List of suicides
This is a list of famous people who are known to
have committed suicide.
See also: deaths by accidental drug overdose, people by cause of death
Alphabetical
A
- Johnny Ace, (1954), singer
- Nick Adams, (1968), actor; died of drug overdose
- Neil Aggett, (1982), South African worker's union leader; hanged in prison, murder is suspected by
some
- General Sergey
Akhromeyev, (1991), Soviet military commander who led an unsuccessful coup against
Mikhail Gorbachev
- Salvador Allende, (1973),
president of Chile whose left-wing government was overthrown by Augusto Pinochet, possibly murdered in that coup
- Louis Althusser, (1990),
French philosopher
- Jason Altom, (1998, Ph.D. student
- Jean Améry, (1978), Austrian
writer
- Fridolin Anderwert, (1880), Swiss Federal Councilor
- Aman Andom, (1974), military ruler of
Ethiopia; committed suicide to avoid his execution in a internal purge
- Pier Angeli, (1971) (on the same
day that Bella Darvi also took her
own life)
- Roger Angleton, (1998),
brother of imprisoned Texas extortionist who admitted in his suicide note to killing his
sister-in-law, socialite Doris Angleton.
- Mark Antony, (30 BC), Roman
politician and general
- Hubert Aquin, (1977), author
- Diane Arbus, (1971), art
photographer
- Edwin Armstrong, (1954), US
inventor of FM radio; jumped from a 13th floor window believing FM was a failure (!!)
- Mohammed Atta, (2001), suicide bomber
B
- Mary Bacon, (1991), thoroughbred race horse jockey
- Albert Ballin, (1918)
- Barney Barnato, (1897), South
African diamond entrepreneur, jumped overboard while his ship was south of Madeira
- Isobel Barnett, (1980),
British TV personality
- Diana Barrymore,
(1960), US actress, writer ('Too Much, Too Soon')
- Uwe Barschel, (1987), German politician
- Carl Barth, (1853)
- Gert Bastian, (1992)
- Cliff Baxter, (2002), Enron vice-chairman
- Gertrude Bell, (1926),
archaeologist, writer, spy and administrator known as the "Uncrowned Queen of Iraq"
- Walter Benjamin, (1940),
German cultural theorist
- Pierre Bérégovoy, (1993), French politician, killed himself after serving a year as Prime
Minister
- Hans Berger, (1941), German
physician and inventor of electroencephalography, by
hanging
- Mary Kay Bergman (1999),
American voice actress, shot herself.
- Paul Bern, (1932), slashed his wrists after finding himself unable to consummate his marriage to Jean Harlow
- Alain Bernardin,
(1994), founder/owner of "Le Crazy Horse Saloon" - Paris
- Ricky Berry, (1989), American NBA Basketball player (Sacramento Kings)
- Bruno Bettelheim, (1990),
child psychologist
- Blossius of Cumae, Roman philosopher who led a failed
revolt
- Robert Bishop, (1991), fetish artist
- Barcroft Boake, (1892),
Australian poet, hanged himself from a tree
- Ludwig Boltzmann, (1906),
Austrian physicist
- Ernest Borneman, (1995),
German sexologist
- Francesco Borromini, (1667), architect
- Karin Boye, (1941), Swedish author
- Charles Boyer, (1978), French
actor
- Jonathan Brandis, (2003),
American actor
- Eva Braun, (1945), mistress of Adolf Hitler
- Richard Brautigan, (1984), American writer
- Gaetano Bresci, (1901),
Italian anarchist, assassin of King Umberto I (officially suicide, but he was
found strangled)
- Herman Brood, (2001), Dutch
musician and painter
- Oskar Brüsewitz,
(1976)
- Brutus, (42
BC), Roman politician, assassin of Julius Caesar
- Eustace Budgell, (1737),
remembered because his death was discussed in a conversation between Samuel
Johnson and his friend and biographer Boswell
- Bernard Buffet, (1999), French painter ('The Crucifixion')
- Rembrandt Bugatti (1884-1916), Italian sculptor
- Michael Buonauro, (2004),
Web Cartoonist, Web author, "Marvelous Bob"
C
- Capucine, (1990), French actress
- Dora Carrington, (1932),
artist
- Joseph Daniel 'Danny' Casolaro,
(1991), journalist
- Adolphe Mouron Cassandre (1968), painter
- Paul Cassirer, (1926)
- Gaius Cassius Longinus, (42 BC), Roman
politician, co-assassin of Julius Caesar
- Robert Stewart, Viscount
Castlereagh, (1822), British politician
- Cato the younger, (46
BC), Roman republican statesman
- Ugo Cavallero, (1943), Italian
Field Marshal
- Paul Celan, (1970), Romanian
poet
- Valerie Chacon, (1982), wife
of Bobby Chacon
- Iris Chang, (2004), Chinese-American
author
- Claude Chappe, 1805, French
inventor
- Thomas Chatterton, (1770), English poet
- Leslie Cheung, (2003), Hong
Kong movie star and singer
- Vere Gordon Childe, (1957), Australian archaeologist and historian, jumped off Govett's Leap in the Blue Mountains
- Vern Christie, (1991), Australian businessman, General Manager of the Commonwealth Bank
- Edwin P Christy,
(1862), American entertainer, founder of the Christy Minstrels; jumped from a
window
- Christine Chubbuck, (1974), US newsreader, shot herself in the head on live TV after reading the news
- Chung Mong-hun, (2003),
Korean businessman, chairman of Hyundai Asan
- Diana Churchill,
(1963), UK social worker, daughter of Sir Winston Churchill
- Jeremiah Clarke, (1707),
composer of Trumpet
Voluntary, shot himself
- Charmian Clift, (1969), Australian writer, wife of George Johnston; her namesake, Cleopatra's maid Charmian
also suicided
- Kurt Cobain, (1994), American
musician and singer (Nirvana) Some believe Cobain was murdered.
- Billy Collins Jr.,
(1984), young boxer
- Ray Combs, (1996), former host of
popular American game show Family Feud
- F. W. S. Craig, (1989), UK
election expert
- Hart Crane, (1932), American poet;
born on the same date as Ernest Hemingway, another American writer
who suicided
- René Crevel, (1935), French painter, gassed himself
- Harry Crosby, (1929), writer,
publisher
- Andrew Cunanan, (1997),
killer of Gianni Versace and four others
- Will Cuppy, (1949), American writer,
humorist
- Ian Curtis, (1980), English singer and songwritter (Joy
Division)
- Adam Czerniakow, (1942),
Warsaw Ghetto leader killed himself rather than obey Nazi orders
D
- Dalida, (1987), French singer
- Monika Dannemann, (1996),
Girlfriend of Jimi Hendrix
- Bella Darvi, (1971), Polish-US actress (on the same day that Pier
Angeli also took her own life)
- Guy Debord, (1994), French
philosopher, member of Situationist International
- C J De Garis, (1926), Australian financier
- Delphine Delamare,
(1848), French woman, the basis for Flaubert's Madame Bovary
- Gilles Deleuze, (1995),
French philosopher
- Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, (2001),
young King of Nepal, committed suicide after assassinating his father, King Birendra, and other members of the royal family
- Jenny Dolly, (1941), Hungarian/US entertainer, one of the Dolly Sisters
- Terence Donovan, (1996),
English celebrity photographer
- Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado (1983), former president of Cuba
- Nick Drake (1974), British singer-songwriter, possibly an accident
- Pierre Drieu La Rochelle (1945), French novelist
- Pete Duel, (1971), American actor
- Isaak Dunayevsky,
(1955), Soviet composer (Katyusha)
- Budd Dwyer, (1987), American
politician
E
- George Eastman, (1932),
inventor
- Ronald
'Buster' Edwards, (1994), British Great Train robber and flower seller
- John Ellis (1931), remorseful hangman
- Empedocles, (432 BC), Greek
philosopher, threw himself into Mt Etna
- Peg Entwistle, (1932), US
actress, the first person to jump from the letter 'H' of the Hollywood sign; step-mother of Brian Keith who also committed suicide
- Tom Evans, (1983), Guitarist for Badfinger
F
- Richard Farnsworth, (2000), US actor, Oscar nominee
- Justin Fashanu,(1998),
British footballer
- Rainer Werner Fassbinder, (1982), German film director
- Andrea Feldman, (1972) Actor,
Warhol superstar
- Lolo Ferrari, (2000), actress,
singer
- Ed Flanders, (1995), US actor
- John Gould Fletcher, (1950), Pulitzer Prize winning poet
- James V Forrestal, (1949), US Secretary of the Navy who quoted Sophocles in his suicide
note
- Vincent Foster, (1993),
Deputy White House Counsel
- John Friedrich, (1991), Australian businessman and fraudster
- Mike Furber, (1973), Australian singer
G
- Zviad Gamsakhurdia, (1993), former president of Georgia
- Romain Gary, (1980), Russian-French
novelist, film director and diplomat
- Danny Gatton, (1994), American guitarist
- Michel Gauquelin, (1991),
French psychologist and astrology researcher
- Charlotte Perkins Gilman, (1935), American feminist and author (Herland)
- Henri Giffard, (1882), French
aeronautical engineer
- Joseph Goebbels, (1945),
German Nazi leader
- Adam Lindsay Gordon, (1870), Australian poet ('Life is mostly froth and bubble')
- Hermann Göring, (1946),
German Nazi leader
- Arshile Gorky, (1948), Armenian
painter
- Richard Greene, (1983), boxing referee
- Robert von Greim, (1945),
German Air Marshal
- Anton Gustafsson,
(2003), Swedish singer (Anton Maiden)
- Antonio Guzmán Fernández, (1982), serving president of the Dominican Republic
H
- Kenneth Halliwell, (1967), English writer, lover of Joe Orton whom he killed then killed
himself
- Mitch Halpern, (2000), boxing referee
- Peter Ham, (1975), rock musician
(Badfinger)
- Lois Hamilton, (1943-1999), actress, model, author, aviatrix
- Tony Hancock, (1968), British
comedian
- Hannibal, (182 BC), military
commander
- James
Harden-Hickey, (1898), US eccentric who wrote a book listing 88 poisons and 51
instruments that could be used for suicide; he chose an overdose of morphine
- Mary Hardy, (1985), Australian TV personality (found dead in the bath and was presumed to have committed suicide)
- Larry James
Harper, (2001), member of the Texas 7
- Brynn Hartman, (2000), wife of
actor Phil Hartman whom she killed before turning the gun on herself
- Elizabeth Hartman, (1987), US actress who emulated a character in her film 'The Group' who jumped from a window
- Donny Hathaway, (1979),
singer, best known for his duets with Roberta Flack
- Felix Hausdorff, (1942),
mathematician. He committed suicide with his wife and sister-in-law in the concentration camp.
- Benjamin Haydon, (1846),
British painter
- Jeanne Hébuterne (1898-1920), painter, partner of Modigliani
- Ernest Hemingway, (1961),
American novelist
- Margaux Hemingway, (1996), American actress and model; Ernest's granddaughter
- James Leo Herlihy, (1993), US novelist ('Midnight Cowboy')
- Heinrich Himmler, (1945),
German SS leader
- Adolf Hitler, (1945), Nazi Germany's leader. Shot/poisoned himself in bunker.
- Abbie Hoffman, (1989), US
political activist and political demonstrator
- Doug Hopkins, (1993), musician,
founding member of rock group The Gin Blossoms. Killed himself with
a .38 pistol December 5
- Elmyr de Hory, (1976),
Hungarian art forger
- Hong Xiuquan, (1864), Chinese
leader of the Taiping Rebellion
- Michael Hutchence, (1997), Australian lead singer of rock group INXS
I
J
- Vittorio Jano, (1965),
automobile design engineer
- Randall Jarrell (1965), US
writer and poet
- Rick Jason, (2000), US actor best known in 'Combat'
- Jiang Qing, (1991), 3rd wife of
Mao Zedong, leader of the Gang of Four
- Jim Jones, (1978), reverend, leader of
the "People's Temple" cult. Died during mass suicide that cost the
lives of more than 500 in Guyana.
- Nafisa Joseph, (2004), Miss India 1997, killed herself four weeks before
being married.
- Judas Iscariot, (1st century), according to the Bible, betrayed Jesus
K
- Frida Kahlo, (1954), Mexican
painter
- Aleksei Maksimovich Kaledin, (1918), Cossack leader during the Russian Civil War
- Sarah Kane, (1999), British
playwright
- Kostas Karyotakis, (1928), Greek poet, shot himself
- Terry Kath, (1978), guitarist, Chicago (died of
a self-inflicted gunshot wound)
- Brian Keith, (1997), American actor
(Family Affair)
- Dr. David Kelly, (2003), British
scientist, source of BBC story about the September Dossier
- Heinrich von Kleist, (1811), German dramatist and poet
- Jochen Klepper, (1942)
- Hans von Kluge, (1944), German Field Marshal
- Fletcher Knebel, (1993), US
novelist ('Seven Days in May')
- William F. Knowland, (1974), former Senate Majority Leader, self
inflicted gun shot
- Arthur Koestler, (1983),
Hungarian novelist, political activist and social philosopher; suicided with his wife
- Hannelore Kohl, (2001), wife
of ex-chancellor of Germany Helmut Kohl
- Nestor
Kombot-Naguemon 2004 diplomat and politician from the Central African Republic, jumped out of a window in Paris
while serving as ambassador to France
- Prince Fumimaro
Konoe, (1945), Japanese war criminal
- Jerzy Kosinski, (1991),
Polish-American author
- Philip Taylor Kramer, (1995), Rock musician and physicist
- Ivar Kreuger, (1932), Swedish
'match-king'
- Friedrich Krupp,
(1902), German industrialist; suicided when his homosexuality was revealed
L
- Paul Lafargue, (1911),
son-in-law of Karl Marx, communist theorist and author of The Right to Be Lazy
- Carole Landis, (1948),
actress
- Hans Langsdorff, (1939),
captain of the Admiral Graf Spee
- Héctor Lavoe, (1993), salsa music singer
- Florence Lawrence, (1938), Hollywood's first movie Star
- Katherine
Lawrence, (2004), writer
- Lee Kyung Hae, (2003), South
Korean activist
- Victoria Lee, (1888), daughter of Emma Lee French
- Primo Levi, (1987), Italian author
and Auschwitz survivor
- Meriwether Lewis, (1809),
US explorer with Clark; died in mysterious circumstances, either murder or suicide
- Vachel Lindsay, (1931), US
poet
- Peter
Llewellyn-Davies, (1960), UK publisher who as a boy was the inspiration for J M Barrie's Peter Pan
- Ross Lockridge,
Jr., (1948}, US novelist, author of Raintree County
- Mark Lombardi, (2000), US
artist whose art described international white-collar crime networks; hanged himself in his Williamsburg, New York studio
- Jack London, (1916), US novelist
(his doctor believed he had commited suicide by overdose of morphine and atropine, but his widow prevailed on a more senior
doctor to ascribe the death to uremia, and had the body quickly cremated before an autopsy could be done)
- Malcolm Lowry, (1957), British
writer
- Gherasim Luca, (1994), Romanian surrealist
- Lucan, (65), Roman poet
- Aleksandr Mikhailovich Lyapunov, (1918), Russian mathematician, mechanician and physicist
M
- Richard Manuel, (1986),
singer, multi-instrumentalist, member of The Band hung himself while on tour in Fla.
- Kid McCoy, (1940), world champion boxer
(real name: Norman Shelby)
- Billy MacKenzie,
(1996), lead singer of 1980s pop group The Associates
- Magnentius, (353), Roman usurper
- Jan Masaryk, (1948), Czech
politician and statesman who either jumped, fell, or was pushed out a window
- Denis Matthews, (1988), UK pianist
- Robert Maxwell, (1991),
Czech-born UK newspaper magnate who jumped overboard in the Atlantic leaving a financial disaster in his wake
- Vladimir Mayakovsky, (1930), Russian poet; his suicide note said 'I don't recommend it for others'
- Jacques Mayol (2001), Chinese
free-diver
- Joe Meek (1967), Record producer
- Niklaus Meienberg,
(1993), Swiss author
- Kitty Melrose, (1912), English actress
- Joseph Merrick, (1890), UK
celebrity known as the Elephant Man; suicided by allowing his massive head
to obstruct his windpipe
- General Ioannis Metaxas, (1940), Greek military leader and dictator 1936-41
- Charlotte Mew, (1928), English
poet
- Noel Mewton-Wood,
(1953), Australian pianist; drank prussic acid
- James Miller, fan man, (2003), parachutist
- Walter M. Miller, Jr., (1996), science-fiction writer
- Freddie Mills, (1965), world
champion boxer
- Yukio Mishima, (1970), Japanese
novelist; committed public ritual seppuku
- Walther Model, (1945), German
Field Marshal
- Moses Taiwa
Molelekwa, (2001), South African jazz pianist
- Jürgen W. Möllemann, (2003), German politician
- Marilyn Monroe, (1962),
American actress (some suspect foul play)
- Henry de Montherlant, (1972), French writer
- Donnie Moore, (1989), relief
pitcher for the California Angels
- Florencio Morales Ramos, 1989, Ramito, trova singer
- Ted Moult, (1986), British television personality
- Renate Müller, (1937), German
actress
- David Munrow, (1976), UK early
music specialist, founder of the Early Music Consort
N
O
- Luis Ocaña, (1994), Spanish
cyclist, Tour de France winner
- Phil Ochs, (1976), American singer
- Hugh O'Connor, (1995), actor
- Johnny O'Keefe, (1978),
Australian rock legend known as The Wild One; drug overdose
- Dazai Osamu, (1948), Japanese
novelist
P
- Jan Palach, (1969), protesting
Soviet crushing of the Prague
Spring
- Billy Papke, (1936), world champion
boxer
- Violeta Parra (1967), famous
Chilean folk singer
- Jules Pascin, (1930), French-American
painter
- John Patrick, (1995), US
playwright and screenwriter; placed a plastic bag over his head
- Cesare Pavese, (1950), Italian poet, novelist
- Petronius Arbiter, (66),
Roman satirist; opened his own veins
- H. Beam Piper, (1964), American
science fiction writer
- Sylvia Plath, (1963), American
poetess, author and essayist
- Dana Plato, (1999), American actress
- Stevie Plunder, (1995), Australian guitarist, The
Whitlams
- Jan Potocki, (1815), Polish
aristocrat, traveler, writer; shot himself with a silver bullet
- Felix Powell, (1942), UK song writer best known for 'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag and Smile, Smile,
Smile', once described as 'the most optimistic song ever written'
- Lucien Anatole Prevost-Paradol
(1870), French journalist and diplomat
- George R. Price American population geneticist.
- Carlos Prío Socarrás, (1977), former president of Cuba.
- Boris Pugo, (1991), serving minister
of the Interior of the USSR
- Jack Purvis, (1962), American jazz
trumpeter
Q
R
- David Rappaport, (1990),
actor
- Geli Raubal, (1931), niece and
possibly lover of Adolf Hitler; officially committed suicide but may have
been murdered
- George Reeves, (1959), US
actor, played Superman on television
- Carlos Roberto Reina, (2003), former president of Honduras
- Erwin Rommel, (1944), German
Field Marshal
- Iris von
Roten-Meyer, (1990), artist and jurist
- Mark Rothko, (1970),
Russian-American painter
- Ruan Lingyu, (1935), Chinese
actress
- Irv Rubin, (2002), leader of the
Jewish Defense League
- Jakub Jan Ryba, (1815), Czech
composer and teacher
- Akutagawa Ryunosuke, (1927), Japanese novelist
S
- Gen Alexander
Samsonov, (1914), Russian military commander
- George Sanders, (1972),
English actor
- Alberto Santos-Dumont, (1932), aviation pioneer
- Savannah, (1994),
pornographic actress
- Romy Schneider, (1982),
Austrian actress (officially cardiac arrest, but may have been self-induced)
- Margie Schoedinger, (2003), Filed lawsuit against George W. Bush claiming she had
been raped
- Conrad Schumann, (1998),
GDR refugee
- William Seabrook
(1886-1945), adventurer, travel writer
- Jean Seberg, (1979), American
actress
- Seneca the Younger, (65),
was ordered to commit suicide by the emperor Nero
- Anne Sexton, (1974), American
poet
- Del Shannon, (1990), American
singer
- Harold Shipman, (2004),
British doctor, serial killer
- Arthur Shrewsbury, (1903), former captain of
the England cricket team
- Elizabeth Siddal, (1862),
Pre-Raphaelite icon
- The Singing Nun, (1985),
Belgian singer
- Walter Slezak, (1983), US
actor
- John Hanning Speke, (1864), UK explorer of Africa
- Sir Bernard Spilsbury, (1947), UK leading forensic pathologist; his evidence helped convict Dr. Crippen; gassed himself in an oven
- Serge Stavisky, (1934), Russian-French swindler
- Gary Stewart, (2003), country singer
- Rory Storm, (1972), singer of the Hurricanes (the band Ringo Starr was in before he joined the Beatles), in a pact with his
mother
- David Strickland, (1999),
actor
- Screaming Lord Sutch, (1999), UK eccentric singer
T
- Tawfik Abu
al-Huda Baja, (1956), former prime minister of Jordan
- Sara Teasdale, (1933), American
poet
- Pyotr Tchaikovsky, (1893), Russian composer (possible suicide)
- Count Paul Teleki,
(1941), Hungarian statesman
- Ric Throssell, (1999), Australian diplomat, writer
- Georg Tintner, (1999),
Austrian-born conductor active in Canada and Australia; jumped 11 stories when he was no longer able to conduct due to
illness
- Ernst Toller, (1939), German writer
- Wolfe Tone, (1798), Irish
independence leader
- John Kennedy Toole, (1969), American novelist
- Marina Tsvetaeva, (1941),
Russian poetess and writer
- Kurt Tucholsky, (1935),
German journalist and satirist
- Alan Turing, (1954), British
mathematician and computer scientist
- Randy Turpin, (1966), British
world champion boxer
U
V
- Amy Vanderbilt, (1974),
etiquette writer
- Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke, (1941), American film director
- Peter Van Eyck, (1969), Dutch-UK film actor
- Vincent van Gogh, (1890),
Dutch painter
- Getúlio Dornelles Vargas, (1954), President of Brazil.
Killed himself during impeachment trial.
- Lupe Vélez, (1944), actress
- Baroness Maria
Vetsera, (1889), mistress of Crown Prince Rudolph - see Mayerling
- Sid Vicious, (1979) bass player of
the Sex Pistols, not long after killing his girlfriend
- Hervé Villechaize, (1993), French actor
W
- Stephen Ward, (1963), UK
physician who was caught up in the Profumo affair
- Peter Warlock, (1930), UK
composer (also known as Philip
Heseltine)
- Doodles Weaver, (1983), US
comedian, member of Spike Jones' City Slickers
- Gary Webb, (2004), US investigative
reporter; death ruled as suicide from two gunshots
- Otto Weininger, (1903),
Austrian philosopher
- Ernst Weiß, (1940), German author
- George Weldon, (1963), UK conductor, died in South Africa
- Fred West, (1995), husband of convicted
British killer Rosemary West. Hanged himself in prison whilst awaiting
trial on the same crimes.
- James Whale, (1957), UK film
director
- Paul Williams, (1973), singer (Temptations)
- Percy Williams (1982),
athlete
- Rozz Williams, (1998), Musician, "Christian
Death"
- Wendy O. Williams, (1998), musician, The Plasmatics
- Greg Wilton, (2000), the only Australian Federal politician who
has ever successfully attempted suicide
- Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, (1939), Polish author, novelist, painter, philosopher
- Wally Wood, (1981), cartoonist
- Virginia Woolf, (1941),
British novelist
Y
Z
Monarchs
- Shang Zhou, (1046 BC), the last
king of the Shang Dynasty of China
- Fusu, (210 BC), son of the First Emperor of
China, Qin Shi Huang, and brother of the Second Emperor, Qin Er Shi, forced to commit suicide by a fake decree
- Qin Er Shi, (207 BC), the Second
Emperor of Qin dynasty China
- Cleopatra VII of Egypt, (30 BC), last Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt
- Nero, (68), emperor of Rome (under duress)
- Otho, (69), Roman emperor
- Boudicca, (1st century),
Celtic chieftainess
- Decebal, (106), Dacian king
- Clodius Albinus, (197), Roman
emperor
- Gordian I, (238), Roman emperor
- Quintillus, (270), Roman emperor
- Maximian, (310), Roman emperor
- Eugenius, (394), Roman emperor
- Chongzhen, (1644), the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China
- Dipendra Bir Bikram Shah Deva, (2001),
young King of Nepal, committed suicide after assassinating his father, King Birendra, and other members of the royal family
Known afterwards
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