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

William Cartwright (1611-1643)
Dramatist and poet William Cartwright wrote in the long shadow of dramatist Ben Jonson, who in turn wrote in the all-encompasing shade of William Shakespeare.

As a royalist, the writer flourished during the reigns of James I and Charles I. In 1636, Cartwright's The Royal Slave was even performed by students in front of the King and Queen. It is said that King Charles was so taken with the play that he seven years later dressed in mourning clothes upon hearing of Cartwright's death.

Like most Hollywood films, Cartwright's plays were, "far-fetched in plot, and stilted and artificial in treatment." I therefore imagine that The Lady Errant and The Siege, or Love's Convert were met with some amount of popular success.

Though Cartwright is best remembered for his dramas, the writer was also an adamant churchman, being the most 'florid and seraphical preacher' at Oxford's Christ Church. In fact, shortly before his death from 'camp disease' at the age of 32, Cartwright was selected junior proctor of Oxford University.

(note)
William Cartwright and Ben Jonson were also great athletes during the 1980s (Cartwright as the Chicago Bull's master of rebounding and Jonson as Canada's steroid injected sprinter).