Case histories of famous people. Famous people who had sexually transmitted diseases

Celebrity illnesses in history
All people acquire diseases by adulthood, and those who do not acquire diseases are poorly diagnosed. Historical figures, including famous artists, scientists and rulers, also fell ill. The Historical Clinicopathological Conference is held annually in the United States, where professionals discuss and publish their findings. There are a great many ways to diagnose a particular disease in a person who died hundreds of years ago. We present to your attention a selection of several famous people history and their illnesses.

Leonardo da Vinci
There are no reliably known portraits of da Vinci, but scientists and historians attribute some of the great many to the artist and inventor. Christopher Tyler, a British ophthalmologist, examined two oil paintings, two portraits and two sculptures for which Leonardo may well have sat. In all six cases, the person depicted had a slight squint - the average angle of deviation was 10.3 degrees when relaxed - which was "corrected" when the artist focused on something. This, by the way, may explain the sense of depth of space that is inherent in da Vinci’s works, because, according to many scientists, strabismus is associated with good stereoscopic vision. Da Vinci himself considered the ability to determine the position of an object in three-dimensional space to be one of the most important abilities of a good artist.

Charles Darwin
The founder of the modern theory of evolution (“Darwinism”) suffered a lot during his life. In his youth he was in good health, except for indigestion in his teenage years. During his famous travels around the world, during which he collected prototypes on almost every continent of the Earth, the famous scientist constantly suffered from seasickness, was poisoned twice, suffered from fever several times and once fell victim to heatstroke.

After returning from his trip, Darwin suffered a short episode of heart palpitations, and a year and a half later he began to experience regular abdominal pain, which began three hours after eating or under severe stress. Doctors of that time gave him many diagnoses, here are just a few of them: hypochondria, excess stomach acid, gout, allergies, complications of Chilean fever, Chagas disease, neurasthenia, refractory eye abnormality, mental fatigue, schizophrenia, depressive psychoses, chronic appendicitis, ulcers, chronic cholecystitis, hepatitis, diaphragmatic hernia, narcolepsy, lead poisoning, lactose intolerance, Crohn's disease, panic disorder with agoraphobia, repressed anger towards the father, lupus and other diseases.

In 2011, modern scientists suggested that the cause of Darwin’s ailments could be the bacterium Helicobacter pylori - the same one that is now commonly tested for during FGDS. It could cause and worsen ulcers, which caused Darwin to feel pain after eating and under stress. Another diagnosis is Chagas disease, which the scientist could have contracted in Argentina from a bug bite. The symptoms of this disease are few - fever, enlarged lymph nodes, after which a chronic period begins, gradually leading to enlargement of the ventricles of the heart and, possibly, heart failure (the scientist died from problems with the cardiovascular system).

The latest diagnosis is periodic vomiting syndrome, which modern scientists have not yet been able to explain.

Francisco Goya
The famous portrait painter enjoyed strong health for most of his life. Apart from minor injuries and a short, unspecified disorder at the age of 32, the artist had no other illnesses. At the age of 46 (1792), Goya became seriously ill; doctors diagnosed him with colic, which disappeared after a couple of weeks. However, in February 1793, the illness returned and began to threaten Francisco’s life - having difficulty enduring the illness, the artist lost his hearing for the rest of his life.

It was initially assumed that Goya suffered a series of strokes, brain injuries, severe inflammation of the inner ear, or lead poisoning, but in 2017, scientists from the University of Maryland at the Historical Clinical Diagnostic Conference refuted these diagnoses and named new ones - syphilis or one of autoimmune diseases(Susak syndrome or Kogan syndrome).

Susak syndrome is a very rare disease in which the immune system attacks the brain neurons responsible for hearing, causing vision and hearing to gradually decrease. Cogan's syndrome affects the inner ear and vision, and syphilis in rare cases can also lead to hearing loss. Had Goya lived in the 21st century, his hearing could have been restored with a cochlear implant.

The heroine of "Christina's World"
The girl in the famous painting by American artist Andrew Wyeth was his neighbor and suffered from an unknown disease since childhood. As a teenager, she often stumbled and fell - a lack of coordination affected her - and by twenty-six she could no longer walk more than five steps and had poor control of her own fingers. By the age of fifty, she could no longer stand and lost sensation in her feet and hands.

One of the versions is polio, for which preventive vaccinations are given these days. Mark Patterson, a professor of neurology, pediatrics and medical genetics at the Mayo Clinic, after studying medical records and eyewitness accounts, concluded that the girl in the painting suffered from hereditary motor-sensory neuropathy, or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease. With this disease they atrophy peripheral nerves, which explains the gradual loss of the ability to walk and loss of sensation in the limbs. By the way, the woman did not live so long - at the time of her death she was 74 years old.

A recent study published in the Royal Medical Journal insists that the great Renaissance sculptor, painter and architect Michelangelo suffered from osteoarthritis, which caused him terrible pain. Such a posthumous diagnosis forces us to re-evaluate the achievements of the great master, who did not stop working on sculpture until last days life. However, Michelangelo is far from the only significant historical figure whose posthumous diagnosis told us what illnesses, unknown at that time, plagued her.

Michelangelo - arthritis

One of the greatest masters of the Renaissance, Michelangelo Buonarroti worked on works of art until his death, which befell the sculptor at the age of 88. It is amazing that in an era when the average life expectancy was much lower, the master managed not only to live to a respectable age, but also not to stop creating all this time.

What's even more surprising is that Michelangelo suffered from severe osteoarthritis, which greatly affected the artist's hands. But just as Michelangelo managed to complete the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel almost independently in a few years with an incredible effort of will, he continued to carve, write and draw even when the pain in his hands did not allow him to answer letters.

Scientists suspect that his insatiable desire to work to the detriment of his own health led to the early development of osteoarthritis. In later portraits of the master, he is depicted with a drooping left arm, which is additional evidence of the scientists' theory, as well as a poem written by the artist himself about the painting of the famous Vatican ceiling. However, it was probably the famous stubbornness of the great genius that allowed him to fight the disease until his death. We will never know what the cost of this struggle was, but Michelangelo undoubtedly emerged victorious.

Julius Caesar - epilepsy or microstrokes

Historical accounts of the great Roman general, ruler and dictator contain a wealth of evidence indicating that Caesar suffered from regular disorders. Plutarch described regular seizures, during which the commander’s body trembled and he dropped objects he was holding in his hands. Suetonius describes a similar state in which Caesar was several times during military campaigns. Both historians blame epilepsy, a condition well known to Roman medicine. At that time, it was called the “falling disease” and it was believed that epilepsy was an indicator of God’s grace.

In 2015, scientists, after re-reading the description of symptoms, which included frequent dizziness, depression, and paroxysms, suggested that Julius Caesar could have suffered from a series of transient ischemic attacks, known in the world as micro-strokes.

King George III - porphyria

George III ruled Great Britain for more than fifty years, and his royal age included such important historical events as the Seven Years' War and the American Revolution. However, throughout his life the king suffered from constant bouts of madness, which often left him weakened or even bedridden.

In the 1960s, researchers carefully examined His Majesty's medical history and found that his symptoms - muscle and stomach pain, anxiety and hallucinations - indicated that the king was suffering from porphyrin disease. Porphyria is a genetic disease that affects the composition of the blood and the nervous system.

A 2005 analysis of George III's hair revealed that the condition was greatly aggravated by high levels of arsenic in the king's body. The poison was prescribed by a doctor for a “therapeutic and prophylactic” effect.

Harriet Tubman - narcolepsy

The woman, who during her lifetime was called Moses, freed and led hundreds of southern black slaves along the underground route to the North. Fearless and free-spirited, Harriet suffered from narcolepsy, a nervous system disorder that affects sleep, from the age of thirteen.

At age 13, Harriet, a young slave, stood in the way of a white overseer, preventing him from beating a runaway slave. A two-kilogram copper weight, intended for the fugitive, instead hit the girl’s head. For many months Harriet was between life and death. When she got out of bed, she was never well again. In addition to constant seizures and headaches, Tubman suffered from narcolepsy - the woman could suddenly fall asleep and, upon waking up, resume interrupted activities.

Samuel Johnson - Tourette's Syndrome

One of the greatest English writers of the 18th century, Samuel Johnson represented one of those rare cases of Tourette's syndrome occurring throughout life. The writer's close friends noticed some "oddities" in him - tics, constant unconscious gestures and sounds - all symptoms indicating a nervous disorder. Despite the fact that Tourette syndrome is a relatively harmless disorder that does not affect life expectancy or intelligence, Johnson often faced ridicule from strangers who noticed his “oddities.”

Jane Austen - Addison's disease

In 1816, the author of the novels Emma, ​​Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion began to notice unusual, inexplicable symptoms - fatigue, back pain, fever, nausea and skin pigmentation. Jane Austen died a year later at 41. The description of the symptoms helped modern experts identify the disease from which the English writer suffered. Austin was stricken with Addison's disease, an endocrine disorder in which the adrenal glands do not produce certain hormones. The condition became known to medicine just a few years after Jane Austen's death.

The disease usually develops very slowly and causes spots on the skin, which partly explains the information from the writer’s letters. However, some experts call the symptoms too sudden and explain Austen's painful condition as tuberculosis, lymphoma, or even arsenic poisoning, which at that time girls and women often took in small doses in order to achieve aristocratic pallor.

Abraham Lincoln - depression

For most of the life of the sixteenth President of the United States, he was plagued by an inexplicable melancholy, sadness and despair, which Lincoln called “the condition” from childhood. In his youth, Lincoln had thoughts of suicide, and he tried to combat attacks of the “condition” with the help of a sense of humor.

Staying in the White House, the Civil War and the death of his youngest son only worsened the president's condition. Many of Lincoln's associates noted his deep sadness. According to a close friend of the president, no trait of Lincoln's character describes him more completely and clearly than his mysterious and constant melancholy. Lincoln's condition is still controversial among experts, but most believe that the president suffered from clinical depression.

Even kings are not immune from inflammation of the appendix or tetanus. You cannot hide from death either in the highest tower or in a golden castle. And no matter what they say, money still cannot buy health. Our rating includes stars who, like ordinary people, suffer from incurable diseases, but do not lose heart.

MICHAEL J FOX (54)

The actor was given a terrible diagnosis in 1991 - Parkinson's disease. Only seven years later he was able to admit this and tell how he was fighting for life.

CHER (69)

Eternal Cher suffers from severe form myalgic encephalomyelitis, better known as syndrome chronic fatigue . Back in 1991, she first felt unwell and is still struggling with the disease.

PRINCE (57)

Singer Prince suffered from epilepsy and in 2009 he openly spoke about this in an interview.

TONY BRAXTON (47)

This famous singer, despite her serious illness, was able to achieve world fame. The girl was diagnosed as a child lupus And Schmidt syndrome. It is known that these diseases are often fatal; her uncle died of lupus.

ALEC BALDWIN (57)

Looking at this actor, it is difficult to imagine that he suffers from one of the most terrible and difficult to diagnose diseases - this Lyme disease, or tick-borne borreliosis. This disease causes a person to experience constant fatigue, drowsiness, and problems with joints and kidneys.

KIM KARDASHIAN (34)

In one episode of the Keeping Up with the Kardashians show, Kim admitted that she suffers from eczema− a disease in which inflammation appears on the skin. Stress is believed to be the main cause of eczema.

JACK OSBOURNE (29)

The son of the famous rock musician Ozzy Osbourne is suffering chronic relapsing multiple sclerosis . This is a disease in which disturbances occur in nervous system, as a result of which all organs suffer: hearing, vision, reproduction and, of course, memory.

MORGAN FREEMAN (78)

It's hard to believe, but the actor suffers from severe pain in the muscles and bones since he was diagnosed fibromyalgia.

LIL WAYNE (32)

The famous rapper suffers from epilepsy. One day he had three attacks in a row and was hospitalized.

FRANKIE MUNIS (29)

The actor, known to us for his roles in the children's films Agent Cody Banks, Big Fat Liar and My Dog Skip, is still so young, but has already experienced four mini-strokes. And who will take their child to the casting after this?

SARAH HYLAND (24)

The actress suffered from childhood kidney disease, in 2012 she even had to undergo a transplant, then her father became the donor.

MISSY ELLIOTT (44)

The rapper suffers from a disease thyroid gland , or Graves' disease. In 2008, the girl was diagnosed with this disease, and in recent years she has been struggling with it.

HALLIE BERRY (49)

The actress was diagnosed diabetes still at 23 years old. The girl fell into a coma, and when she came out of it, she began to drive healthy image life and sports.

ANASTACE (46)

The singer suffers from Crohn's disease, and in 2003 she had a mastectomy because she was diagnosed with mammary cancer.

JULIA ROBERTS (47)

The actress suffers from thrombocytopenia− a disease in which the blood does not clot well and even a small cut can cause severe bleeding.

DAVID BECKHAM (40)

One of the most famous football players turns out to be ill asthma! This became known when he had to get an inhaler at one of the matches. Although the PR people tried to attribute it to bronchitis, David still had to reveal the truth.

BRAD PITT (51)

The actor suffers from a rare disease - prosopagnosia, in which a person does not remember faces.

DANIEL RADCLIFFE (26)

The actor admitted that he suffers from a rare disease dyspraxia. This is a disease in which a person is unable to purposefully perform movements, and such people are called clumsy.

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When you look at photographs taken by the paparazzi, in which celebrities of various sizes shine, one thought sometimes comes to mind: the life of stars is nothing other than a continuous holiday. But, of course, this is not true, because even the most successful people on our planet are ordinary people with their own problems. And health problems are no exception. For example, Oscar winner Halle Berry has been living with diabetes for almost 30 years, and beauty Khloe Kardashian was diagnosed with skin cancer. This is incredible, because people with such serious illnesses continue to create, overcoming all sorts of obstacles.

We are in website Let's tell you which celebrities faced incurable diseases, but did not give up and continued their life journey.

Halle Berry and Tom Hanks: diabetes

• Almost 30 years ago, a tragic situation occurred on the set of the mini-series “Living Dolls.” Then aspiring actress Halle Berry fell into a coma. The girl was hospitalized, and then received a disappointing diagnosis: diabetes 1st type. In one of the interviews, the actress admitted that it took her a lot of time to accept her illness, because she learned about her illness only at the age of 23.

  According to the actress, after each major event with alcohol, desserts and various dishes, a difficult recovery period awaited her. It was then that Hallie began to think about her health. She has not drunk alcohol for many years and leads a healthy lifestyle. This allows a 52-year-old woman to look 15 years younger than her age. It is worth noting that the actress first became a mother at the age of 42.

• Tom Hanks found himself in a similar situation. For more than 20 years, the actor struggled with increased level blood sugar, but the actor’s lifestyle with regular stress, lack of sleep and poor nutrition took its toll. For example, for the film “Cast Away,” Tom lost 25 kg, and for the film “A League of Their Own” he gained 14 kg.

  In October 2013, Tom Hanks admitted on David Letterman's show that he had been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Having learned about the illness, the actor decided to give up his old habits in order to please his fans with his work for as long as possible.

Pamela Anderson: Hepatitis C

The most important “Malibu lifeguard” was diagnosed with hepatitis C back in 2002. According to Pamela Anderson, she contracted this virus back in the 90s from her legal husband, when they were getting tattoos with the same needle. The actress was treated for the disease for almost 13 years. In 2015, Pamela Anderson announced that thanks to a new experimental course of treatment, she was able to get rid of the virus.

Tom Cruise: dyslexia

Tom Cruise didn't have an easy childhood. The future sex symbol of America grew up in a large family, survived his parents' divorce as a teenager, and by the age of 14 he managed to change 15 schools. But the most difficult test for Cruise was his incurable disease - dyslexia.

Due to dyslexia and its accompanying dysgraphia, he was bullied at school and considered an outcast. After all, the boy had difficulty reading syllables and practically could not write. With such a set of “skills” in every new educational institution he quickly became known as an idiot. But it was precisely this heavy burden that helped Tom Cruise discover his acting talent. Being “ignorant” in class, he transformed himself on stage in school productions.

Now, we think, Cruise has no problems reading scripts and contracts, because specially hired staff does this for the millionaire.

Angelina Jolie and Shannen Doherty: breast removal

• In the summer of 2015, Shannen Doherty filed a lawsuit against her former manager. According to the lawsuit, the manager incorrectly arranged for the actress's health insurance, which, in her opinion, prevented her from receiving timely treatment and her breast cancer had metastasized to the lymph nodes.

  For almost 4 years, Shannen has been fighting a difficult battle with cancer. To stop the progression of the disease, the actress underwent several courses of chemotherapy. radiation therapy, as well as unilateral mastectomy, which in simple words means removal of the breast. Most recently, the actress announced remission, a condition when the tumor is under control and treatable.

• A few years earlier, Angelina Jolie found herself in a similar situation. The actress's mother and aunt passed away at a relatively young age after a long illness - the so-called tumor syndrome, which is inherited. And Angelina after passing medical examinations I decided to have my mammary glands and ovaries removed.

  Jolie's genetic analysis showed an 87% chance of developing breast cancer in the future and a 51% risk of uterine cancer. The actress underwent surgery to save herself from a non-existent, but without emergency measures, an almost inevitable threat.

Michael J Fox: Parkinson's disease

Michael Jay Fox's illness became officially known back in 1998. Then the actor admitted to his colleagues that in the early 90s he was diagnosed with a neurological disease - Parkinson's disease. When the actor first went to the doctor because of a twitching little finger, he was given a disappointing verdict: a maximum of 10 years of active life.

After his confession, the star of the Back to the Future trilogy took a break from his career, focusing all his energy on treatment. During this break, Michael J. Fox wrote 3 biographical books, in which he spoke in detail about the nuances of life with Parkinson's disease, and also became the founder of a charitable foundation. Through the efforts of this organization, they managed to raise $350 million for research into this disease.

Sarah Hyland: kidney dysplasia

Modern Family star Sarah Hyland has suffered from health problems since early childhood. At the age of 9, Sarah was diagnosed with an extremely unpleasant disease - kidney dysplasia. For more than 10 years, the girl struggled with the disease, but in 2012 she had to undergo a kidney transplant, which her father donated for her.

It is worth noting that the organ transplant improved Sarah's condition, but did not cure her completely. Because of feeling unwell the girl rarely appears at public events, and fans of her heroine Haley Dunphy are increasingly noticing changes in the actress’s appearance. In his Instagram the girl openly shares with her subscribers the problems she has to face due to her illness: from critical weight loss to a constantly swollen face.

Michael Phelps: hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder

American swimmer Michael Phelps, the only 23-time Olympic champion in the history of sports, made his way to his triumph shoulder to shoulder with a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Michael developed neurobehavioral developmental disorder when he was still childhood. The main symptoms of hyperactivity are difficulty concentrating and the inability to complete what you start. In interviews, Phelps’ coach said that sometimes the swimmer forgot the way to the locker room, and their training became a living hell.

However, thanks to the efforts of the athlete and the people around him, Phelps managed to reach unimaginable heights in the world of sports. Michael Phelps is going through a difficult period right now. After finishing his sports career, the Olympic champion lost motivation in life and is now struggling with depression.

Mila Kunis: partially blind

For many years, one of the most sought-after women in modern cinema, Mila Kunis, was blind in one eye. The cause of partial blindness was iritis. Due to inflammation of the iris, the actress had difficulty seeing, her vision was blurred, and objects were blurred. The girl put off going to specialists for a long time, but in 2010, Mila had surgery with an artificial lens inserted. By the way, the actress’s blindness was kept in the strictest confidence until her vision was completely restored after the operation.

Hugh Jackman and Khloe Kardashian: skin cancer

• The youngest of the Kardashian sisters is also extremely frank with her multi-million army of fans. Proof of this is not only the family show in which the girl has been starring for more than 10 years, but also her posts on social networks. In one of her posts, Chloe said that in 2008, a malignant tumor was found on her body, which was formed from a mole. Doctors had to transplant 20 cm of skin on the celebrity’s back to save her from the threat to her life. Thanks to the efforts of specialists and constant monitoring, doctors were able to stop the course of the disease.

Daniel Radcliffe: dyspraxia

Actor Daniel Radcliffe, known throughout the world for his role as Harry Potter, admitted that since birth he has suffered from a rare and incurable disease - dyspraxia. This is a dysfunction of the brain, which manifests itself in the inability to correctly perform targeted movements or actions.

Radcliffe's illness prevents him from writing beautifully and tying his shoelaces, and as a child the actor did not succeed in a single subject at school. And the point is not at all in constant filming, but in the inability of the brain to learn. According to Daniel, dyspraxia has become main reason, for which he chose a career as an actor.

Yolanda Hadid: Lyme disease

turned out to be a secret medical report. The document states that the first in line to the throne of the British ruling family is seriously ill. Prince Charles has been suffering from incurable Alzheimer's disease for several years. And every day his health is deteriorating. For the first time, people started talking about Charles’ illness back in 2011; due to his health condition, his participation in the wedding of his eldest son could have been disrupted.

Sources close to the royal family say that due to the prince's illness, the next person to take the throne after the death of the monarch will be William, Duke of Cambridge.

This article was created not to talk about the shortcomings of stars of the first magnitude, but so that everyone who has encountered such difficulties knows: there is always a way out. And how we will live, what we will do, how society will perceive us, mainly depends only on us. Create, love and be happy regardless of everything!

History is sometimes shameful. Disgusting. Especially when it comes to diseases. Everyone has heard about the “nasties” that befell our ancestors in the past. However, not everyone knows that many historical figures suffered from these “nasties.” Strange and incomprehensible ailments, terrible and frightening ailments, frankly disgusting ailments... In ancient times, the life of celebrities was replete with difficulties and... However, judge for yourself.

Edgar Allan Poe died of rabies

On the day of the funeral it was damp and cold, so the ceremony ended in three minutes

Edgar Allan Poe died in 1849, and his death has long remained an incomprehensible mystery. He left his home in Richmond, Virginia, and disappeared. The writer was found a week later in a sewer in Baltimore: he was wearing clothes from someone else's shoulder and in a confused state. For the next four days, Poe was tormented by severe hallucinations, then he fell into madness and died. His death (and the circumstances surrounding it) were considered a complete mystery.

What killed Edgar Allan Poe? It is still unknown exactly. To answer this question, genetic testing is needed. However, in 1996, a remarkable incident occurred. Dr. R. Michael Benitez took part in a medical conference where medical practitioners were given a list of symptoms of anonymous patients and asked to make a diagnosis. The unsuspecting Benitez got Pau. The doctor took a quick look at his "anonymous patient's" file and declared his illness to be "a clear case of rabies."

In the 19th century, rabies was quite common. It is quite possible that the writer was actually bitten by a rabid animal, he did not have time to tell anyone about it and fell from a terrible illness. Of course, this version cannot be called irrefutable. For example, Poe showed no signs of hydrophobia, a common symptom of rabies. Nevertheless, this assumption is closest to the solution to the mysterious death of the famous writer and poet.

Beethoven was born with syphilis

The deaf composer conducted conversations with friends in writing, using “conversation notebooks”

An incredible, amazing fact - the legendary composer Beethoven, the author of perhaps the best music in the history of mankind, was deaf. Since the mid-1790s, he was tormented by constant ringing in his ears. By his thirtieth birthday, Beethoven had almost lost his hearing. Many of his greatest works were written after.

When talking about this, one piquant moment is often not mentioned. Several years ago, at the annual conference at the University of Maryland on historical clinical pathology, participants decided to speculate on what might have caused Beethoven's deafness. A lot of time has passed since then, so it’s difficult to say with one hundred percent certainty. However, one answer was still proposed at the conference - syphilis.

Deafness can be a symptom of syphilis, and in Beethoven's time this disease was very common. The composer's father supposedly had it, which explains how Beethoven himself became infected. Syphilis, like HIV, can be transmitted in utero from mother to baby. If Beethoven's father infected his mother, it would cause the great composer to become ill and ultimately destroy his hearing.

Tutankhamun looked like an imbecile and a “victim of incest”

He did not live to be twenty years old, the exact cause of death is unknown. Among the versions are illness, murder and complications after falling from a chariot.

Today everyone knows: incest is bad. Not only is it indecent to tumble in bed with your sister, but it can also result in the birth of a child with terrible physical and psychological problems. But in ancient Egypt they did not know about this. The rulers believed that consanguineous marriages preserved the purity of the dynasty. As a result, pharaohs were born with the appearance of imbeciles, “victims of incest.” One of them was the legendary Tutankhamun. He came from a dynasty with a long list of incestuous marriages and, by God, it showed.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Tutankhamun had protruding incisors and an overbite (deep bite), a cleft palate, a curvature of the spine (scoliosis), a deformed foot, and an extremely elongated head (dolichocephaly); as well as women's mammary glands and hips (several of Tutankhamun’s male ancestors had the same structure). In addition, he almost certainly had undetected defects in vital internal organs.

In short, this ancient Egyptian ruler did not look like a great and powerful ruler at all. He rather looked like an extra in the remake of the thriller Deliverance.

Samuel Johnson may have had Tourette's syndrome

Johnson compiled the first explanatory dictionary of the English language, which glorified the author and has not lost its value to this day

Samuel Johnson was the smartest writer of his time. Crude, vulgar and uncouth, he hung out with the master of satire Jonathan Swift, interpreted English language and rethought its possibilities. Johnson was also very strange. Contemporaries claimed that he liked to make wild “donkey” sounds in refined society. Dr. Johnson had a compulsive habit of rubbing his knee while talking, and on the street he would suddenly begin to gesticulate wildly.

Are the symptoms familiar? Quite. Although at the time Dr. Johnson's tics caused fits of wild hilarity among those around him, modern doctors diagnosed him (posthumously) with Tourette's syndrome. Patients with this disease most often shout swear words, but many sufferers simply experience muscle contractions and make involuntary sounds. Dr. Johnson was obviously one of those unfortunates. He clucked like a chicken, shook his head wildly and whistled uncontrollably. At the end of his life, the symptoms of the disease worsened so much that crowds of children ran after Johnson along the street, pointed their fingers at him and laughed.

H. P. Lovecraft's Mysterious Cold Antipathy

The founder of the Cthulhu myths, he invented non-existent ancient books and convincingly referred to them in his works. The most famous of these inventions is the Necronomicon manuscript.

Horror master Howard Phillips Lovecraft was an eccentric citizen. On the one hand, he was an anti-Semite all his life and at the same time managed to absentmindedly marry a Jewish woman. On the other hand, Lovecraft was obsessed with the threat of interspecies interbreeding; this went beyond ordinary racism and developed into a pathological fear. But perhaps the strangest thing is this: “the father of horror stories about ancient monsters” experienced an incomprehensible antipathy to the cold. As soon as the temperature dropped too much, Lovecraft fell dead in a deep swoon. The writer woke up only after warming up.

It is noteworthy that no one has yet figured out what is going on here. “Cold hostility” apparently arose in Lovecraft already in adulthood - and, as they say, out of the blue. Some associated the illness with his frequent migraines, others suspected a psychological origin. Lovecraft himself attributed these attacks to cancer, which ultimately killed the writer. In any case, the attacks caused him to develop extreme paranoia about the cold. The paranoia that seeped into some of his writings: for example, in the terrible “Cold Air”.

Darwin's life was a complete mess

Already during the voyage on the Beagle, Darwin suffered from seasickness. Perhaps this provoked subsequent ailments?

About a year after a long trip around the world on the Beagle, Charles Darwin fell ill with a strange illness that tormented the scientist until the end of his days. About three hours after eating, he began to have severe pain in his stomach, which turned into terrible nausea. A moment later, Darwin ejected the contents of his stomach in a powerful fountain, after which he completely lost his strength. At times, the disease worsened so much that the famous naturalist became practically disabled. Do you know what's the creepiest thing? The cause of the disease is unclear to this day.

Although Darwin's friends considered him a hypochondriac, modern doctors subsequently diagnosed him with cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS). The trouble is that its reasons have not yet been clarified. In our time, Darwin (if he were alive today) would have been given an accurate diagnosis, but even in 2016, doctors would hardly have been able to help the unfortunate patient. Was the illness caused by the sea voyage? God knows.

Julius Caesar had numerous strokes

The most famous ancient Roman emperor was a great politician, a talented commander, a laconic writer and a loving man

You may have heard that Julius Caesar suffered from epilepsy. This is exactly what has been believed for centuries. If you remember his symptoms - seizures with convulsions - this seems very plausible. However, a 2015 study suggests a different version. Its author highly likely suggests that Caesar suffered a series of mini-strokes.

In scientific language this is called a series of transient ischemic attacks, but the essence is still the same. The ruler of Rome may well have suffered not from the same illness as Ian Curtis and Graham Greene, but from a string of debilitating strokes. If this is true, then Caesar was lucky that he was killed when he was killed. A real stroke could make the emperor completely disabled, left at the mercy of his enemies. Such a fate is far worse than the swift, merciless blow of a dagger that ended the life of a great man.

Lenin's brain turned to stone

This disease is still incurable today.

When the fiery revolutionary Vladimir Lenin finally died, he was only fifty-three years old. His death was preceded by a series of strokes, after which he was transferred to the personal care of Stalin. No one could understand what kind of illness attacked the leader of the proletariat. At first, Russian doctors suggested mental exhaustion. Then - lead poisoning. In the end, they came up with syphilis: they say that in ancient times almost everyone suffered from this terrible “French disease”.

After Lenin's death, an autopsy was performed on his body, and only then did they discover the terrible truth. The leader's brain slowly turned to stone.

The medical name for this disease is cerebrovascular atherosclerosis. A terrible illness. Calcium deposits in Lenin's cerebral arteries ossified so much that they became almost solid. When the undertakers tapped the affected areas with tweezers, the sound was like knocking on a stone. The doctors were faced with something incomprehensible and found themselves helpless. The worst thing is that this happened not only in the twenties of the last century. Even today, a person with such a disease would hardly be able to survive Lenin.

Amenhotep probably suffered from a hormonal disorder

He was famous for his religious reforms

The Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep (from the sixth year of his reign he began to be called Akhenaten) came from the same dynasty as Tutankhamun. You remember who Tutankhamun was like, right? And do you think that there was something wrong with Akhenaten too? You think correctly. Akhenaten, like his more famous descendant, was also distinguished by an overly elongated head.

However, he also had some “personal” oddities in his appearance. In 2009, Irwin Braverman, a professor of dermatology and an expert in diagnostic imaging at Yale University School of Medicine, proposed his own theory. Amenhotep probably suffered from a hormonal disorder, which is why he had a feminine body.

In ancient drawings, Amenhotep was often depicted with wide hips, a narrow waist and feminine breasts. However, the pharaoh was a man, this has been established for certain. It turns out that the artists were wrong? Or historians? Not necessary. Incest flourished in the dynasty, and children were often born with genetic defects. Amenhotep may well have had a severe hormonal imbalance. In particular, excessive synthesis of an enzyme such as aromatase would “overfeed” the future pharaoh with estrogen from childhood.

This would explain the mystery of why someone who appears to be a man appears suspiciously feminine in the carvings. However, Amenhotep's mummy has not yet been found. Until it is discovered, we can only guess what really happened.

King Herod suffered from a most shameful illness

Herod lived to the ripe old age of seventy

During his reign, Herod the Great did a lot. For example, he built the largest artificial harbor in the Mediterranean Sea. True, today Herod is mainly remembered as the man who gave the order to kill Bethlehem children under the age of two. He wanted to destroy the baby Jesus, but did not know where to find him, so he destroyed all the children in a row. Now, by the way, many doubt that the notorious beating of babies really took place. God clearly did not heed the warning. When the time came to end Herod's earthly existence, the Lord did it through a very shameful means.

The ancient historian Josephus (he lived almost a hundred years after the death of Herod) wrote that the king was feverish - but not from rage; his whole body itched unbearably, his insides constantly ached, dropsy swollen on his feet, his stomach burned and burned, and his genitals were decomposing from gangrene.

In addition, Herod suffered from cramps of the limbs and had bad, foul breath, which caused his colors to curdle. However, the worst thing is the last five words of the above quote: the genitals were decomposing from gangrene. Herod’s “manhood” was so teeming with bacteria that it began to die while still attached to him.

Today this disease is known as Fournier's gangrene. You probably can’t think of a more painful and disgusting way to die. True, she did not kill Herod, although it became the last, very painful complication. There is speculation that the biblical king was killed by chronic kidney disease. Maybe so, but a disgusting picture has already been forever imprinted in my head: Herod’s genitals, rotting and covered in ulcers, are falling to pieces.

Yes, the life (and death) of historical figures was far from smooth sailing... I wonder what our descendants will say centuries later about the illnesses and health of today’s famous people?