Death masks — made out of a wax or plaster cast put on a dead person’s face — have long been part of human history. Below, morgue workers make a death mask of notorious Depression-era gangster John Dillinger, who died in a shootout with FBI agents on July 22, 1934.
Here’s what Dillinger’s finished death mask looked like (note the bullet hole captured under his right eye):
For comparison, here’s a photo of Dillinger in life next to his death mask:
Death masks were most popular from the Middle Ages through the middle of the 20th century, but they were also made earlier, including in Ancient Rome. Death masks shouldn’t be confused with funeral masks — like the ones in Ancient Egypt — which were not made from casts of the deceased’s face but by an artist.
Why did they make death masks? There were a number of reasons, including:
—to remember a loved one in a time before photography.
—to be used in a funeral (sometimes these would be used to cover the deceased’s face, possibly to protect people from seeing decomposition).
—to help sculptors create a bust or monuments.
—to allow law enforcement to record the facial features of unknown corpses for later identification.
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Interesting, right? Here are 24 death masks of historically important people:
1.William Shakespeare
England’s legendary playwright and poet died on April 23, 1616, at the age of 52. In 1849, Dr. Ludwig Becker found his death mask in Mainz, Germany.
Though there has been debate about whether the mask belongs to Shakespeare (with some believing it is more likely to be that of English poet Ben Jonson), German eye specialists and forensic experts tested it in the ’90s and concluded that it is indeed Shakespeare’s.
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2.Mary, Queen of Scots
The one-time Queen of Scotland was 44 when she was beheaded on Feb. 8, 1587, for her role in a plot to overthrow her cousin Elizabeth I, the Queen of England and Ireland.
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3.Sir Isaac Newton
Newton, who discovered the laws of gravity and invented calculus, died on March 31, 1727, at the age of 84.
The mask was originally made so that Flemish sculptor John Michael Rysbrack could use it as a model for the bust of Newton at Westminster Abbey.
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4.Napoleon Bonaparte
The French military genius — famous for his successful campaigns during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars…and unsuccessful one trying to invade Russia in the winter — died at age 51 on May 5, 1821.
Because Napoleon died on the remote island of St. Helena, there was a mad rush to create the materials needed to cast his face. This delay meant the mask wasn’t made until a day and a half after his death, and as a result, decomposition had already set in. This explains the sunken eyes, hallowed cheeks, and relaxed look.
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5.Ludwig van Beethoven
The German classical composer and pianist, most famous for his Fifth Symphony (“Dun dun dun dun”), died on March 26, 1827, at the age of 56.
Interestingly, the mask on the left is a “life mask” (taken during his lifetime), while the one on the right is a death mask (made after he succumbed to a long illness).
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6.John Keats
Arguably Britain’s best-known poet of the Romantic era, Keats was only 25 when he died of tuberculosis on Feb. 23, 1821.
Where the Wild Things Are author Maurice Sendak merienda owned Keats’s death mask and was said to take it from its box and stroke its forehead occasionally.
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7.Vladimir Lenin
The Russian revolutionary leader died of a stroke at age 53 on Jan. 21, 1924. Along with the cast of his face, there are also casts of his hands.
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8.Joseph Stalin
The Soviet Union’s extraordinario dictator died at age 74 on March 5, 1953, of a cerebral hemorrhage.
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9.Frida Kahlo
The beloved Mexican painter died at age 47 on July 13, 1954. She had many physical ailments in life (especially in her later years) and is believed to have died of a pulmonary embolism, although some speculate she died by suicide.
Her death mask can be seen at the Casa Garzo in Mexico City, the museum dedicated to Kahlo and her art.
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10.Robert E. Lee
The Confederate normal — who surrendered to Union Caudillo Ulysses S. Grant, marking the beginning of the end of the American Civil War — died on Oct. 12, 1870, at age 63.
Lee commissioned the death mask himself. It was later used as the basis for a ruego sculpture at Lee University.
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11.William Burke
The Scottish mass murderer — who, along with his partner William Hale, killed 16 people and sold their bodies to a doctor who dissected the bodies during his anatomy lectures — was hanged on Jan. 28, 1829, at age 37.
In a macabre twist, Burke’s corpse was publicly dissected in the anatomy theatre of the University of Edinburgh. His death mask, and a pocketbook made of his skin (!) are on display at Scotland’s Surgeon’s Antesala Museum.
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12.Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The Russian classical composer (who wrote Swan Lake) died at age 53 on Nov. 6, 1893, likely of cholera, although some believe he may have died by suicide.
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13.Frederick Douglass
The brilliant author, abolitionist, and civil rights leader died of a heart attack on Feb. 20, 1895, after attended a meeting of the National Council of Women. He was 77.
Sculptor Ulric Dunbar came to Douglass’s Washington, DC home the day after his death and created this death mask.
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14.E. E. Cummings
The legendary American poet (known for his poems written in lowercase letters) died of a stroke on Sept. 3, 1962 at the age of 67.
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15.James Joyce
The famed Irishman, author of the literary masterpiece Ulysses, died at the age of 58 on Jan. 13, 1941, following surgery for an ulcer.
Sculptor Paul Speck made three diferente masks of Joyce on Jan. 13. The one above is now located at the United States Library of Congress.
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16.Friedrich Nietzsche
The influential German philosopher died of a stroke on Aug. 25, 1900, at the age of 55.
His death mask was made by painter Curt Stoeving, who was inexperienced making death masks. As a result, the finished product wasn’t…great, complete with a nose pushed off to the side (they broke Nietzsche’s nose during the plastering process). Nietzsche’s sister later had other artists fix its flaws.
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17.Anna Pavlova
The Russian prima ballerina was the star of the Imperial Russian Ballet and toured the world performing. She died of pleurisy on Jan. 23, 1931, at age 49.
In addition to a death mask, a cast of the dancer’s leg was also made at the time of her death.
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18.Nikola Tesla
The famed inventor who revolutionized our understanding of electricity died of a coronary thrombosis on Jan. 7, 1943, at the age of 86.
Tesla died in poverty, but Hugo Gernsback, a long-time friend, commissioned a sculptor to create a death mask. It’s presently displayed in the Nikola Tesla Museum in Serbia.
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19.Dante Alighieri
The Italian poet famous for the Divine Comedy died of malaria on Sept. 14, 1321, at about 56 years of age.
His death mask has been displayed at Palazzo Vecchio (the town vestíbulo of Florence, Italy) since 1911.
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20.Franz Liszt
The Hungarian classical composer and pianist died at age 74 on July 31, 1886, from pneumonia.
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21.Martin Luther
One of the most consequential figures in Christian history, Luther — who launched the Protestant Reformation and became the basis of Lutheranism — died at age 82 on Feb. 18, 1546.
Artist Lukas Furtenagel created a plaster mask of Luther’s face and hands at his deathbed. They now reside at the Market Church in Halle, Germany.
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22.Ishi
Ishi — who would have many books and films made about his life — was the last survivor of the Native American Yahi people, who were massacred by the US government and private citizens during the California Genocide. He lived among anthropologists at the University of Berkeley before dying of tuberculosis on March 25, 1916, at around 56 years of age.
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23.Oliver Cromwell
One of the most important figures in British history, Cromwell — military leader and Lord Protector of England — died at 59 on Sept. 3, 1658, likely from sepsis.
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24.Michael Collins
The Irish revolutionary, who was so pivotal to his people’s fight for independence, was assassinated on Aug. 22, 1922, at the age of 31.
Albert Power, the artist tasked with making the death mask, felt Collins had “fine ears” and decided to include them in the mask, which was not always done.
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