Francis Bacon:

One of the most influential minds of the late 16th century. A statesman, a
philosopher, a writer, and a scientist, he was even rumored to have 
written some of Shakespeare's plays.

How he died: Stuffing snow into a chicken

One afternoon in 1625, Bacon was watching a snowstorm and was struck by 
the wondrous notion that maybe snow could be used to preserve meat in the 
same way that salt was used. Determined to find out, he purchased a 
chicken from a nearby village, killed it, and then, standing outside in 
the snow, attempted to stuff the chicken full of snow to freeze it. The 
chicken never froze, but Bacon did.

A man in Johannesberg, South Africa, shot his 49-year-old
          friend in the face, seriously wounding him, while the two
          practiced shooting beer cans off each other's head.

Paul Stiller, 47, was hospitalized in Andover Township, N. J.,
in September, and his wife Bonnie was also injured, by a
quarter-stick of dynamite that blew up in their car. While
driving around at 2a.m., the bored couple lit the dynamite
and tried to toss it out the window to see what would happen,
but they apparently failed to notice that the window was closed.