, teacher, army officer, author, artist, doctor, surgeon, and inventor (1890-1939)
John Solomon Cartwright, lawyer, militia officer, author, judge, jp, businessman, politician, farmer, and architectural patron (1804-1845)
Jean-Baptiste-Marie Castanet, priest and Recollet (1766-1798)
Chief Crowfoot, a head chief of the Blackfoot Confederacy (~1830-1890)
Charles Daoust, lawyer, journalist, and politician (1825-1868)
George Mercer Dawson, geologist, author, teacher, civil servant, geographer, anthropologist, and palaeontologist (1849-1901)
Deerfoot (known as API-KAI-EES), Blackfoot Indian professional runner (c. 1864-1897)
Demasduwit (known as Shendoreth, Waunathoake, Mary March), one of the last of the Beothuks (c. 1796-1820)
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, colonizer and author (1771-1820)
Francis Collier Draper, lawyer, militia officer, and office holder (1837-1894)
Sara Jeannette Duncan, known as Garth Grafton, teacher, journalist, and author (1861-1922)
Wyatt Eaton, painter, teacher, and author (1849-1896)
(Bobbie) Eenoolooapik, Inuit hunter, traveller, guide, and trader (c. 1820-1847)
George Everitt Green, home child (1880-1895)
Arthur Farrell, hockey player and author (1877-1909)
Lucien Gagnon, farmer and Patriote (1793-1842)
Gilbert-Anselme Girouard, merchant and politician (1846-1885)
Jean-Joseph Girouard, militia officer, notary, politician, Patriote, portrait painter, and philanthropist (1794-1855)
Andrew Robertson Gordon, naval officer, businessman, civil servant, and hydrographer (1851-1893)
Anna Haining Swan, giantess (1846-1888)
Albert Hamm, fisherman and oarsman (1860-1891)
John Hearn, businessman and politician (1827-1894)
Michael James Heney, railway contractor (1864-1910)
Sarah Herbert, author, publisher, and educator (1824-1846)
Robert Edwards Holloway, educator, scientist, and photographer (1850-1904)
KUKATOSI-POKA (known as Starchild), Blood Indian and NWMP scout (c. 1860-1889)
Jeanne Lajoie, teacher and "heroine of Pembroke" (1899-1930)
William Mactavish, HBC governor and governor of Assiniboia (1815-1870)
John James Mason, accountant, militia officer, masonic administrator, publisher, editor, and politician (1842-1903)
James Bryson McLachlan, coalminer, union leader, labour radical, farmer, and journalist (1869-1937)
Michael Murphy, cooper, tavern-keeper, and Fenian leader (1826-1868)
William Bernard O’Donoghue, Louis Riel's treasurer (1843-1878)
Paskwāw, Plains Cree and chief of a band of Plains Saulteaux (c. 1828-1889)
Jerry Potts, hunter, interpreter, and scout (c. 1840-1896)
Gérard Raymond, mystic and author (1912-1932)
Samuel Ryerse (Ryerson), army officer, miller, office holder, judge, and militia officer (1752-1812)
Flora Madeline Shaw, nurse and educator (1864-1927)
Auguste Soulard, writer and lawyer (1819-1952)
Georges Vézina, Montreal Canadiens hockey player (1887-1926)
Abraham Beverley Walker, lawyer and journalist (1851-1909)
Chief Crowfoot died of tuberculosis in 1890 (credit: Alex Ross, Library and Archives Canada)
Anna Haining Swan died of tuberculosis in 1888
Georges Vézina died of tuberculosis at the age of 39 in 1926 (credit: Sidney Jack Hayward, Wikimedia Commons)
Jeanne Lajoie died of tuberculosis at the age of 31 in 1930 (credit: University of Ottawa)