In September 1833, a London newspaper carried a grim report of a suicide in the French city of Marseilles. The unfortunate chap, a Monsieur Hollingsworth, had taken his life while “under the influence of poets”. A librarian by profession, Hollingsworth:

“…was of a melancholy temperament, possessed of an ardent imagination and, like those individuals to whose steps he followed, of a poetic turn of mind.”

Hollingsworth took his life around midnight on Tuesday September 3rd. According to reports from the scene:

“The pistol with which he destroyed himself was loaded to the muzzle. A part of his skull was blown against the window with such force as to break the glass. A piece of his cheek with the moustache on it was found sticking against the wall.”

Source: London Morning Chronicle, September 11th 1833. Content on this page is © Alpha History 2019-23. Content may not be republished without our express permission. For more information please refer to our Terms of Use or contact Alpha History.