The Day They Died (2003)

The death of history's most fascinating figures is explored in The History Channel two-hour special The Day They Died. Do you know how George Washington died? (Bled to death by doctors.) Or Sigmund Freud? (Assisted suicide.) Or Nostradamus? (Heart attack.). Each lived celebrated lives and each made the most of their last days on Earth: Washington rewrote his will so as to free his slaves. Freud kept his analytic practice open despite his cancerous pain. Nostradamus predicted his death the night before, proclaiming, "You will not see me alive at sunrise." Included in the program are portraits of 19 deaths, including the last days of Thomas Jefferson and John Adams (who, incrediably, died on the same day,) gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok (shot in the back while playing poker,) and Lincoln kidnap conspirator Mary Surratt (first woman executed by the US government.) Also shown are the final shocking minutes of William Kemmler, the first man to die in the electric chair, and Ulysses S. Grant, who fended off death by just a few days in order to complete his memoirs. Each of the program's eight acts, or chapters, are divided by theme, starting with "Founding Fathers" and ending with "Life After Death." In between are themes devoted to "Death Foretold," "Assassins," "What A Way To Go," "Pioneers of Death," "Before Their Time," and "Old Soldiers Never Die." Extensive location footage, recreations and archival material are used to tell each story, supported by interviews with such celebrated authors as David McCullough ("John Adams"), Peter Gay ("Freud") and Dr. Sherwin Nuland ("How We Die"). While acknowledging the seriousness of the subject, The Day They Died is also devoted to revealing some of history's more absurd deaths, including the legendary death of the Greek poet Aeschylus (killed when an eagle dropped a tortoise on his head!) and the 17th century scientific philosopher Sir Francis Bacon (felled by a cold after stuffing a chicken with snow as part of an experiment!) A variety of deaths combined with a variety of story-telling techniques, including animation and creative recreations, provide "The Day They Died" with an entertaining arena in which to present a typically grim subject. In the spirit of Woody Allen, who said, "I am not afraid to die "I just don't want to be there when it happens," the program takes viewers on a fascinating tour past death's door, and returns them safely back to life.