Forever Young: People Who Died in Their Mid-Twenties

John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865)

Pro-Slavery and Confederate Sympathizer

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On April 14, 1865, the 26-year-old John Wilkes Booth, an American stage actor, was able to enter President Abraham Lincoln’s unguarded box at Ford’s Theatre in Washington D.C. and shoot him in the head. Booth then fled to a farm in Virginia, where he was discovered and shot 12 days later. Four of his fellow conspirators were later hanged.

Manfred von Richthofen (May 2, 1892 – April 21, 1918)

German Fighter Ace

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Also known as the “Red Baron” and still very much regarded today as the “Ace of Aces,” Manfred von Richthofen led a crack team of airmen called “Richthofen’s Flying Circus” and shot down a record of 80 Allied aircrafts during World War I. He finally met his own death at age 25 when he was shot down himself towards the end of the War.

Hans Scholl (September 22, 1918 – February 22, 1943)

German founder of the White Rose Anti-Nazi Movement

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Hans Scholl, his sister Sophie, Christoph Probst, Alexander Schmorell and a number of other University of Munich students, who co-wrote six political leaflets calling for passive resistance against the Nazis, were caught distributing the sixth leaflet by a university caretaker who reported them to the Gestapo. They were all soon arrested, found guilty of treason and condemned to death by guillotine. Hans, Sophie, Christoph and Alexander were only 24, 21, 23 and 25 years old respectively.

Robert Gould Shaw (October 10, 1837 – July 18, 1863)

American Colonel

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Robert Gould Shaw is best remembered in history as the colonel in command of the all-black 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry during the American Civil War. On July 18, 1863, at the age of only 26, Shaw was instantly killed with a shot through his heart while leading his men to storm Fort Wagner in South Carolina in a battle against the Confederates stationed there. His story was the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1989 film “Glory.”

Marinus van der Lubbe (January 13, 1909 – January 10, 1934)

Dutch Communist

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Marinus van der Lubbe was executed by decapitation just three days before his 25th birthday having confessed to the act of setting the German Reichstag building on fire on February 27, 1933 in protest against the rising power of the Nazis. He was pardoned posthumously in 2008.

Ned Kelly (June 3, 1854 – November 11, 1880)

Australian Bushranger

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Wanted by the law for killing three policemen in Victoria, the Kelly Gang – Edward “Ned” Kelly, his brother Dan and two friends — took to the bush, seizing a sheep station, robbing two banks and capturing a hotel, where they eventually fought it out with the police. Kelly emerged from the hotel encased in roughly made armor, but was captured and hanged at age 26 at the Melbourne Gaol. Since his execution, stories abounded of his altruistic and gentlemanly behavior, casting him as a modern-day Robin Hood.

Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963)

United States Ex-Marine and Communist Sympathizer

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According to the Warren Commission and three other formal federal investigations, the 24-year-old Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin of US President John F. Kennedy at Dallas Texas on November 22, 1963. He was shot and fatally wounded two days later by strip-club owner Jack Ruby on live television before he could be brought to trial for his crimes.

Louis de Saint-Just (August 25, 1767 – July 28, 1794)

French Revolutionary

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As a loyal follower of Maximilien Robespierre who supported the execution of Louis XVI in 1793, Louis de Saint-Just served with him on the Committee of Public Safety, supervising military affairs and became a zealous advocate of the Committee’s Reign of Terror. He was arrested at age 26 in the coup that overthrew his mentor and was immediately sent to the guillotine.

Forever Young Series:

• MUSICIANS Who Died in Their:

  • Early Twenties
  • Mid-Twenties
  • Late Twenties

• ACTORS Who Died in Their:

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• SPORTS PERSONALITIES Who Died in Their:
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• HISTORICAL PEOPLE Who Died in Their:

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More articles you might be interested in:

• 10 Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (more) Bizarre Deaths in History
• 10 (ultimate) Bizarre Deaths in History
• Unusual Wills and Testaments