Historical Epileptics Throughout History
This is something I have always wondered about growing up - Famous Epileptics - from the past and present - What they have done, their struggles and their tragedies in life.
Many people don't realize that a large number of the greatest people in history suffered from Epilepsy. These people wrote books, created beautiful works of art and fought in wars, to mention a few. I will be updating the below to include many more past and present epileptics so check back often and follow me on social media for the latest entries.
Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
This idea recently came to mind due to one man, a 19th Century Russian author, Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, a very famous author to readers with too much time on their hands like myself, but because of him, I found one of the best authors that ever existed. A very religious Roman Catholic man who’s books such as Possessed a.k.a. Demons, Crime and Punishment, The Idiot and The Brothers Karamazov and others all have a lot to do with Christ and Christianity. There are characters in these books where he mentions Epilepsy and explains in detail what happens as only an epileptic would know. His first child Sonya, who was born on March 5th, 1868 died of pneumonia three months later. He puts her in his novels as well as his son Alyosha who also had epilepsy and died at a much too young age. Epilepsy finally got to Fyodor on February 9th, 1881 at the young age of 59.
You can learn more about the life of Fyodor Dostoevsky here.
Vincent Van Gogh
A famous artist from 1853 till 1890 was born and lived in Amsterdam where most of his artwork still remains, 200 pieces of his work in the Van Gogh Museum of his 2,100 pieces of his work that is said he had made. His colorful work and visions of his artwork came from the images he had from his seizures which I can relate to. He was a passionate man and loved his family very much as most epileptics do but Van Gogh’s epilepsy had got the best or worst of him if you can relate. He started to go slightly insane by swinging around knives at his family and friends and eventually slicing off his own ear lobe. The last few months of his life he instated himself into an insane asylum but even there and then he was able to get ahold of a gun and shot himself most likely during a seizure or maybe like some epileptics, just couldn’t take the agony and depression most likely anymore. He had died 3 days later after shooting himself in the chest. In 1956 Kirk Douglas stared in Lust for Life, a flick about a tortured artist, enough said.
Source: http://www.vangoghgallery.com
Starry Night
Edgar Allen Poe
An American author from January 19th 1809 to October 7, 1849 had a mental problem that for the most part people in his day referred to him as having an alcohol problem or drug abuse. He was a frequently confused man which could relate to his mistreatment to his epilepsy but it seems that nobody cared so much as to help him properly. His awkward writing which I’ve read I can relate to during a seizure as well.
Source: http://poestories.com
Michelangelo
March 6th 1475 to February 18th 1564 and for someone having seizures was no young man. Luckily he was alive long enough to make some of the greatest painting and sculptors ever created in many ancient Italian chapels and cathedrals. Many of these cathedrals have his sculptors on them. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel with some of the most well-known artwork such as The Creation of Adam, the Pieta’ in St. Peter’s Basilica of Jesus Christ dying in His Mother Mary’s arms and the statue of David in Florence.
Source: http://www.biography.com/people/michelangelo-9407628
Pieta