Excerpts from Bellany's recent book,
"Wiki-People Who Died At Age 32"

Since 2006, Bellany has scoured Wikipedia for people who died at his exact age. When he was 32, he found 117 figures - some obscure and others notable, who had died at that tender age. In addition to writing up a short biography for each 'character', Bellany created original black and white portraits using illustrations he uncovered on image searches.

"Being the same age as each person I researched (when they died), I naturally felt a strong personal connection to their stories. I compared our accomplishments, social situations, and the eras in which we lived. It was a new way of looking at both history and myself. Now that I have moved on to age 33, I find myself contemplating the strange fact that I have lived longer than Bruce Lee, King Richard III and Alexander the Great. It definitely motivates me to work harder and make a difference."

↓more

・Bruce Lee

・Buzz Sawyer

・Davey Allison

・Dick Turpin

・Eadred of England

・Elizabeth Siddal

・Galeazzo Maria Sforza

・Glen Kidston

・Hernan Gaviria

・Jedediah 'Strong' Smith

・Joseph I

・Keith Godchaux

・Lya De Putti

・Mike Lockwood

・Ota Benga

・Ottavio Bottecchia

・Proof

・Regnier De Graaf

・Steve Chiasson

・Thomas Ashe

・Vladimir of Novgorod

・William Cartwright

・Wyndham Hallswelle

back to INDEX

Wiki-People Who Died At Age 32

Jedediah 'Strong' Smith (1799-1831)
Like Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick and "Liver Eating" Johnson, Jedediah "Strong" Smith was a great American "mountain man."

Smith was the first white man to reach California overland. He was also the first to cross the states of Nevada and Utah, scale the Sierra Nevada range, and travel up the west coast from San Diego to what is now Washington State.

Though first and foremost an explorer, Smith was also a skilled hunter, trapper and fur trader. As an extremely religious man, it is said that no matter where he went he always carried a bible and a gun. Jedediah was easily identified by his scarred face, which was the product of an encounter with a grizzly bear (before suddenly running off, the bear had ripped open Smith's side, broken his ribs, and half-consumed his face).

His problems, however, were not limited to wildlife. Smith ran into trouble with the Mexican authorities and was twice expelled from California despite having a valid U.S. passport. Thinking he would have better luck up north, he entered Oregon only to have 15 of his 19 men slaughtered by the Umpqua natives.

"Strong" Smith finally decided to settle down in Sante Fe, where he ran a trading enterprise. One day out on the trail, he went in search of water and never came back. It is speculated that he was murdered by Comanche Indians, as his personal belongings later turned up at an 'injun' trading post. He was 32.