There are a bunch of historical figures who have gone spectacularly, with one small sub-category standing out in particular. We're talking about those who in one way or another made the macabre prophecy of when they would leave - or how they would leave - and fell in.
People of literature, music and sports who, by pure luck or irony, managed to fall into their macabre predictions. See:
Mark Twain
Mark Twain had a special relationship with Halley's Comet. According to the great writer, the comet was visible at the time of his birth in 1835, and for some reason it occurred to him that it should be perfectly connected with his death, that is, that it should again be visible on the day he would leave this vain world.
Twain felt an affinity with this unusual space phenomenon and very often joked about it. The two heavenly bodies were two "inexplicable strange beings" who "came together" and therefore "must leave together".
In the end his words worked as a macabre prediction. 76 years after its last appearance, Halley's Comet passed the earth on April 20, 1910. The next day, at his home in Connecticut, Mark Twain would die of a heart attack.
Abraham Lincoln
Although the details are somewhat murky, Abraham Lincoln reportedly had a dream of his own death just days before his assassination.
The former American President didn't just believe in dreams, he had a passion for them and this attachment is largely demonstrated by his letters to his wife, but also by his meetings with the cabinet.
According to a lawyer friend of his, Ward Hill Lamon (who was also his bodyguard and probably not so successful), Lincoln dreamed one night of a crowd approaching a corpse. When asked who the unlucky dead man was, Lincoln replied that it was himself and that he had been murdered "by an executioner." 100% in.
Bob Marley
Bob Marley grew up in St. Ann, Jamaica, with his friends claiming he had "paranormal powers" from an early age. His childhood friend, Alan "Skill" Cole, had claimed to have seen the reggae legend reading palms and telling the locals the future. But later in his later life, Marley's Rastafarian friends urged him to give up these practices, although it was generally accepted in their ranks that he was a prophet.
So, rumors have been circulating about what exactly Marley knew about his death. Some say he predicted it would happen at the age of 36 - which it did.
However, a very popular conspiracy theory has Marley murdered by the CIA. In his great song “Redemption Song”, we hear him sing “How long shall they kill our prophets. While we stand aside and look?” ("How long will they kill our prophets while we stand aside and watch?").
You remember we said he was considered a prophet. Well, conspiracy theorists believe that in his verse he was talking about himself, who would eventually be secretly assassinated by the CIA with a radioactive pair of boots given to him as a gift. OK, far fetched.
The Ultimate Warrior
Jim Hellwick, better known to those of us approaching 40 as "The Ultimate Warrior," was one of WWE's greatest wrestlers (or "Katz Giants" to those of us approaching 40).
Outside of wrestling, Hellweg made a career in the 80s and 90s of feuding with just about everyone he worked with, most notably WWE big boss Vince McMahon.
After two decades of feuding, however, the two decided to bury the hatchet and thus the Ultimate Warrior was able to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame - where he belonged anyway.
During his induction ceremony, he gave an emotionally charged speech, where he said, among other things, that "every man's heart is beating its last beat" and that "his lungs are taking their last breath". He then promised that the spirit of "The Ultimate Warrior", the character he so successfully embodied in the ring, would become immortal.
The next day, Jim Hellwick would drop dead of heart failure.
Pete Maravich
Pete Maravich aka "Pistol Pete" was one of the greatest NBA players of all time. In 1974, during an interview, he made a prediction that, unfortunately for him, was to prove prophetic.
The then 26-year-old basketball player said he wouldn't just want to play ten years in the NBA and then "die of a heart attack at 40".
And yet. Maravich retired six years after that interview due to an injury, having played exactly ten years in the NBA. Later, at the age of 40, he would die during a game of a heart attack, thus fulfilling the second and more macabre part of his "prophecy".