Anne and Emily Brontë and other members of the Brontë family of writers, poets and painters were struck by tuberculosis. Anne, their brother Branwell, and Emily all died of it within two years of each other. Charlotte Brontë's death in 1855 was stated at the time as having been due to tuberculosis, but there is some controversy over this today.
Clarissa Brooks, poet, died of tuberculosis in 1927
Albert Camus, French writer, playwright, activist, and absurdist philosopher, suffered from tuberculosis. He was forced to drop out of school (University of Algiers) due to severe attacks of tuberculosis. However, his death was caused by a car accident.
Gaius Valerius Catullus (ca. 84 BC – ca. 54 BC), Roman poet
Anton Chekhov (1860–1904), Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician; died from tuberculosis
George Orwell (1903–1950), British author of Nineteen Eighty-Four, Animal Farm and Homage to Catalonia, first suffered tuberculosis in the early 1930s and died from it in 1950, at the age of 46. Nineteen Eighty-Four was written during his final illness.
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850–1894), Neo-romantic Scottish essayist, novelist and poet, is thought to have suffered from tuberculosis during much of his life. He spent the winter of 1887–1888 recuperating from a presumed bout of tuberculosis at Dr. E.L. Trudeau'sAdirondack Cottage Sanitarium in Saranac Lake, New York.
Thomas Wolfe (1900–1938), American author, died of tuberculosis of the brain. His 1929 novel, Look Homeward, Angel, makes several references to the problem of consumption, though Wolfe's condition appeared rather suddenly in 1937.
Frédéric Chopin (1810–1849), died of consumption at age 39 (see the discussion for details). Historical records indicate episodes of hemoptysis during performances.
Julius Reubke (1834–1858), German composer, pianist, and organist
Jimmie Rodgers (1897–1933), country music singer, sang about the woes of tuberculosis in the song T.B. Blues (co-written with Raymond E. Hall) and ultimately died of the disease days after a New York City recording session.
David Brainerd (1718–1747), left a diary that reflects his reliance upon God's faithfulness amidst his battle with consumption. The diary was historically very influential, particularly to the modern Christian missionary movement.[6][7]
Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist. He got tuberculosis exacerbated by the dank conditions in his cell
Petar II Petrović Njegoš (1813-1851), was a Prince-Bishop (vladika) of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered some of the most important in Serbian/Montenegrin literature.
Okita Soji (1842/1844–1868), young and famous captain of the Shinsengumi, died from tuberculosis. He was rumored to have discovered his disease when he coughed blood and fainted during the Ikedaya Affair.
Srinivasa Ramanujan, mathematician; uncertain: believed for many years to have died from tuberculosis but now suspected the cause may have been hepatic amoebiasis
Christy Mathewson (1880–1925), major league baseball pitcher; developed tuberculosis as a consequence of being accidentally gassed during a training exercise while serving in the U.S. Army Chemical Service during World War I
10.3201/eid2603.AC2603 . Confusion in the Genesis of Art and Disease: Charles Laval, Paul Gauguin, and Tuberculosis . 2020 . Chorba . Terence . Jereb . John . Emerging Infectious Diseases . 26 . 3 . 634–635 . 212552045 . free . 7045813 .
Rosero, Jessica. "All-American painter" The Union City Reporter; April 30, 2006; Pages 7 and 32
Web site: Virginia Frances Sterret . 2008-09-02 . 2012-01-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120116202722/http://www.vfsterrett.com/biography.asp . dead .
