▲

So often it seems genius is coupled with illness, tragedy, and premature death. Whether it was delusion, betrayal, struggles with mental health, or having ideas simply too radical for their time, some of the most influential minds in history just couldn’t catch a break!

Read on to find out some of the worst ways the minds of these geniuses and leaders got them into trouble.

▲

Arguably the single greatest military mind in history, Alexander the Great was the king of Macedonia, and spent most of his reign expanding his empire and conquering various places in West Asia and North Africa. He was also a notoriously paranoid megalomaniac.

▲

Alexander the Great believed from a young age that he was a direct descendant of Zeus himself. He also did not handle criticism well. After drinking a bit too much wine at a victory feast, Alexander started to quarrel with his best friend and advisor Cleitus the Black, who had questioned some recent military decisions. Alexander responded by throwing a javelin through Cleitus’ heart.

▲

Ludwig van Beethoven, considered by many to be the greatest classical composer of all time, suffered from many physical afflictions, most notably total deafness as well as Paget’s disease of the bone. According to some modern psychologists, it’s very likely that this genius also suffered from bipolar disorder.

▲

Beethoven was known to write music at a maddening pace during manic episodes that would last for days, sometimes not sleeping and refusing to eat, and worrying his friends. After these bursts of creativity, the composer would sink into long bouts of depression, and not write a single note for weeks.

▲

Vincent Van Gogh, the iconic Post-Impressionist painter, sadly did not have his talent recognized until he had already passed away. He led a destitute life in France, suffered from severe depression, and barely sold any paintings during his lifetime.

▲

Many modern psychiatrists and physicians have doled out posthumous diagnoses over the years. Most doctors agree that the artist suffered from bipolar disorder, and others have suggested anxiety disorders and schizophrenia as other likely ailments.

▲

The former prime minister of the United Kingdom, eternally famous for his role in World War II, also dealt with his own personal troubles while the world was at war.

▲

Churchill was prone to severe, extended bouts of depression, which he referred to as his “black dog.” He drank heavily throughout his life to deal with his low feelings, and made a point of staying away from high ledges, worrying that “a second’s action would end everything.”

▲

Ernest Hemingway, the brilliant novelist behind classics such as 'The Old Man and the Sea' and 'A Farewell to Arms,' famously struggled with depression and alcoholism throughout his life. A poor relationship with his family and driving ambulances during World War I certainly took their toll on his mental health.

▲

Towards the end of his life, Hemingway had started to become paranoid, and seemed convinced he was being monitored by the FBI. He began to isolate himself as his health deteriorated, and eventually shot himself at the age of 61.

▲

A significant voice in the early feminist movement and one the most important authors of all time, Virginia Woolf had a long family history of mental maladies. Her grandfather and half-sister were both hidden away in asylums.

▲

Woolf herself would also be institutionalized numerous times throughout her life. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder and having repeatedly attempted to end her own life, she would continue to suffer her whole life through an age in which there was very little support available for people struggling with mental health problems.

▲

The "Father of Evolution," Charles Darwin was known to suffer from a great many physical conditions throughout his life, including chronic stomach aches and heart palpitations. He also showed numerous symptoms of a severe anxiety disorder and very likely had frequent panic attacks.

▲

Despite these obstacles, Darwin still managed to lead a full and incomprehensibly meaningful life, traveling all around the world and introducing one of the most important scientific theories of all time.

▲

Known for developing the Pythagorean theorem, Pythagoras had some other ideas and theories that were a bit more outlandish. Apart from being a revolutionary mathematician, Pythagoras also dabbled in cult leadership.

▲

The group, referred to as Pythagoreans, worshiped the number 10 and even had a prayer devoted to it. They also believed that Pythagoras was a demi-god, born of either Hermes or Apollo. One of Pythagoras’s more outlandish beliefs was that it was wrong to eat fava beans, because they contained the souls of the dead. He would eventually give up his life protecting a field of fava beans.

▲

While now considered one of the greatest and most important thinkers in history, Socrates was not always so widely beloved, nor did he always have it easy. Socrates was hated by many during his own lifetime, mostly due to his nonconformist beliefs that were harshly frowned upon in ancient Greece.

▲

Socrates was also known to hear a voice in his head on a regular basis, that he referred to as his “deamon.” While this voice didn’t lead the famous philosopher towards any violent tendencies, it did give him advice from time to time. Socrates himself said this companion warned him against being a politician.

▲

Considered by many to be the greatest English writer in history, Charles Dickens, like many great writers, battled depression for his entire life. It was said that he went through long periods of insomnia whenever he started a new novel.

▲

To deal with his sleeplessness, Dickens would wander aimlessly around London, once covering 30 miles (48 km) in a single night. On the bright side, it’s been reported that his spirits would lift bit by bit as he made more and more progress on his stories.

▲

Hannibal was one of the greatest generals and military strategists of Hellenistic history. He is most famous for traversing the Alps with an army of elephants.

▲

The Carthaginian general, wildly successful for the first part of his career, eventually fell from grace after failing to capture Rome. After years of evading capture and essentially exiling himself, Hannibal took his own life by drinking poison he had kept in a capsule hidden on his ring.

▲

Seneca the Younger, born 4 BCE, was not only an influential Stoic philosopher, but was also a chief advisor of notoriously cruel Roman emperor Nero. Following his philosophy, Seneca tried to influence Nero in a positive manner, but to no avail. Eventually, Seneca was tangled up in a plan to overthrow the emperor.

▲

When Nero found out about this betrayal, he sentenced many former allies to exile, and even more to execution. Nero sent soldiers to Seneca’s home outside Rome and instructed him to kill himself for his betrayal. Seneca, like a true stoic, carried out these orders calmly and quietly, without much fuss.

▲

Paul Lafargue, a famous political activist and Marxist thinker, was born in Cuba and spent most of his life in France. Known for his organization efforts and for penning the anti-labor manifesto 'The Right to Be Lazy,' brought his own life to a sudden and dramatic end.

▲

In 1911, at the age of 69, LaFargue and his wife Laura injected themselves with cyanide and left a note claiming that this had been the plan for years. In the note, LaFargue said he had never planned on living past 70, and preferred to go before his body started to fail him. He had also written nine years earlier that he would take his life as soon as his money started to run out.

▲

Abbie Hoffman, the legendary political activist, comedian, and member of the Chicago Seven, battled depression and bipolar disorder for most of his life. His clinical ailments, compounded with his dismay regarding the state of the world, led Hoffman to an early death at the age of 52.

▲

On April 12, 1989, Hoffman was found dead in his home after taking a lethal dose of barbiturate drugs. Those close to him speculated that he was unable to face the beginnings of old age without seeing the change in the world that he had always dreamed of and fought for.

▲

Gilles Deleuze, the prolific French philosopher, was revered and respected by many throughout his life. Michel Foucault called him “the only philosophical mind in France.” The ideas he put forth in books such as 'Anti-Oedipus' have influenced thinkers since the 1950s.

▲

While Deleuze lived for 70 years, he battled respiratory problems since childhood, and had a lung removed in 1968 due to tuberculosis. By the 1990s, simple everyday tasks proved unbearably taxing, and in 1995 the philosopher threw himself out of his apartment window.

Sources: (Ancient World Magazine) (Listverse) (The New York Times) (Biography)