10 Infamous Poisonings
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VOICE OVER: Rebecca Brayton
WRITTEN BY: Nancy Roberge-Renaud
What an awful way to go. For this list, we'll be looking at unfortunate historical instances in which poison played a starring role. Our list includes Ancient Greek Demosthenes, the Chicago Tylenol murders, the Jonestown massacre and more.
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re discussing 10 Infamous Poisonings. For this list, we’ll be looking at unfortunate historical instances in which poison played a starring role. There are so many of these, there are dozens we had to leave out. Which is the first one that comes to your mind? Let us know in the comments!
The use of poison can be traced to before 4500 BCE. So, its prevalence throughout history isn’t surprising. Ancient Greece was rife with political unrest, and orator/statesman/lawyer Demosthenes was a prominent figure in his time. He was essentially opposed to the expansion of the Macedonian kingdom southward by then-ruler King Philip II and spoke against the monarch. Demosthenes started an uprising (which ultimately failed) against King Philip II’s successor and son, Alexander the Great. Alexander’s successor, Antipater, wishing to prevent such unrest during his rule, sent men after Demosthenes. Rather than be captured, the orator ended his life by ingesting a plant-based poison.
Between 1932 and 1941, an arsenic ring was active in north and south Philadelphia. It was an insurance fraud scheme, taking out policies on future victims and later their “accidental” deaths. One of their tactics took advantage of the superstitious: women who consulted spiritualists to aid in their troubled marriages. The women would be provided first with ineffective remedies for their husbands, and later given an arsenic substance referred to as “la fattura.” Some knew its poisonous effects, but the less savvy were told it was a potent love potion that would “cure” their husbands. The skeptical were threatened with the “evil eye,” which some of you will recognize. The ring took the lives of anywhere between 50 to 1,000 victims.
Slobodan Praljak was a Bosnian general during the Croatian Independence and Croat-Bosniak wars, between 1991 and 1995. During this time, he committed a number of war crimes, including running a prison camp in which prisoners were regularly beaten, starved, and killed. He was indicted and surrendered to the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) in 2004. He was accused of four counts of breaching the Geneva Conventions, six counts of violating laws of war, and five counts of crimes against humanity. The trial began in 2006 and was ultimately concluded in 2017. Upon the final verdict, Praljak took a vial from his pocket, declared he was not a war criminal and drank cyanide.
338 BCE
After Persian king Artaxerxes II died, his son the III ascended to the throne and had the entire royal family murdered in order to secure his rulership. Artaxerxes III eventually led a successful campaign to invade Egypt, which remained under steady Persian rule until Alexander the Great’s conquest. As with most ancient monarchs, the story is long and complex, but eventually, court eunuch Bagoas (a trusted servant and military aid of Artaxerxes III) put in motion the plot to assassinate the ruler. The monarch’s own physician allegedly administered the poison which ultimately ended his life. Bagoas placed the prince, Arses, on the throne. Arses, aka Artaxerxes IV, attempted to poison Bagoas, only to be poisoned himself by the latter. So, poison ran in the family, apparently.
1982
In 1982, the Chicago metropolitan area saw 7 deaths related to Tylenol consumption. Tests revealed that the pills had been laced with potassium cyanide, leading to the deaths of a girl, as well as six adults. The first suspect, James William Lewis, sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson claiming to have committed the crime and demanding $1 million to cease the poisoning. He was found guilty of extortion, yet had no ties to the murders. Another man, Roger Arnold, was said to have spoken about killing using a white powder, but was also proven innocent. The case saw new light in 2009 when new evidence was supposedly found. However, there is still no proven guilty party.
“Jonestown,” or the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, was a commune established in the Guyanese jungle under the leadership of American cult leader Jim Jones. The cult’s beliefs were an odd mixture of religion and socialism. By 1978, Jim Jones himself resided in the settlement, allegedly to escape negative American media attention. After mounting pressure from outside investigations, Jones decided that revolutionary self-sacrifice was the only way to go for himself and his followers. On November 18th, 1978, Jones had the commune physician put together a concoction of 7 pharmaceutical substances, including cyanide. It was mixed into a grape-flavored fruit drink. He then instructed his followers to drink it. A total of 918 lives were lost that day, young and old.
1871
Charles Francis Hall attempted three trips to the Arctic in the mid-1800s. His first attempt saw the ship make it as far as Baffin Island before it was forced to dock. His second attempt went as far as Naujaat in Nunavut, Canada. There he shot and killed one of his crew members, and was consequently abandoned by his crew. His third attempt, known as the Polaris expedition, was ill-fated, with inter-crew rivalry and general disrespect for Hall. In the fall of 1871, Hall took ill after a cup of coffee and accused the ship’s physician of poisoning him. He died a week later. The death was deemed to be a stroke until Hall’s body was reexamined in the 1960s, and researchers found large doses of arsenic.
1916
Grigori Rasputin was a Russian mystic who in 1905 famously became close to the royal family headed by Emperor Nicholas II. He called himself a faith healer, yet some believed he was a charlatan. Rasputin and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna together attempted to maintain influence over Russia while the Emperor was off during WWI. The two were increasingly unpopular, and it was believed Rasputin threatened the future of the empire. This resulted in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin in 1916 at the hands of nobles. He was invited to the home of Prince Felix Yusupov, offered tea and cakes laced with cyanide. After consuming these and three glasses of poisoned wine, he still wasn’t dead, so they shot him until he was.
Alexei Navalny is a Russian opposition leader, activist, and attorney. The words “Russian” and “opposition” superimposed here could explain the dangers of such a position, given the general reputation of Navalny’s home country. He has been openly critical of Russian leadership, and published many incriminating documents online as well as organized protests. In 2020, while on a flight, Navalny suffered a rapid and severe illness forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. He was taken to a Russian hospital and subsequently transferred to Berlin for further treatment. The German hospital released a statement that Navalny had in fact been poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor, which affects the nervous system. He eventually recovered from the ordeal.
399 BCE
Did you know that Greek philosopher Socrates never published any writings? His students are credited with recording his words. Socrates was the grandfather of Western philosophy. Innovative thought or change wasn’t too popular in Ancient Greece, and Socrates was subject to much criticism. He was put on trial in 399 BCE, for irreverence to state religion and corruption of the youth. He was sentenced to death by self-administered poison. Some attempted to plot his escape, but the philosopher refused. Socrates was taken to a cell, in which he was given a cup of hemlock to drink. He was almost 70 years old, and according to writings, he was calm and collected upon his death.
Demosthenes
322 BCEThe use of poison can be traced to before 4500 BCE. So, its prevalence throughout history isn’t surprising. Ancient Greece was rife with political unrest, and orator/statesman/lawyer Demosthenes was a prominent figure in his time. He was essentially opposed to the expansion of the Macedonian kingdom southward by then-ruler King Philip II and spoke against the monarch. Demosthenes started an uprising (which ultimately failed) against King Philip II’s successor and son, Alexander the Great. Alexander’s successor, Antipater, wishing to prevent such unrest during his rule, sent men after Demosthenes. Rather than be captured, the orator ended his life by ingesting a plant-based poison.
The Philadelphia Poison Ring
1932-41Between 1932 and 1941, an arsenic ring was active in north and south Philadelphia. It was an insurance fraud scheme, taking out policies on future victims and later their “accidental” deaths. One of their tactics took advantage of the superstitious: women who consulted spiritualists to aid in their troubled marriages. The women would be provided first with ineffective remedies for their husbands, and later given an arsenic substance referred to as “la fattura.” Some knew its poisonous effects, but the less savvy were told it was a potent love potion that would “cure” their husbands. The skeptical were threatened with the “evil eye,” which some of you will recognize. The ring took the lives of anywhere between 50 to 1,000 victims.
Slobodan Praljak
2017Slobodan Praljak was a Bosnian general during the Croatian Independence and Croat-Bosniak wars, between 1991 and 1995. During this time, he committed a number of war crimes, including running a prison camp in which prisoners were regularly beaten, starved, and killed. He was indicted and surrendered to the ICTY (International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia) in 2004. He was accused of four counts of breaching the Geneva Conventions, six counts of violating laws of war, and five counts of crimes against humanity. The trial began in 2006 and was ultimately concluded in 2017. Upon the final verdict, Praljak took a vial from his pocket, declared he was not a war criminal and drank cyanide.
Artaxerxes III
338 BCE
After Persian king Artaxerxes II died, his son the III ascended to the throne and had the entire royal family murdered in order to secure his rulership. Artaxerxes III eventually led a successful campaign to invade Egypt, which remained under steady Persian rule until Alexander the Great’s conquest. As with most ancient monarchs, the story is long and complex, but eventually, court eunuch Bagoas (a trusted servant and military aid of Artaxerxes III) put in motion the plot to assassinate the ruler. The monarch’s own physician allegedly administered the poison which ultimately ended his life. Bagoas placed the prince, Arses, on the throne. Arses, aka Artaxerxes IV, attempted to poison Bagoas, only to be poisoned himself by the latter. So, poison ran in the family, apparently.
The Chicago Tylenol Murders
1982
In 1982, the Chicago metropolitan area saw 7 deaths related to Tylenol consumption. Tests revealed that the pills had been laced with potassium cyanide, leading to the deaths of a girl, as well as six adults. The first suspect, James William Lewis, sent a letter to Johnson & Johnson claiming to have committed the crime and demanding $1 million to cease the poisoning. He was found guilty of extortion, yet had no ties to the murders. Another man, Roger Arnold, was said to have spoken about killing using a white powder, but was also proven innocent. The case saw new light in 2009 when new evidence was supposedly found. However, there is still no proven guilty party.
The “Jonestown” Massacre
1978“Jonestown,” or the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, was a commune established in the Guyanese jungle under the leadership of American cult leader Jim Jones. The cult’s beliefs were an odd mixture of religion and socialism. By 1978, Jim Jones himself resided in the settlement, allegedly to escape negative American media attention. After mounting pressure from outside investigations, Jones decided that revolutionary self-sacrifice was the only way to go for himself and his followers. On November 18th, 1978, Jones had the commune physician put together a concoction of 7 pharmaceutical substances, including cyanide. It was mixed into a grape-flavored fruit drink. He then instructed his followers to drink it. A total of 918 lives were lost that day, young and old.
Charles Francis Hall
1871
Charles Francis Hall attempted three trips to the Arctic in the mid-1800s. His first attempt saw the ship make it as far as Baffin Island before it was forced to dock. His second attempt went as far as Naujaat in Nunavut, Canada. There he shot and killed one of his crew members, and was consequently abandoned by his crew. His third attempt, known as the Polaris expedition, was ill-fated, with inter-crew rivalry and general disrespect for Hall. In the fall of 1871, Hall took ill after a cup of coffee and accused the ship’s physician of poisoning him. He died a week later. The death was deemed to be a stroke until Hall’s body was reexamined in the 1960s, and researchers found large doses of arsenic.
Grigori Rasputin
1916
Grigori Rasputin was a Russian mystic who in 1905 famously became close to the royal family headed by Emperor Nicholas II. He called himself a faith healer, yet some believed he was a charlatan. Rasputin and Empress Alexandra Feodorovna together attempted to maintain influence over Russia while the Emperor was off during WWI. The two were increasingly unpopular, and it was believed Rasputin threatened the future of the empire. This resulted in the assassination of Grigori Rasputin in 1916 at the hands of nobles. He was invited to the home of Prince Felix Yusupov, offered tea and cakes laced with cyanide. After consuming these and three glasses of poisoned wine, he still wasn’t dead, so they shot him until he was.
Alexei Navalny
2020Alexei Navalny is a Russian opposition leader, activist, and attorney. The words “Russian” and “opposition” superimposed here could explain the dangers of such a position, given the general reputation of Navalny’s home country. He has been openly critical of Russian leadership, and published many incriminating documents online as well as organized protests. In 2020, while on a flight, Navalny suffered a rapid and severe illness forcing the plane to make an emergency landing. He was taken to a Russian hospital and subsequently transferred to Berlin for further treatment. The German hospital released a statement that Navalny had in fact been poisoned with a cholinesterase inhibitor, which affects the nervous system. He eventually recovered from the ordeal.
Socrates
399 BCE
Did you know that Greek philosopher Socrates never published any writings? His students are credited with recording his words. Socrates was the grandfather of Western philosophy. Innovative thought or change wasn’t too popular in Ancient Greece, and Socrates was subject to much criticism. He was put on trial in 399 BCE, for irreverence to state religion and corruption of the youth. He was sentenced to death by self-administered poison. Some attempted to plot his escape, but the philosopher refused. Socrates was taken to a cell, in which he was given a cup of hemlock to drink. He was almost 70 years old, and according to writings, he was calm and collected upon his death.
