When someone declares they’d give their life for a cause, most of us imagine a poetic sacrifice. Yet history is littered with individuals who turned that declaration into a literal final act, using their own demise to secure a goal, a legacy, or a payoff. Below, we count down ten striking examples of people who achieved exactly what they wanted – at the ultimate price.
10 People Who Died To Get What They Wanted
10 Charles Vance Millar
Charles Vance Millar was a Canadian lawyer with a mischievous streak that made him more prankster than prosecutor. He delighted in concocting schemes that exploited the avarice of his acquaintances, and his final act was no exception. After a stroke claimed his life on October 31, 1926, the reading of his will revealed a series of eccentric bequests designed to keep the jokes alive beyond the grave.
Among the oddities, Millar gifted a Jamaican vacation home to three men who could barely tolerate each other, and handed shares in a horse‑racing club to two staunch anti‑racers. Yet the pièce de résistance was the infamous Great Stork Derby, a contest that offered a share of his estate to the Toronto woman who birthed the most children in the ten years following his death.
Ten years later, after a protracted legal battle that reached the Supreme Court, four women each received a $110,000 payout. Millar’s posthumous prank not only enriched a handful of mothers but also cemented his reputation as a master of macabre humor.
9 Codrus
Codrus, the final king of Athens, ruled from 1089 to 1068 BC, a period marked by looming Dorian aggression. The Dorians, before launching their invasion, consulted the Oracle of Delphi, which foretold that their campaign would succeed as long as the Athenian king remained unharmed.
Understanding the weight of the prophecy, Codrus devised a self‑sacrificial plan to protect his people. Disguised as a humble peasant, he slipped into the Dorian encampment and provoked a fight, during which he was killed. The Dorians, believing the omen had been fulfilled, withdrew their forces, fearing a doomed outcome without the king’s safety.
In recognition of his ultimate sacrifice, the Athenians deemed no successor worthy, abolishing the monarchy altogether. Codrus’s death thus reshaped the political landscape, turning a personal act of heroism into a foundational moment for Athenian democracy.
8 Giles Corey
During the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692‑93, more than 200 people faced accusations of witchcraft, with nineteen ultimately executed. Among those condemned was Giles Corey, a farmer whose fate became a grim illustration of legal cruelty.
When his wife was arrested for alleged witchcraft, Corey initially testified against her but later attempted to withdraw his statement. Arrested himself in April, authorities tried to bring him to trial, but Corey stubbornly refused to enter a plea. Under the law of the time, a defendant who declined to plead could not be tried, prompting officials to resort to “pressing,” a form of torture involving heavy stones placed upon his chest.
Corey’s only response to the crushing weight was the defiant utterance, “More weight.” After enduring days of this brutal method, he succumbed to his injuries. His refusal to plead protected his estate from seizure, though the sheriff later attempted to extort his surviving family.
7 R. Budd Dwyer
Robert Budd Dwyer served as Pennsylvania’s State Treasurer from 1981 until 1987, when a scandal over alleged bribes for a state contract brought his career to a crashing halt. Convicted in December 1986, Dwyer faced sentencing the following January and maintained his innocence to the bitter end.
On January 22, 1987, Dwyer called a press conference, delivering a final proclamation of innocence. With a calm that belied the tension, he reached into a manila envelope, produced a revolver, and shot himself in the head on live television, shocking the nation.
Had he lived to be sentenced, state law would have barred his survivor benefits from reaching his wife. Dwyer’s desperate act was therefore motivated by a desire to safeguard his family’s financial future, ensuring they would receive the full pension he had earned.
6 Thomas G. Doty
Thomas G. Doty’s story serves as a stark reminder that using death as a financial strategy can backfire catastrophically. On May 22, 1962, Doty boarded Continental Airlines Flight 11, ostensibly to travel from Chicago to Kansas City. While aboard, he entered the aircraft’s bathroom and detonated six sticks of dynamite he had smuggled aboard, causing the plane to crash and killing all 45 passengers and crew.
Prior to the ill‑fated flight, Doty had purchased a $300,000 life‑insurance policy, intending for his family to benefit from the payout. However, because the crash was ruled a suicide, the insurer voided the policies, leaving his widow with a paltry three‑dollar reimbursement.
This tragic outcome underscores the peril of attempting to engineer a posthumous windfall through violent means, as the legal system often nullifies benefits when the death is self‑inflicted.
5 Charles Joeseph Gliniewicz
Charles Joeseph “Joe” Gliniewicz was a police lieutenant in Fox Lake, Illinois, whose career ended in a baffling and tragic tableau. On September 1, 2015, he radioed that he was in pursuit of three armed suspects, only to be found dead later that day, prompting a massive manhunt for the alleged perpetrators.
Investigations after his funeral uncovered a darker narrative: Gliniewicz had been siphoning funds from a youth‑mentorship program for years. When an upcoming audit threatened to expose his embezzlement, he allegedly plotted to have the auditor eliminated. When that plan fell through, he staged a suicide, hoping the dramatic scene would mask his financial crimes.
The case sparked intense media scrutiny, revealing how a law‑enforcement officer could manipulate his own death to conceal wrongdoing, turning a tragic loss into a cautionary tale about accountability.
4 Lasantha Wickrematunge
Lasantha Wickrematunge, a Sri Lankan journalist renowned for his fearless reporting, lived under constant threat. Early in his career, he and his wife were violently pulled from their car and beaten, prompting his family to relocate their three children to Australia for safety.
Before his murder on January 8, 2009, Wickrematunge warned that the government would be responsible for his death. He was shot while en route to work, but he had anticipated the attack and prepared a final editorial to be published after his demise, accusing the government of using assassinations as a primary tool to silence the press.
His death galvanized international attention toward press freedom in Sri Lanka, sparking calls for accountability and highlighting the peril journalists face when confronting authoritarian regimes.
3 Dave Duerson
Dave Duerson enjoyed a distinguished eleven‑year NFL career, playing for the Chicago Bears, New York Giants, and Phoenix Cardinals, and earning four consecutive Pro Bowl selections. Yet the physical toll was severe; his family later estimated he suffered at least ten concussions during his playing years.
On February 17, 2011, Duerson was found dead from a self‑inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. In a suicide note, he requested that his brain be donated to Boston University’s School of Medicine for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) research. Physicians later confirmed he indeed suffered from CTE, labeling the condition “indisputable.”
Duerson’s death brought renewed public scrutiny to the long‑term neurological risks associated with professional football, prompting ongoing debates about player safety and concussion protocols.
2 Mishima Yukio
Yukio Mishima, a celebrated Japanese author and fervent nationalist, harbored two all‑consuming passions: literature and a vision of a militaristic Japan. Misdiagnosed with tuberculosis, he was barred from serving in World War II, yet his desire to restore imperial power never waned.
On November 25, 1970, Mishima and four members of his private militia, the Tatenokai (Shield Society), seized the Eastern Command headquarters of Japan’s Self‑Defense Force. From a balcony, Mishima delivered a ten‑minute speech urging soldiers to rise in a coup. When his call was met with mockery, he retreated indoors and performed seppuku, assisted by his followers.
Most scholars agree Mishima never expected his coup to succeed; instead, the dramatic suicide served as a final, theatrical statement of his ideals. He had arranged financial support for his followers’ legal defense, ensuring his ideological legacy would endure beyond his death.
1 Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton’s bitter rivalry with Aaron Burr culminated in a fateful duel that sealed both men’s destinies. Their animosity dated back to Burr’s 1804 defeat of Hamilton’s father‑in‑law for a U.S. Senate seat, after which Hamilton repeatedly thwarted Burr’s political ambitions.On the morning of July 11, 1804, the two met for a duel. Hamilton fired first, deliberately missing his opponent. Burr then shot, striking Hamilton and delivering a mortal wound. Some historians believe Hamilton’s intentional miss was a calculated move to end Burr’s career, a strategy that succeeded as the duel effectively destroyed Burr’s political future.
About The Author: Dan Cayce is a writer who occasionally has interesting thoughts. You can read some of them here @WriteAtRandom.