Random Signature Afflictions Suffered By History’s Most Famous Despots (19 items)

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  (#6) Adolf Hitler

  • Dec. at 56 (1889-1945)

  Adolf Hitler's physical health has been at the center of historical debates for years. Though many suspect he had a host of ailments, one in particular could have had a tangible impact on WWII.

  Researchers estimate Hitler suffered from Parkinson's Disease from around 1933, when he became dictator in Germany. His frequent hand tremors could have been a sign of the disease.

  The degenerative affliction of the nervous system often has an associated cognitive impact. According to one study, researchers argue Parkinson's could have led Hitler to make poor military decisions, such as his unsuccessful incursion of Soviet Russia or the poor defense on the beaches of Normandy.
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  (#2) Fidel Castro

  • 92

  Born in 1926, the Cuban revolutionary turned Communist leader generally enjoyed good health for most of his life. However, by 2007, at the age of 80, Castro came down with a serious case of diverticulitis, or intestinal inflammation. 

  Though relatively common in elderly adults, diverticulitis can be incredibly painful and can lead to fatal complications. Castro had multiple operations for diverticulitis that year, with one failed surgery requiring five months of recovery while his brother Raúl took the reins of government.

  Castro's health issues became so severe he retired in 2008 and passed eight years later.
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  (#8) Richard III of England

  • Dec. at 33 (1452-1485)

  Beginning in his teens, King Richard III of England had scoliosis, or a curved spine. This meant his shoulders weren't even, though he may have concealed this condition from the public. Scoliosis causes back spasms, so Richard probably was in pain.

  However, if Richard suffered, it does not seem to have impacted his rule. The monarch successfully introduced reforms to the kingdom. His scoliosis also didn't prevent him from taking up arms, since 32-year-old Richard was slain on the battlefield in 1485.

  Rumors of the king's curved spine flourished after his passing. Katherine Schaap Williams, a professor of literature, notes that "disability was often viewed as a sign of moral impairment" during the Elizabethan period. This is epitomized in William Shakespeare's play Richard III, wherein Richard is portrayed as a hunchback to symbolize his evilness. It also creates a physical contrast between him and King Henry VII, who defeated Richard and established a new royal dynasty: the Tudors.
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  (#14) François Duvalier

  • Dec. at 64 (1907-1971)

  Haiti's François Duvalier suffered from diabetes, a disease that inhibits the body's ability to regulate sugar in the blood. But that didn't limit his ambitions. Duvalier used the nation's belief in voodoo to leverage political power, and was elected President in 1957. 

  In 1959, a diabetes-induced heart attack forced Duvalier into a coma for nine hours. After he woke up, Duvalier became even more paranoid and ruthless. 

  By the time the president passed in 1971 from complications related to diabetes, some 30,000 Haitians had perished under his rule.
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  (#15) Ivan the Terrible

  • Dec. at 54 (1530-1584)

  One of the most controversial Russian tsars, Ivan IV was unstable, paranoid, and prone to fits of anger. But there may have been a reason for his foul mood: he suffered from severe arthritis.

  According to tests of his bones, the tsar's joints began to harden when he was young, suggesting he may have been in a great deal of pain for a long time.

  Some historians surmise that Ivan's physical pain, and the medicine he took (arsenic and mercury), could have made him more paranoid.
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  (#13) Ferdinand Marcos

  • Dec. at 72 (1917-1989)

  Ferdinand Marcos, the Filipino dictator who ruled through martial law, began to show signs of lupus in 1979 when he was in his early 60s. The autoimmune disease advanced to the point that Marcos received a kidney transplant in 1983 and 1984. 

  Marcos was so weakened by lupus that one American agent opined Marcos became "hardly able to operate his government." Instead, he relied on his wife Imelda Marcos who, according to reports, acted "as the head of the government."

  Imelda Marcos's reign was brief, however, and the couple were forced to flee the Philippines in 1986. Ferdinand Marcos perished in exile three years later.

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