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

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Wiki-People Who Died At Age 32

Wyndham Hallswelle 1882-1915
London-born Wyndham Hallswelle could have walked the 400 meter final of the 1908 Olympics on his hands and knees and still have won the gold medal. Being the only runner, he could have pretty much done anything as long as he crossed the finish line.

Earlier, his chief rival in the event, a man only referred to by Wikipedia as 'Carpenter' was disqualified by judge Roscoe Badger for blocking Halswelle (this was allowed in the U.S., but not under stricter British rules). Upon this judgement, the other runners, in a show of solidarity with 'Carpenter', refused to run in the final. Thus, Halswelle to this day remains the only athlete in Olympic history to win an unchallenged 'walkover' gold medal.

It is due to this controversy that lanes were added to all Olympic 400 meter races from 1912 onward. New international sporting associations were even developed to bring uniform rules to athletic events.

Seven years after his victory, Halswelle, by then a captain in the British army, was shot dead by a sniper during the World War I Battle of Neuve Chapelle in France. He was 32. Nearly a century later, Halswelle was posthumously inducted into the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame (2003).