This is a list of notable people who have, or had, the medical condition epilepsy

Epilepsy

Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases...

. Following from that, there is a short list of people who have received a speculative, retrospective diagnosis

Retrospective diagnosis

A retrospective diagnosis is the practice of identifying an illness in a historical figure using modern knowledge, methods and disease classifications...

 of epilepsy. Finally there is a substantial list of people who are often wrongly believed to have had epilepsy.

A possible link between epilepsy and greatness has fascinated biographers and physicians for centuries. In his Treatise on Epilepsy, the French 17th century physician Jean Taxil refers to Aristotle

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...

's "famous epileptics". This list includes Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

, Ajax

Ajax (mythology)

Ajax or Aias was a mythological Greek hero, the son of Telamon and Periboea and king of Salamis. He plays an important role in Homer's Iliad and in the Epic Cycle, a series of epic poems about the Trojan War. To distinguish him from Ajax, son of Oileus , he is called "Telamonian Ajax," "Greater...

, Bellerophon

Bellerophon

Bellerophon or Bellerophontes is a hero of Greek mythology. He was "the greatest hero and slayer of monsters, alongside of Cadmus and Perseus, before the days of Heracles", and his greatest feat was killing the Chimera, a monster that Homer depicted with a lion's head, a goat's body, and a...

, Socrates

Socrates

Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...

, Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

, Empedocles

Empedocles

Empedocles was a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of Agrigentum, a Greek city in Sicily. Empedocles' philosophy is best known for being the originator of the cosmogenic theory of the four Classical elements...

, Maracus of Syracuse, and the Sibyl

Sibyl

The word Sibyl comes from the Greek word σίβυλλα sibylla, meaning prophetess. The earliest oracular seeresses known as the sibyls of antiquity, "who admittedly are known only through legend" prophesied at certain holy sites, under the divine influence of a deity, originally— at Delphi and...

s. However, historian of medicine Owsei Temkin

Owsei Temkin

Owsei Temkin was a Russian-born, German-educated, American medical historian. He served as director of the Institute of the History of Medicine and was the William H. Welch Professor Emeritus of the History of Medicine at The Johns Hopkins University...

 argues that Aristotle had in fact made a list of melancholics

Melancholia

Melancholia , also lugubriousness, from the Latin lugere, to mourn; moroseness, from the Latin morosus, self-willed, fastidious habit; wistfulness, from old English wist: intent, or saturnine, , in contemporary usage, is a mood disorder of non-specific depression,...

 and had only associated Hercules with the "Sacred Disease". Taxil goes on to add his own names: Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....

 and Roman Emperor Caligula

Caligula

Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...

, Drusus (tribune of the Roman people)

Marcus Livius Drusus (tribune)

The younger Marcus Livius Drusus, son of Marcus Livius Drusus, was tribune of the plebeians in 91 BC. In the manner of Gaius Gracchus, he set out with comprehensive plans, but his aim was to strengthen senatorial rule...

, Muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...

, and Petrarch

Petrarch

Francesco Petrarca , known in English as Petrarch, was an Italian scholar, poet and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch is often called the "Father of Humanism"...

.

More recently, many saints and other religious figures have been suspected of having had temporal lobe epilepsy. J.E. Bryant's 1953 book, Genius and Epilepsy, has a list of more than 20 people that combines the great and the mystical. Recent scholars are more skeptical. Neuropsychiatrist Peter Fenwick is amongst those who question the widespread labeling of religious figures with temporal lobe epilepsy. He believes this may "owe more to the enthusiasm of their authors than to the true scientific understanding" In a recent detailed review of the subject, neurologist John Hughes concluded that the majority of famous people alleged to have epilepsy did not in fact have this condition.

Certain diagnosis

This categorised chronological list contains only those people with a firm and uncontested diagnosis made while still alive.

Acting

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Bud Abbott Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott was an American actor, producer and comedian. He is best remembered as the straight man of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Lou Costello.-Early life:...	1897–1974	The straight man in the comedy team of Abbott and Costello Abbott and Costello William "Bud" Abbott and Lou Costello performed together as Abbott and Costello, an American comedy duo whose work on stage, radio, film and television made them the most popular comedy team during the 1940s and 1950s... . He had epilepsy all his life, and tried to control and hide it by drinking.
Ward Bond Ward Bond Wardell Edwin "Ward" Bond was an American film actor whose rugged appearance and easygoing charm were featured in over 200 movies and the television series Wagon Train.-Early life:...	1903–1960	A film actor Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... . His epilepsy meant that he was rejected from the draft Conscription in the United States Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...  for World War II World War II World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis... .
Danny Glover Danny Glover Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...	born 1946	An actor and film director who had epilepsy from age 15 to age 35.
Margaux Hemingway Margaux Hemingway Margaux Hemingway was an American fashion model and actress.- Early life :Margot Louise Hemingway was born in Portland, Oregon, and was the older sister of actress Mariel Hemingway and the granddaughter of writer Ernest Hemingway...	1955–1996	A film actress and model who had epilepsy from the age of 7. Her death was attributed to suicide by an intentional overdose of phenobarbital Phenobarbital Phenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the... , which is an anticonvulsant Anticonvulsant The anticonvulsants are a diverse group of pharmaceuticals used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and in the treatment of neuropathic pain. The goal of an... , but see the footnoted article for an alternative explanation.
Martin Kemp Martin Kemp (actor) Martin John Kemp is an English actor, musician, and occasional television presenter, best known as the bassist in the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet, as well as for his portrayal as Steve Owen from the BBC soap opera EastEnders...	born 1961	Actor and former bassist Bassist A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...  with the pop band Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet are a British band formed in London in the late 1970s. Initially inspired by, and an integral part of, the New Romantic fashion, their music has featured a mixture of funk, jazz, soul and synthpop. They were one of the most successful bands of the 1980s, achieving ten Top Ten singles... . He has had epilepsy since having two brain tumours in the 1990s.
Peter Deuel	1940–1971	A television and film actor Actor An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity... . His epilepsy is thought to have been brought on during adolescence by head injuries sustained in an automobile accident.
Rik Mayall Rik Mayall Richard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English comedian, writer, and actor. He is known for his comedy partnership with Ade Edmondson, his over-the-top, energetic portrayal of characters, and as a pioneer of alternative comedy in the early 1980s...	born 1958	A comedian and actor who was seriously injured and put in a coma for five days after a quad bike All-terrain vehicle An all-terrain vehicle , also known as a quad, quad bike, three wheeler, or four wheeler, is defined by the American National Standards Institute as a vehicle that travels on low pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, along with handlebars for steering control...  accident in 1998. Initially prescribed phenytoin Phenytoin Phenytoin sodium is a commonly used antiepileptic. Phenytoin acts to suppress the abnormal brain activity seen in seizure by reducing electrical conductance among brain cells by stabilizing the inactive state of voltage-gated sodium channels...  prophylactically, he has since had two seizures, possibly due to not taking his medication.
Hugo Weaving Hugo Weaving Hugo Wallace Weaving is a Nigerian born, English-Australian film actor and voice artist. He is best known for his roles as Agent Smith in the Matrix trilogy, Elrond in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "V" in V for Vendetta, and performances in numerous Australian character dramas.-Early...	born 1960	An actor who has taken anticonvulsants for epilepsy since his first seizure age 13.

Leadership, politics and royalty

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Michael IV the Paphlagonian	1010–1041	A Byzantine emperor who had frequent tonic clonic epileptic seizures since adolescence. It was perceived to be demonic possession – punishment for his sins. His royal entourage were alert to signs of an impending seizure and tried to hide the emperor when ill.
Ivan V Alekseyevich	1666–1696	Older half brother of Russian Tsar Peter the Great. Ivan V was feebleminded, epileptic, and half-blind. Would have never become Tsar except for the support of his sister Sophia, who wanted to become regent over him. His sister, with the military backing of the Streltsy Streltsy Streltsy were the units of Russian guardsmen in the 16th - early 18th centuries, armed with firearms. They are also collectively known as Marksman Troops .- Origins and organization :... , made Ivan V rule as co-tsar with Peter I (Great) (who had already been tsar for a few weeks).
Martha Parke Custis	1756–1773	The daughter of Martha Washington Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington is considered to be the first First Lady of the United States...  and step daughter of George Washington George Washington George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of... . She had seizures from early childhood and died during a seizure, aged 17. Unusually for the time, her parents did not hide her epilepsy and encouraged her to lead a normal life. They tried various treatments including mercury Mercury (element) Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is also known as quicksilver or hydrargyrum... , valeriana Valeriana Valeriana is a genus of flowering plants in the family Valerianaceae. It includes a number of species of which the best known is the garden valerian Valeriana officinalis... , factitious cinnabar Cinnabar Cinnabar or cinnabarite , is the common ore of mercury.-Word origin:The name comes from κινναβαρι , a Greek word most likely applied by Theophrastus to several distinct substances... , bleeding, and spring waters.
Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...	1792–1878	Had childhood epilepsy.
Francis Libermann Francis Libermann Francis Mary Paul Libermann was a 19th-century Jewish convert to Catholicism who was a member of the Spiritan order. He is best known for founding the Congregation of the Sacred Heart, which later merged with the Congregation of the Holy Ghost. He is often referred to as "The Second Founder of the...	1802–1852	A Jew who converted to Christianity and studied for priesthood. Epilepsy prevented his ordination for many years.
Ida McKinley	1847–1907	First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States First Lady of the United States is the title of the hostess of the White House. Because this position is traditionally filled by the wife of the president of the United States, the title is most often applied to the wife of a sitting president. The current first lady is Michelle Obama.-Current:The...  from 1897 to 1901. Her epilepsy started in adulthood and was to become quite disabling and inconvenient. As was normal for the time, great efforts were made to keep this secret. Her husband, William McKinley William McKinley William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...  would cover her face with a napkin when she had symptoms at dinner parties.
Antônio Moreira César	1850–1897	The brutal commander of the third Expedition in the War of Canudos War of Canudos The War of Canudos was a conflict between the state of Brazil and a group of some 30,000 settlers who had founded their own community in the northeastern state of Bahia, named Canudos... . He had epilepsy since his 30s, which worsened on the way to Canudos Canudos Canudos was a town founded in the racially diverse Bahia state of northeastern Brazil in 1893 by Antônio Vicente Mendes Maciel. Antonio was an itinerant preacher from Ceara who had been wandering through the backroads and lesser-inhabited areas of the country from the 1870s onwards, followed by a... . He was shot on the first day of battle and some blame the seizures for his military misjudgements.
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...	1870–1924	First Premier of the Soviet Union Premier of the Soviet Union The office of Premier of the Soviet Union was synonymous with head of government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics . Twelve individuals have been premier... . Lenin's final year was characterised by neurological decline and loss of function. In his last few months, he developed epilepsy. His seizures worsened and he died in status epilepticus Status epilepticus Status epilepticus is a life-threatening condition in which the brain is in a state of persistent seizure. Definitions vary, but traditionally it is defined as one continuous unremitting seizure lasting longer than 5 minutes, or recurrent seizures without regaining consciousness between seizures... , which had lasted 50 minutes.
Caligula Caligula Caligula , also known as Gaius, was Roman Emperor from 37 AD to 41 AD. Caligula was a member of the house of rulers conventionally known as the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Caligula's father Germanicus, the nephew and adopted son of Emperor Tiberius, was a very successful general and one of Rome's most...	12 AD-41 AD	Roman Emperor. Suetonius states that "As a boy he was troubled with the falling sickness [epilepsy], and while in his youth he had some endurance, yet at times because of sudden faintness he was hardly able to walk, to stand up, to collect his thoughts, or to hold up his head."
Harry Laughlin Harry H. Laughlin Harry Hamilton Laughlin was a leading American eugenicist in the first half of the 20th century. He was the director of the Eugenics Record Office from its inception in 1910 to its closing in 1939, and was among the most active individuals in influencing American eugenics policy, especially...	1880–1943	The director of the American United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...  Eugenics Record Office Eugenics Record Office The Eugenics Record Office at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, United States was a center for eugenics and human heredity research in the first half of the twentieth century. Both its founder, Charles Benedict Davenport, and its director, Harry H...  from its inception in 1910 to its closing in 1939. In 1922, he drew up laws for the compulsory sterilization of various "degenerate" groups, which included those with epilepsy.
Prince Erik, Duke of Västmanland	1889–1918	The youngest son of Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V of Sweden Gustaf V was King of Sweden from 1907. He was the eldest son of King Oscar II of Sweden and Sophia of Nassau, a half-sister of Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg... .
Prince John of the United Kingdom Prince John of the United Kingdom The Prince John was a member of the British Royal Family, the youngest son of King George V and Queen Mary. The Prince had epilepsy and consequently was largely hidden from the public eye.-Early life:...	1905–1919	The youngest son of King George V George V of the United Kingdom George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936.... , John had epilepsy from the age of 4 until his death after a seizure aged 13. The shame of his epilepsy, along with other neurological problems, meant he was kept from the public eye.
Rabbi Lionel Blue Lionel Blue Lionel Blue is a British Reform rabbi, journalist and broadcaster. He was the first British rabbi publicly to declare his homosexuality. Born in the East End of London, he was the son of a master tailor....	born 1930	A rabbi and broadcaster, best known for his contributions to "Thought for the Day Thought for the Day Thought for the Day is a daily scripted slot on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 offering "reflections from a faith perspective on issues and people in the news", broadcast at around 7.45 each Monday to Saturday morning... " on BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the... 's Today program Today programme Today is BBC Radio 4's long-running early morning news and current affairs programme, now broadcast from 6.00 am to 9.00 am Monday to Friday, and 7.00 am to 9.00 am on Saturdays. It is also the most popular programme on Radio 4 and one of the BBC's most popular programmes across its radio networks... . His epilepsy was diagnosed when he was aged 57 and is successfully controlled with medication.
Dave Longaberger Dave Longaberger David H. "Dave" Longaberger was an American businessman who founded the Longaberger Company, makers of handcrafted maple wood baskets and accessories. Dave has two daughters, Tami Longaberger, who is CEO of the Longaberger Company, and Rachel Longaberger Stukey, President of the Longaberger...	1934–1999	A businessman and founder of The Longaberger Company The Longaberger Company The Longaberger Company is an American manufacturer of handcrafted maple wood baskets and offers other home and lifestyle products, including pottery, wrought iron, fabric accessories and specialty foods. It is one of the primary employers in the southeastern Ohio area near Dresden, Ohio. Started... , makers of handcrafted maple wood baskets and accessories. He overcame epilepsy and a stutter, eventually graduating from high school aged 21.
Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie Neil Abercrombie is the 7th and current Governor of Hawaii. He was the Democratic U.S. Representative of the First Congressional District of Hawaii which comprises urban Honolulu. He served in Congress from 1986 to 1987 and from 1991 to 2010 when he resigned to successfully run for governor...	born 1937	Governor of Hawaii Governor of Hawaii The Governor of Hawaii is the chief executive of the state of Hawaii and its various agencies and departments, as provided in the Hawaii State Constitution Article V, Sections 1 through 6. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state...  who campaigns for increased funding for epilepsy research. He was diagnosed with epilepsy in his early thirties.
Rudi Dutschke Rudi Dutschke Alfred Willi Rudi Dutschke was the most prominent spokesperson of the German student movement of the 1960s. He advocated 'a long march through the institutions' of power to create radical change from within government and society by becoming an integral part of the machinery...	1940–1979	A prominent spokesperson of the left-wing German student movement German student movement The German student movement was a protest movement that took place during the late 1960s in West Germany. It was largely a reaction against the perceived authoritarianism and hypocrisy of the German government and other Western governments, and the poor living conditions of students...  of the 1960s. An assassination attempt in 1968, when he was shot twice in the head, left him partially blind and with frequent epileptic attacks. He drowned in the bathtub after suffering a seizure.
Tony Coelho Tony Coelho Anthony "Tony" Coelho is a former United States congressman from California, and primary sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act...	born 1942	A former United States congressman who developed epilepsy aged 16, possibly as a result of an earlier head injury. This would lead to rejection by his family and the Jesuits for "possession by the devil". He has campaigned as a congressman for disabled rights and chairs the Epilepsy Foundation Epilepsy Foundation The Epilepsy Foundation, also Epilepsy Foundation of America , is a non-profit national foundation, headquartered in Landover, Maryland, dedicated to the welfare of people with epilepsy and seizure disorders. The foundation was established in 1968 and now has a network of 59 affiliates... 's national board of directors.
Laura Sandys Laura Sandys Laura Jane Sandys is a British Conservative Party politician. She has been the Member of Parliament for South Thanet since the general election on 6 May 2010.-Early life:...	born 1964	British United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  Conservative Party Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...  politician. She was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...  (MP) for South Thanet. She revealed in parliament in October 2010 that she had epilepsy, but had been seizure-free for seven years.
Paul Maynard Paul Maynard Paul Christopher Maynard is a British Conservative Party politician. He was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Blackpool North and Cleveleys.-Early life:...	born 1975	British United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  Conservative Party Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...  politician. He was elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament Member of Parliament A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...  (MP) for Blackpool North and Cleveleys. He was the first British MP ever to reveal that he has epilepsy. In 2010, he was appointed vice-president of the charity Epilepsy Action Epilepsy Action Epilepsy Action is a UK based charity providing information, advice and support for people with epilepsy.The organisation was founded in 1950 as the British Epilepsy Association and adopted Epilepsy Action as its working name in 2002.... .

Music

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Jimmy Reed Jimmy Reed Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...	1925–1976	An American United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...  blues Blues Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...  singer. His diagnosis of epilepsy in 1957 was delayed due to an assumption that these were attacks of delirium tremens Delirium tremens Delirium tremens is an acute episode of delirium that is usually caused by withdrawal from alcohol, first described in 1813... . He died after an epileptic seizure aged 51.
Neil Young Neil Young Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...	born 1945	Canadian singer-songwriter, formerly of bands Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield Buffalo Springfield is a North American folk rock band renown both for its music and as a springboard for the careers of Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Richie Furay and Jim Messina. Among the first wave of North American bands to become popular in the wake of the British invasion, the group combined...  and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Disliked the effects of his medication; seeking personal stability as an alternative means of control.
Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Buckingham Lindsey Adams Buckingham is an American guitarist, singer, composer and producer, most notable for being the guitarist and male lead singer of the musical group Fleetwood Mac. Aside from his tenure with Fleetwood Mac, Buckingham has also released six solo albums and a live album...	born 1949	The guitarist and singer in the music group Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...  was taken to hospital after a seizure while on tour, aged 29. His epilepsy was successfully controlled by anticonvulsant drugs.
Chris Knox Chris Knox Chris Knox is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist, and DVD reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group Tall Dwarfs with guitarist Alec Bathgate, much loved for their honest,...	born 1952	New Zealand indie musician (Toy Love Toy Love Toy Love was a New Zealand New Wave/punk rock band fronted by Chris Knox. Other members were guitarist Alec Bathgate, bass player Paul Kean, drummer Mike Dooley, and keyboard player Jane Walker... , Tall Dwarfs Tall Dwarfs Tall Dwarfs are a New Zealand rock band formed in 1981 by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate who, through their do-it-yourself ethic, helped pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music. The duo formed out of the ashes of Toy Love.... ) has addressed his epilepsy in such songs as "Lapse", and it is also referenced in his album title "Seizure".
Ian Curtis Ian Curtis Ian Kevin Curtis was an English singer and lyricist, famous for leading the post-punk band Joy Division. Joy Division released their debut album, Unknown Pleasures, in 1979 and recorded their follow-up, Closer, in 1980...	1956–1980	The vocalist and lyricist of the band Joy Division Joy Division Joy Division were an English rock band formed in 1976 in Salford, Greater Manchester. Originally named Warsaw, the band primarily consisted of Ian Curtis , Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris .Joy Division rapidly evolved from their initial punk rock influences...  was diagnosed with epilepsy aged 22. The cover of their album Unknown Pleasures Unknown Pleasures Unknown Pleasures is the debut album by the English post-punk band Joy Division, released in 1979 through Factory Records. Martin Hannett produced the record at Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England. The album sold poorly upon release, but due to the subsequent success of Joy Division with the... resembles an EEG tracing, but is actually the tracings of the radio emissions of a pulsar Pulsar A pulsar is a highly magnetized, rotating neutron star that emits a beam of electromagnetic radiation. The radiation can only be observed when the beam of emission is pointing towards the Earth. This is called the lighthouse effect and gives rise to the pulsed nature that gives pulsars their name... . The condition was a primary cause of his suicide in 1980.
Richard Jobson Richard Jobson (television presenter) Richard Jobson is a Scottish singer-songwriter and film-maker, best known as a television presenter, film director, producer and screenwriter.-Early life:...	born 1960	Formerly the lead singer with the punk rock group The Skids The Skids Skids were an art-punk/punk rock and new wave band from Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, founded in 1977 by Stuart Adamson , William Simpson , Thomas Kellichan and Richard Jobson... , now a television presenter and film maker. He has absence seizures.
Edith Bowman Edith Bowman Edith Eleanor Bowman is a Scottish music critic, radio DJ and television presenter. She is mostly known for hosting the weekday afternoon show and from September 2009 weekend morning on BBC Radio 1 and for presenting a variety of music related television shows and music...	born 1975	Scottish Scotland Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...  television presenter and a radio Radio Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...  D.J. Disc jockey A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys... , who had epilepsy as a child.
Peter Jefferies Peter Jefferies Peter Jefferies is a musician from New Zealand.In 1981 Peter and his brother Graeme Jefferies formed the post-punk band Nocturnal Projections. The band released a few records, and played around their hometown of New Plymouth, as well as Auckland....	born ca.1961	New Zealand musician (Nocturnal Projections Nocturnal Projections Nocturnal Projections were a post-punk band from Stratford, near New Plymouth, New Zealand that began recording in 1981 and split up in 1983. Often compared to British bands, especially Joy Division, with whom they shared a moody, bass-driven sound, although the Projections’ guitar was less... , This Kind of Punishment This Kind Of Punishment This Kind Of Punishment were a band from New Zealand.The band was formed by brothers Peter and Graeme Jefferies, after the breakup of their post-punk outfit Nocturnal Projections. Their first self-titled album was recorded on 4-track recorder borrowed from Chris Knox, and released in an edition of... ).
Vusi Mahlasela Vusi Mahlasela Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter.His music is generally described as "African folk". His work was an inspiration to many in the anti-apartheid movement. His themes include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies...	born 1965	A singer-songwriter whose work inspired those in the anti-apartheid movement.
Hikari Oe Hikari Oe is a Japanese composer who has autism. He is the son of Japanese author Kenzaburō Ōe.Hikari Ōe was born developmentally disabled. Doctors tried to convince his parents to let their son die, but they refused to do so. Even after an operation, Ōe remained visually impaired, developmentally delayed,...	born 1963	A Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... ese composer Composer A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...  who has autism Autism Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their... , epilepsy and mental retardation Mental retardation Mental retardation is a generalized disorder appearing before adulthood, characterized by significantly impaired cognitive functioning and deficits in two or more adaptive behaviors...  and has created two successful classical-music CDs. He is the son of Kenzaburo Oe Kenzaburo Oe is a Japanese author and a major figure in contemporary Japanese literature. His works, strongly influenced by French and American literature and literary theory, deal with political, social and philosophical issues including nuclear weapons, social non-conformism and existentialism.Ōe was awarded... , the Japanese novelist who won the 1994 Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"... .
Mike Nolan Mike Nolan (singer) Mike Nolan is a singer and was one of the four original members of the British pop group, Bucks Fizz. He was born in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, but raised in the UK, where he still resides.- Early career :...	born 1954	Singer and one of the four original members of the British Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...  pop Pop music Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...  group Band (music) In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...  Bucks Fizz Bucks Fizz (band) Bucks Fizz are an English pop group who achieved success in the 1980s, most notably for winning the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Making Your Mind Up". The group was formed in January 1981 specifically for the contest and comprised four vocalists: Bobby G, Cheryl Baker, Mike Nolan and... . Developed epilepsy after a coach accident in 1985.
Adam Horovitz	born 1966	Member of the music group Beastie Boys Beastie Boys Beastie Boys are an American hip hop trio from New York City. The group consists of Mike D who plays the drums, MCA who plays the bass, and Ad-Rock who plays the guitar.... .
Mike Skinner The Streets The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The...	born 1978	Also known as The Streets The Streets The Streets were a British rap/garage project from Birmingham, United Kingdom, led by vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Skinner and has included a myriad of other contributors most notably drummer Johnny Drum Machine, vocalist Kevin Mark Trail and the Italian-American beatmaker Leroy.The... , he had epilepsy between the ages of 7 and 20.
Geoff Rickly Geoff Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly Geoffrey William Rickly (born March 8, 1979 is the lead singer and songwriter of Thursday, an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. They have released six studio albums. Rickly grew up in Dumont, New Jersey...	born 1979	A member of the band Thursday Thursday (band) Thursday were an American rock band from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Formed in 1997, the group has released six full-length albums, their most recent being No Devolución, which was released in April 2011 on Epitaph Records... , who discovered he had epilepsy while on tour.
Prince Prince (musician) Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...	born 1958	American United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...  singer, who had epilepsy as a child and sang about his condition in the song 'The Sacrifice of Victor'.

Sport

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander Grover Cleveland Alexander , nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals and was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1938.-Career:Alexander was born in Elba, Nebraska, one of thirteen...	1887–1950	A major league baseball Major League Baseball Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...  pitcher who tried to hide his epilepsy with alcohol, which was at the time considered to be a more socially acceptable problem. Ty Cobb Ty Cobb Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb , nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia...  said he "suffered hell on the field."
Tony Lazzeri Tony Lazzeri Anthony Michael "Tony" Lazzeri was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees. He was part of the famed "Murderers' Row" Yankee batting lineup of the late 1920s , along with Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and Bob Meusel...	1903–1946	A major league baseball player who probably died after seizure that occurred when he was alone at home.
Hal Lanier Hal Lanier Harold Clifton Lanier is a former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. From through , Lanier played for the San Francisco Giants and New York Yankees...	born 1942	A major league baseball player and manager. He developed epilepsy after a severe beaning.
Tony Greig Tony Greig Anthony "Tony" William Greig is a former English Test cricketer and currently a commentator.Born in Queenstown, South Africa, Greig qualified to play for England by virtue of his Scottish father. He was a tall batting all-rounder who bowled both medium pace and off spin. He became captain of the...	born 1946	A former cricketer Cricketer A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....  and commentator who is involved with Epilepsy Action Australia. He had his first seizure, aged 14, during a tennis game but has successfully controlled his epilepsy with medication.
Buddy Bell Buddy Bell David Gus "Buddy" Bell is a former third baseman and manager in Major League Baseball. After an 18-year career with four teams, most notably the Cleveland Indians and Texas Rangers, he managed the Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies and Kansas City Royals for three seasons each...	born 1951	A major league baseball player and manager.
Bobby Jones	born 1951	A former pro basketball Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...  player who developed epilepsy and a heart problem as an adult, but persevered with his game.
Terry Marsh Terry Marsh (boxer) Terry Marsh is an English former professional boxer who was an undefeated world champion in the light welterweight division....	born 1958	A boxer Boxing Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...  who was IBF International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation or IBF is one of four major organizations recognized by IBHOF which sanction world championship boxing bouts, alongside the WBA, WBC and WBO.- History :...  world light-welterweight champion. His diagnosis of epilepsy in 1987, aged 29, forced him into retirement undefeated.
Greg Walker Greg Walker Gregory Lee Walker is a former power-hitting first baseman in Major League Baseball and the former hitting coach of the Chicago White Sox, the team for which he played all but the last 14 games of his career. As a player for 9 years, Walker hit 113 home runs and drove in 444 runs, while scoring...	born 1959	A major league baseball player who collapsed on field with a tonic-clonic seizure. He had a further seizure in hospital that night and took anticonvulsant medication for the next two years. Walker had a childhood history of seizures until the age of 4.
Florence Griffith Joyner	1959–1998	An athlete Athletics (track and field) Athletics is an exclusive collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking. The most common types of athletics competitions are track and field, road running, cross country running, and race walking...  with world records in the 100 m and 200 m. She developed seizures in her thirties, possibly due to a cavernous angioma Cavernous angioma Cavernous angioma, also known as cerebral cavernous malformation , cavernous haemangioma, and cavernoma, is a vascular disorder that alternately has been classified as neoplastic or hamartomatous. It is characterized by grossly dilated blood vessels with a single layer of endothelium and an...  that was discovered on autopsy. She died from asphyxia Asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of severely deficient supply of oxygen to the body that arises from being unable to breathe normally. An example of asphyxia is choking. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which primarily affects the tissues and organs... tion after a grand mal seizure while asleep.
Wally Lewis Wally Lewis Walter James "Wally" Lewis AM is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer and coach. Currently a commentator of the sport, he is widely regarded as the greatest rugby league player of all time...	born 1959	One of Australia's greatest rugby league players, national team captain 1984-89. After retirement from the sport, he became a television sports presenter, but became disoriented during a live-to-air broadcast in late 2006. Medical tests revealed that he had epilepsy.
Paul Wade Paul Wade Paul Wade is a retired Australian football player, who is best known for his long-term role as captain of the Socceroos, Australia's national football team.-Club career:...	born 1962	Former Australian national Football (soccer) Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...  player and television sports commentator. Wade had epilepsy all his life but was only diagnosed as an adult. He kept it secret until he had a seizure on live television in 2001. Drugs weren't controlling the seizures so, in 2002, he had surgery to remove a scar in his brain. He is now seizure free.
Marion Clignet Marion Clignet Marion Clignet is a French former track cyclist. Clignet was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 22 and was shunned by the United States Cycling Federation, and she subsequently raced for France.- Palmarès :...	born 1964	A Franco-American cyclist who found that she has epilepsy at the age of 22. She was shunned by the U.S. cycling federation and subsequently rode in the colors of France. She has since won 6 world titles, 2 Olympic silver medals, as well as numerous races world wide.
Maggie McEleny Maggie McEleny Margaret McIntosh McEleny MBE is a Scottish swimmer. She has paraplegia and epilepsy due to a head injury at age 11, which left her blind for a while. She competed in four Summer Paralympics from 1992 to 2004...	born 1965	Four times British Paralympic Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...  swimmer, winning 3 gold, 5 silver and 7 bronze. McEleny has paraplegia Paraplegia Paraplegia is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek: παραπληγίη "half-striking". It is usually the result of spinal cord injury or a congenital condition such as spina bifida that affects the neural elements of the spinal canal...  and epilepsy. In 2000, she was made an MBE Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...  and awarded a Golden Jubilee Award by the British Epilepsy Association Epilepsy Action Epilepsy Action is a UK based charity providing information, advice and support for people with epilepsy.The organisation was founded in 1950 as the British Epilepsy Association and adopted Epilepsy Action as its working name in 2002.... .
Jonty Rhodes Jonty Rhodes Jonathan Neil "Jonty" Rhodes is a former South African Test and One Day International cricketer who played for the South African cricket team between 1992 and 2003.Rhodes was born in Pietermaritzburg, Natal Province, South Africa...	born 1969	A cricketer who is involved with Epilepsy South Africa.
Tom Smith Tom Smith (rugby player) Tom Smith is a rugby union coach and former player born in London, England who represented Scotland and the Lions.-Education and background:He was educated at Emanuel School in London and Rannoch School in Scotland...	born 1971	Former Scottish international and Northampton Saints rugby Rugby football Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...  player. Has had epilepsy since the age of 18. His seizures occur only at night, during sleep. He is a patron of the Scottish epilepsy charity, Enlighten.
Alan Faneca Alan Faneca Alan Joseph Faneca, Jr. is a former American football guard in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers 26th overall in the 1998 NFL Draft and played college football for Louisiana State....	born 1976	An American Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...  guard Guard (American football) In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....  who currently plays for the Arizona Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... . He was diagnosed with epilepsy at the age of 15 and takes the anticonvulsant carbamazepine Carbamazepine Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug used primarily in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder, as well as trigeminal neuralgia... , which successfully controls his seizures.
Samari Rolle Samari Rolle Samari Toure Rolle is a retired American football cornerback. He was drafted by the Tennessee Oilers in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft. He played college football at Florida State....	born 1976	A former American Football American football American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...  cornerback who played for the Baltimore Ravens Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his... .
Chanda Gunn Chanda Gunn Chanda Leigh Gunn is an American ice hockey player. She won a bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Olympics. At the games in Turin, she played close to 250 minutes and had 50 saves with a save percentage of 89.3%.-Northeastern:In the 2003-04 season, Chanda Gunn was in her senior season led the Huskies...	born 1980	A goalie in the US 2006 Winter Olympic women's hockey team. Gunn was diagnosed with juvenile absence epilepsy at the age of 9, which was treated with valproic acid Valproic acid Valproic acid is a chemical compound that has found clinical use as an anticonvulsant and mood-stabilizing drug, primarily in the treatment of epilepsy, bipolar disorder, and, less commonly, major depression. It is also used to treat migraine headaches and schizophrenia... . Epilepsy meant that she had to give up her childhood sports of swimming and surfing, but these were soon replaced with hockey Hockey Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:... .
Leon Legge Leon Legge Leon Clinton E. Legge is an English professional footballer. He currently plays for Brentford as a central defender.-Career:...	born 1985	An English England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...  professional footballer, who currently plays for Brentford Brentford F.C. Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....  as a central defender. His epilepsy is currently controlled.
Dai Greene	born 1986	A Welsh Welsh people The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...  hurdler who specialises in the 400 metres hurdles 400 metres hurdles The 400 metres hurdles is an Olympic athletics event in track and field. On a standard outdoor track 400 metres is the length of the inside lane once around the stadium. Runners stay in their lane the entire way after starting out of the blocks and must clear ten hurdles that are evenly...  event. Greene is the current European, Commonwealth and World Champion.

Art and writing

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Edward Lear Edward Lear Edward Lear was an English artist, illustrator, author, and poet, renowned today primarily for his literary nonsense, in poetry and prose, and especially his limericks, a form that he popularised.-Biography:...	1812–1888	An artist, illustrator and writer known for his nonsensical poetry and limericks. His epilepsy, which he developed as a child, may have been inherited (his elder sister Jane had frequent seizures and died young). Lear was ashamed of his epilepsy and kept it a secret. He did, however, record each seizure in his diary.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky	1821–1881	A Russian writer whose epilepsy was probably inherited (both his father and his son had seizures). He incorporated his experiences into his novels – creating four different characters with epilepsy. Dostoyevsky's epilepsy was unusual in that he claimed to experience an ecstatic aura Aura (symptom) An aura is a perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache, and the telltale sensation experienced by some people with epilepsy before a seizure. It often manifests as the perception of a strange light, an unpleasant smell or confusing thoughts or...  prior to a seizure, whereas most people experience unpleasant feelings.
George Inness George Inness George Inness was an American landscape painter; born in Newburgh, New York; died at Bridge of Allan in Scotland. His work was influenced, in turn, by that of the old masters, the Hudson River school, the Barbizon school, and, finally, by the theology of Emanuel Swedenborg, whose spiritualism...	1825–1894	An American painter who had epilepsy from childhood.
R. D. Blackmore R. D. Blackmore Richard Doddridge Blackmore , referred to most commonly as R. D. Blackmore, was one of the most famous English novelists of the second half of the nineteenth century. Over the course of his career, Blackmore achieved a close following around the world...	1825–1900	Author of Lorna Doone Lorna Doone Lorna Doone: A Romance of Exmoor is a novel by Richard Doddridge Blackmore. It is a romance based on a group of historical characters and set in the late 17th century in Devon and Somerset, particularly around the East Lyn Valley area of Exmoor.... .
Charles Altamont Doyle Charles Altamont Doyle Charles Altamont Doyle was a Victorian artist. He was the brother of the artist Richard Doyle, and the son of the artist John Doyle. Although the family was Irish, Doyle was born and raised in England....	1832–1893	Artist and father of Arthur Conan Doyle Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger... . His alcoholism and a violent outburst led him to be detained in an asylum. Whilst there, he developed epilepsy and severe memory problems.
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...	1832–1910	Norwegian Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...  writer and a 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature Nobel Prize in Literature Since 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...  laureate. Developed focal epilepsy following a stroke in the final year of his life.
Ion Creangă Ion Creanga Ion Creangă was a Moldavian-born Romanian writer, raconteur and schoolteacher. A main figure in 19th century Romanian literature, he is best known for his Childhood Memories volume, his novellas and short stories, and his many anecdotes...	1837–1889	A Romania Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... n children's writer Children's literature Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...  and memoir Memoir A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below... ist who had epilepsy for the last six years of his life.
Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis , often known as Machado de Assis, Machado, or Bruxo do Cosme Velho , was a Brazilian novelist, poet, playwright and short story writer. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer of Brazilian literature, but he did not gain widespread popularity outside Brazil in...	1839–1908	A Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... ian realist Literary realism Literary realism most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth-century French literature and extending to late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century authors in various countries, towards depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were." In the spirit of...  novelist, poet and short-story writer Writer A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images.... . He had epilepsy all his life, but was ashamed to mention it, using euphemisms when writing to friends. It is believed he had complex partial seizures, with secondary generalisation.
Dmitri Sinodi-Popov Dmitri Sinodi-Popov Dmitri Minaevich Sinodi-Popov was a Russian artist of Greek descent.Dmitri Sinodi-Popov was born in the city of Taganrog, where he received a good education at home: violin, French, Italian and Greek languages and was very good at the visual arts. In 1870, Sinodi-Popov entered the St...	1855–1910	A Russian artist, whose epilepsy interrupted his studies at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.
Minakata Kumagusu Minakata Kumagusu was a Japanese author and naturalist.-Biography:Minakata was born in Wakayama, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. In 1883, he moved to Tokyo, where he entered the preparatory school Kyōryū Gakkō. The headmaster of Kyōritsu, Takahashi Korekiyo, encouraged Minakata in his botanical studies as well as got...	1867–1941	A Japanese writer and naturalist. He had tonic-clonic seizures, with an aura that caused déjà vu Déjà vu Déjà vu is the experience of feeling sure that one has already witnessed or experienced a current situation, even though the exact circumstances of the prior encounter are uncertain and were perhaps imagined... . Postmortem MRI showed right hippocampal Hippocampus The hippocampus is a major component of the brains of humans and other vertebrates. It belongs to the limbic system and plays important roles in the consolidation of information from short-term memory to long-term memory and spatial navigation. Humans and other mammals have two hippocampi, one in...  atrophy, consistent with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Vachel Lindsay Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay was an American poet. He is considered the father of modern singing poetry, as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted...	1879–1931	A poet who took phenobarbital Phenobarbital Phenobarbital or phenobarbitone is a barbiturate, first marketed as Luminal by Friedr. Bayer et comp. It is the most widely used anticonvulsant worldwide, and the oldest still commonly used. It also has sedative and hypnotic properties but, as with other barbiturates, has been superseded by the...  for his epilepsy.
Laurie Lee Laurie Lee Laurence Edward Alan "Laurie" Lee, MBE was an English poet, novelist, and screenwriter, raised in the village of Slad, and went to Marling School, Gloucestershire. His most famous work was an autobiographical trilogy which consisted of Cider with Rosie , As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning and...	1914–1997	A poet, novelist and screenwriter, most famous for his autobiographical trilogy (which includes Cider with Rosie). His epilepsy probably developed after he was knocked down by a bicycle at the age of 10. He kept it secret and it only surfaced when his papers were read by biographers after his death.
Kyffin Williams Kyffin Williams Sir John "Kyffin" Williams, KBE, RA was a Welsh landscape painter who lived at Pwllfanogl, Llanfairpwll on the Island of Anglesey...	1918–2006	A landscape painter. His epilepsy ended his army career and may have prevented him marrying.
Max Clifford Max Clifford Maxwell Frank Clifford is an English publicist, considered the highest-profile and best-known publicist in the United Kingdom...	born 1943	A publicist Publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a public figure, especially a celebrity, a business, or for a work such as a book, film or album...  known for representing controversial clients. He developed epilepsy at the age of 46.
Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong Karen Armstrong FRSL , is a British author and commentator who is the author of twelve books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic nun, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical faith...	born 1944	An author, feminist and writer on Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism. Her temporal lobe epilepsy went undiagnosed for many years. She wrote in her autobiography that when (in her early thirties) she was finally given the diagnosis, it was "an occasion of pure happiness".
Thom Jones Thom Jones Thom Jones is an American writer, primarily of short stories.-Biography:Jones was raised in Aurora, Illinois, and attended the University of Hawaii, where he played catcher on the baseball team...	born 1945	Author of short stories, many of which include characters with epilepsy.
Stephen Knight	1951–1985	An author who was known for his books criticising the Freemasons Freemasonry Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge... . He started having seizures in 1977 and in 1980, agreed to take part in a BBC BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...  documentary TV program Horizon on epilepsy. The producers arranged for a brain scan, which showed up a tumour. This was removed but returned in 1984 and despite further surgery he died in 1985.
DeBarra Mayo DeBarra Mayo DeBarra Mayo is an American health and fitness advocate, writer and media personality. She has epilepsy, which has led her to a career involved with maintaining and enhancing health. She has written regularly on the subject of health and wellness in books, magazines and newspapers, as well as on...	born 1953	Fitness and health author and writer.
Jago Eliot	1966–2006	Aristocrat Lord Lord is a title with various meanings. It can denote a prince or a feudal superior . The title today is mostly used in connection with the peerage of the United Kingdom or its predecessor countries, although some users of the title do not themselves hold peerages, and use it 'by courtesy'... , surfer Surfing Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...  and cyber artist. He died in his bath due to an epileptic seizure, which was recorded as a Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy, or SUDEP is a term used when a person with epilepsy suddenly dies, and the reason for the death results from unexplained respiratory failure or cardiac arrest after seizures. SUDEP is sometimes referred to as "Sudden Unexplained Death in Epilepsy", as the cause...  (SUDEP).
Kathy Sierra Kathy Sierra Kathy Sierra is a programming instructor and game developer.She is the co-creator of the Head First series of books on technical topics, along with her partner, Bert Bates. The series, which began with Head First Java in 2003, takes an unorthodox, visually intensive approach to the process of...	born 1957	A programming instructor and game developer who co-created the Head First series of books on computer programming. She had her first tonic-clonic seizure aged four. These were frequent and severe but greatly diminished by adulthood and were always preceded by an aura Aura (symptom) An aura is a perceptual disturbance experienced by some migraine sufferers before a migraine headache, and the telltale sensation experienced by some people with epilepsy before a seizure. It often manifests as the perception of a strange light, an unpleasant smell or confusing thoughts or... .

Miscellaneous

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Jean Clemens Jean Clemens Jane Lampton Clemens, usually known as Jean Clemens, was the youngest of the three daughters of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, and his wife Olivia Langdon Clemens. She was born in Hartford, Connecticut...	1880–1909	The youngest daughter of Mark Twain Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist... . She had epilepsy from age fifteen, which her father attributed to a childhood head injury. Her epilepsy was not successfully controlled and at one point she was sent to an epilepsy colony in Katonah, New York Katonah, New York Katonah, New York is one of three unincorporated hamlets within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, New York, United States.-History:Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an American Indian from whom the land of Bedford was purchased by a group of English colonists... . She was found dead on Christmas Eve in her bath aged 29. The cause of death was reported as drowning due to epilepsy.
Derek Bentley Derek Bentley Derek William Bentley was a British teenager hanged for the murder of a police officer, committed in the course of a burglary attempt. The murder of the police officer was committed by a friend and accomplice of Bentley's, Christopher Craig, then aged 16. Bentley was convicted as a party to the...	1933–1953	Hanged, aged 19, for a crime his partner committed, Bentley had epilepsy and a mental age of 11. He was pardoned after a 45 year campaign, which included the film Let Him Have It Let Him Have It Let Him Have It is a 1991 British film, which was based on the true story of the case against Derek Bentley, who was hanged for murder under controversial circumstances on 28 January 1953. While Bentley did not directly play a role in the murder of PC Sidney Miles, he received the greater... , starring Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra... .
Emilie Dionne Dionne quintuplets The Dionne quintuplets are the first quintuplets known to survive their infancy. The sisters were born just outside Callander, Ontario, Canada near the village of Corbeil.The Dionne girls were born two months premature...	1934–1954	The third of the Dionne quintuplets. Emilie's epilepsy was only made public after her death at a convent in Sainte Agathe, Quebec. She died from the complications of a series of epileptic seizures. These were recorded at noon the previous day, 11pm, 3am, and 5am, but no doctor was called until after her death. Her death from epilepsy caused alarm, leading H. Houston Merritt H. Houston Merritt H. Houston Merritt was one of the pre-eminent academic neurologists of his day. As the chair of the Neurological Institute of New York from 1948 to 1967, he oversaw the training of hundreds of neurologists; 35 of his former students have become chairs of academic neurology departments across the...  to inform the public that "the mortality rate among epileptics is no greater than among non-sufferers".
Virginia Ridley Virginia Ridley Virginia Ridley was a woman from Ringgold, Georgia, whose death made headlines when her husband, Alvin, was arrested and charged with imprisoning her for almost three decades, then killing her....	1948–1997	A woman who had agoraphobia Agoraphobia Agoraphobia is an anxiety disorder defined as a morbid fear of having a panic attack or panic-like symptoms in a situation from which it is perceived to be difficult to escape. These situations can include, but are not limited to, wide-open spaces, crowds, or uncontrolled social conditions... , hypergraphia Hypergraphia Hypergraphia is an overwhelming urge to write. It is not itself a disorder, but can be associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy and mania in the context of bipolar disorder.-Causes:...  and epilepsy Epilepsy Epilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by seizures. These seizures are transient signs and/or symptoms of abnormal, excessive or hypersynchronous neuronal activity in the brain.About 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, and nearly two out of every three new cases... . Her eccentric husband Alvin was charged with her murder but cleared after the jury accepted that she may have suffocated during a seizure. She had not been seen outside her home for 25 years.
Don Craig Wiley Don Craig Wiley Don Craig Wiley was an American microbiologist.Wiley was world-renowned for finding new ways to help the human immune system battle such viral scourges as smallpox, influenza, AIDS, Ebola, and herpes simplex. His research was honored with the 1993 Cancer Research Institute William B. Coley Award...	1944–2001	A protein-structure biochemist. He kept his epilepsy secret, did not treat it, and died under mysterious circumstances, possibly owing to a seizure.
Barry George Barry George Barry Michael George is a British man who was wrongly convicted on 2 July 2001 of the murder of British television presenter Jill Dando. His murder conviction was judged unsafe by the Court of Appeal and was quashed on 15 November 2007...	born 1960	Initially convicted but later acquitted of murder Murder Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide... ing the British United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...  television presenter Jill Dando Jill Dando Jill Wendy Dando was an English journalist, television presenter and newsreader who worked for the BBC for 14 years. She was murdered by gunshot outside her home in Fulham, West London; her killer has never been identified.... . Has epilepsy and mental health problems.
Katie Hopkins Katie Hopkins Katie Hopkins is a British reality television contestant, businesswoman and journalist, best known for her 2007 appearance on the third UK series of TV reality programme The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British businessman Sir Alan Sugar. Hopkins...	born 1975	English England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...  reality television Reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...  contestant (The Apprentice The Apprentice (UK Series Three) Series Three of The Apprentice was a television series which aired in the UK on BBC One. The series began on 28 March 2007 and finished on 13 June 2007, with Simon Ambrose as the winner. Ambrose's prize was to work on a project to develop a hotel and golfing complex near Stansted Airport, whilst... , I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! (Series 7 UK) I'm a Celebrity... Get Me out of Here! returned on ITV Network for a seventh series on Monday 12 November, and ran until Friday 30 November 2007.Series six winner Matt Willis and his fiancée, Emma Griffiths, are presenting ITV2's I'm a Celebrity..... ) and businesswoman, who developed epilepsy as a teenager
Daniel Tammet Daniel Tammet Daniel Tammet is a British writer. His best selling 2006 memoir, Born On A Blue Day, about his life with high-functioning autism and savant syndrome, was named a "Best Book for Young Adults" in 2008 by the American Library Association.Tammet's second book, Embracing the Wide Sky, was named one of...	born 1979	An autistic savant who is gifted with a facility for mathematics Mathematics Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...  problems, sequence Sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an ordered list of objects . Like a set, it contains members , and the number of terms is called the length of the sequence. Unlike a set, order matters, and exactly the same elements can appear multiple times at different positions in the sequence...  memory Memory In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory.... , and natural language Natural language In the philosophy of language, a natural language is any language which arises in an unpremeditated fashion as the result of the innate facility for language possessed by the human intellect. A natural language is typically used for communication, and may be spoken, signed, or written...  learning. He had temporal lobe epilepsy as a child.

Retrospective diagnosis

The following people were not diagnosed with epilepsy during their lifetime. A retrospective diagnosis

Retrospective diagnosis

A retrospective diagnosis is the practice of identifying an illness in a historical figure using modern knowledge, methods and disease classifications...

 is speculative and, as detailed below, can be wrong.

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Socrates Socrates Socrates was a classical Greek Athenian philosopher. Credited as one of the founders of Western philosophy, he is an enigmatic figure known chiefly through the accounts of later classical writers, especially the writings of his students Plato and Xenophon, and the plays of his contemporary ...	470–399 BC	Ancient Greek Ancient Greece Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...  philosopher Philosophy Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational... . It is speculated that his daimonion Daemon (mythology) The words dæmon and daimôn are Latinized spellings of the Greek "δαίμων", a reference to the daemons of Ancient Greek religion and mythology, as well as later Hellenistic religion and philosophy... was a simple partial seizure and that he had temporal lobe epilepsy Temporal lobe epilepsy Temporal lobe epilepsy a.k.a. Psychomotor epilepsy, is a form of focal epilepsy, a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent seizures. Over 40 types of epilepsies are known. They fall into two main categories: partial-onset epilepsies and generalized-onset epilepsies... .
Julius Caesar Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....	100–44 BC	Roman military and political leader. He had four documented episodes of what were probably complex partial seizures. He may additionally have had absence seizure Absence seizure Absence seizures are one of several kinds of seizures. These seizures are sometimes referred to as petit mal seizures .... s in his youth. There is family history of epilepsy amongst his ancestors and descendants. The earliest accounts of these seizures were made by the biographer Suetonius Suetonius Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus, commonly known as Suetonius , was a Roman historian belonging to the equestrian order in the early Imperial era....  who was born after Caesar's death.
Elizabeth Monroe	1768–1830	The wife of James Monroe James Monroe James Monroe was the fifth President of the United States . Monroe was the last president who was a Founding Father of the United States, and the last president from the Virginia dynasty and the Republican Generation... , fifth President of the United States President of the United States The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces.... . Some historians believe her illness was epilepsy. She is reported to have been prone to convulsions and was once seriously burnt after falling into a fireplace.
Napoleon I of France Napoleon I of France Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...	1769–1821	French military leader and emperor. A paper by William Osler William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...  in 1903 stated, "The slow pulse of Napoleon rests upon tradition; it has been suggested that his epilepsy and attacks of apathy may have been associated features in a chronic form of Stokes-Adams disease Stokes-Adams attack Stokes–Adams syndrome refers to a sudden, transient episode of syncope, occasionally featuring seizures. It is named after two Irish physicians, Robert Adams and William Stokes .-Signs and symptoms:... ", which implies the seizures were not epileptic in origin. However, in 2003, John Hughes concluded that Napoleon had both psychogenic Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures , also known as Non-Epileptic Attack Disorders, are events superficially resembling an epileptic seizure, but without the characteristic electrical discharges associated with epilepsy. Instead, PNES are psychological in origin, and may be thought of as similar to...  attacks due to stress and epileptic seizures due to chronic uremia Uremia Uremia or uraemia is a term used to loosely describe the illness accompanying kidney failure , in particular the nitrogenous waste products associated with the failure of this organ....  from a severe urethral stricture Urethral stricture A urethral stricture is a narrowing of the urethra caused by injury or disease such as urinary tract infections or other forms of urethritis.-Signs and symptoms:...  caused by gonorrhea Gonorrhea Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The usual symptoms in men are burning with urination and penile discharge. Women, on the other hand, are asymptomatic half the time or have vaginal discharge and pelvic pain... .
Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...	1820-22 – 1913	An African-American abolitionist. Developed what was probably epilepsy as a result of a head injury.
George Gershwin George Gershwin George Gershwin was an American composer and pianist. Gershwin's compositions spanned both popular and classical genres, and his most popular melodies are widely known...	1898–1937	American composer. The first symptoms of his glioblastoma multiforme Glioblastoma multiforme Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive malignant primary brain tumor in humans, involving glial cells and accounting for 52% of all functional tissue brain tumor cases and 20% of all intracranial tumors. Despite being the most prevalent form of primary brain tumor, GBMs...  tumor were probably olfactory-uncinate simple partial seizures. He noticed the smell of burnt rubber at the same time as dizziness or, occasionally, brief blackouts. His condition deteriorated and he died six months later, despite surgery to remove the tumor.
Philip K. Dick Philip K. Dick Philip Kindred Dick was an American novelist, short story writer and essayist whose published work is almost entirely in the science fiction genre. Dick explored sociological, political and metaphysical themes in novels dominated by monopolistic corporations, authoritarian governments and altered...	1928–1982	A science fiction Science fiction Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...  writer Writer A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images.... . One biographer suggests temporal lobe epilepsy as a possible cause of his visions, but also regards such speculation as futile and unverifiable.

Religious figures

Many religious figures have been suspected of having had temporal lobe epilepsy. Looking for physical explanations of mystical experiences is controversial. Sudden religious conversion, together with visions, has been documented in a small number of individuals with temporal lobe epilepsy, but the association between epilepsy and intense religious feelings is rare. Aspects of the Geschwind syndrome

Geschwind syndrome

Geschwind syndrome, also known as "Gastaut-Geschwind" is a characteristic personality syndrome consisting of symptoms such as circumstantiality, hypergraphia, altered sexuality , and intensified mental life , hyper-religiosity and/or hyper-morality or moral ideas that is present in some...

 have been identified in some religious figures, in particular – extreme religiosity and hypergraphia

Hypergraphia

Hypergraphia is an overwhelming urge to write. It is not itself a disorder, but can be associated with temporal lobe changes in epilepsy and mania in the context of bipolar disorder.-Causes:...

 (excessive writing). Many neurologists strongly question the presence of a link between any personality profile and epilepsy. The presence of an entry in the following list does not indicate a scholarly consensus in favour of a diagnosis of epilepsy; merely that such a diagnosis has been suggested.

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
The Priestly source of the Pentateuch Priestly source The Priestly Source is one of the sources of the Torah/Pentateuch in the bible. Primarily a product of the post-Exilic period when Judah was a province of the Persian empire , P was written to show that even when all seemed lost, God remained present with Israel...	c700 BC	According to one researcher, the writing has a pedantic and aggressive style, shows extreme religiosity, verbosity and redundant style. These are said to be evidence of Geschwind syndrome, though there is no evidence of any seizures since we have no personal information regarding the author.
Ezekiel Ezekiel Ezekiel , "God will strengthen" , is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible. In Judaism, Christianity and Islam, Ezekiel is acknowledged as a Hebrew prophet...	622BC – ?	Fainting spells, occasions of speechlessness, compulsive writing, extremely religious, pedantic speech.
Paul of Tarsus Paul of Tarsus Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...	3-10 – 62-68	Epilepsy is one of many suggestions regarding his "thorn in the flesh Thorn in the flesh "Thorn in the flesh" is an expression for something that is painful and long-lasting.The source of this expression is Paul of Tarsus, who uses it in 2 Cor... ". F.F. Bruce says, "Many guesses have been made about the identity of this "splinter in the flesh"; and their very variety proves the impossibility of a certain diagnosis. One favourite guess has been epilepsy ... but it is no more than a guess". Researchers are quite dividied on the cause of his Damascus conversion and vision. In addition to a seizure, heat exhaustion, the voice of conscience together with a migraine, and even a bolt of lightning have been suggested.
Muhammad Muhammad Muhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...	570–632	Byzantine Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...  Christian historian Theophanes Theophanes the Confessor Saint Theophanes Confessor was a member of the Byzantine aristocracy, who became a monk and chronicler. He is venerated on March 12 in the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Church .-Biography:Theophanes was born in Constantinople of wealthy and noble iconodule parents: Isaac,...  claimed Muhammad had epilepsy. Many modern historians reject this and consider it only to have been slanderous propaganda by Theophanes; though some researchers consider temporal lobe epilepsy to be a possible cause of his inspirational revelations.
Saint Birgitta Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden Bridget of Sweden (1303 – 23 July 1373; also Birgitta of Vadstena, Saint Birgitta , was a mystic and saint, and founder of the Bridgettines nuns and monks after the death of her husband of twenty years...	1303–1373	Her skull shows evidence of a meningioma, which is a cause of epilepsy and may explain her visions. However, it is not in the temporal lobe and other researches suggest psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, or a combination.
Joan of Arc Joan of Arc Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...	1412–1431	Experienced religious messages through voices and visions Vision (religion) In spirituality, a vision is something seen in a dream, trance, or ecstasy, especially a supernatural appearance that conveys a revelation.Visions generally have more clarity than dreams, but traditionally fewer psychological connotations...  which she said others could sometimes experience simultaneously. Some researchers consider the visions to be ecstatic epileptic auras, though more recent research may implicate idiopathic partial epilepsy with auditory features. Epileptic seizures with clear auditory and visual hallucinations are very rare. This, together with the extreme length of her visions, lead some to reject epilepsy as a cause.
Saint Catherine of Genoa	1447–1510	No specific details available.
Saint Teresa of Ávila Teresa of Ávila Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation, and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer...	1515–1582	Visions, chronic headaches, transient loss of consciousness and also a four-day coma.
Saint Catherine of Ricci Catherine of Ricci St. Catherine de' Ricci O.P. was an Italian Catholic saint.Born in Florence, she was born Alessandra Lucrezia Romola de' Ricci. At age 13, her father put her in the Monticelli convent near their home where she received an education. After a short time outside the convent, at 14, she went to the...	1522–1590	Visual hallucinations. Loss of consciousness for 28 hours.
Saint Marguerite Marie Marguerite Marie Alacoque Marguerite Marie Alacoque or Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque was a French Roman Catholic nun and mystic, who promoted devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form.-Early life:...	1647–1690	No specific details available.
Mme. Guyon Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon Jeanne-Marie Bouvier de la Motte-Guyon was a French mystic and one of the key advocates of Quietism...	1648–1717	No specific details available.
Emanuel Swedenborg Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian. He has been termed a Christian mystic by some sources, including the Encyclopædia Britannica online version, and the Encyclopedia of Religion , which starts its article with the description that he was a "Swedish scientist and mystic." Others...	1688–1772	Swedish scientist, philosopher, seer, and theologian.
Joseph Smith, Jr.	1805–1844	Seized with a strange power, rendered speechless, and fell on his back. Visions of darkness and light.
Ellen G. White Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White was a prolific author and an American Christian pioneer. She, along with other Sabbatarian Adventist leaders, such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, would form what is now known as the Seventh-day Adventist Church.Ellen White reported to her fellow believers her...	1827–1915	Severe head injury followed by three weeks of limited consciousness. Her visions involved loss of consciousness, upward eye deflection, visual hallucinations, affective changes, gestural automatisms, preservation of speech, a post-ictal-like period. Further, she meets several criteria for the Geschwind syndrome: extreme religiosity, hypergraphia (100,000 pages in 4,000 articles), repetitiveness, hypermoralism, and hyposexuality.
Saint Thérèse de Lisieux Thérèse de Lisieux Saint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...	1873–1897	Seized with "strange and violent tremblings all over her body". Visual hallucinations and celestial visions.

Misdiagnosis

Many famous people are incorrectly recorded as having epilepsy. In some cases there is no evidence at all for a diagnosis of epilepsy. In others, the symptoms have been misinterpreted. In some, the seizures were provoked by acute illness or alcohol withdrawal, for example.

No evidence

The following people are often reported to have had epilepsy but there is no evidence that they had any attacks or illnesses that even resembled epilepsy.

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Cambyses II	?–521 BC	Herodotus Herodotus Herodotus was an ancient Greek historian who was born in Halicarnassus, Caria and lived in the 5th century BC . He has been called the "Father of History", and was the first historian known to collect his materials systematically, test their accuracy to a certain extent and arrange them in a... , writing eighty years after the king's death, is responsible for repeating what are now regarded as slanderous remarks that Cambyses was mad and had epilepsy.
Pythagoras Pythagoras Pythagoras of Samos was an Ionian Greek philosopher, mathematician, and founder of the religious movement called Pythagoreanism. Most of the information about Pythagoras was written down centuries after he lived, so very little reliable information is known about him...	582–507 BC
Aristotle Aristotle Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...	384–322 BC
Hannibal	247–183 BC	Carthaginian military leader.
Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann von Helmholtz Hermann Ludwig Ferdinand von Helmholtz was a German physician and physicist who made significant contributions to several widely varied areas of modern science...	1821–1894
Agatha Christie Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...	1890–1976

Misdiagnosis by association

Many individuals have been mistakenly recorded as having epilepsy due to an association with someone (real or fictional) who did have epilepsy, or something similar.

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...	1265–1321	In his fictional La Divina Commedia The Divine Comedy The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321. It is widely considered the preeminent work of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature... , he falls into a "dead faint".
Isaac Newton Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton PRS was an English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, alchemist, and theologian, who has been "considered by many to be the greatest and most influential scientist who ever lived."...	1643–1727	In 2000, a paper was published comparing Newton's psychosis with that of a patient with psychosis, who additionally happened to have generalised tonic-clonic seizures. It is possible that ambiguities in the introduction to this paper led readers to associate the epilepsy with Newton rather than the patient.
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...	1770–1827	His acquaintance Antonie Brentano Antonie Brentano The Immortal Beloved is the mysterious addressee of a love letter which composer Ludwig van Beethoven wrote on 6–7 July 1812 in Teplitz...  had a son, Karl Joseph, who had epilepsy.
Alfred Tennyson	1809–1892	Close family had epilepsy and mental illness Mental illness A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,... , which led Tennyson to fear this in himself.
William Morris William Morris William Morris 24 March 18343 October 1896 was an English textile designer, artist, writer, and socialist associated with the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and the English Arts and Crafts Movement...	1834–1896	His daughter, May, had epilepsy and this caused Morris to question if his temper rages were related to this.
Patrick Dempsey Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...	born 1966	Played a boy with epilepsy in the 1986 Disney TV Movie Television movie A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...  "A Fighting Choice". He won an award from the Epilepsy Foundation for his convincing portrayal.

Provoked seizures

The following people may have had one or more epileptic seizures but since the seizures were provoked, they do not result in a diagnosis of epilepsy:

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...	1809–1849	Poe abused drugs and alcohol. If he had any seizures, they were most likely due to alcohol withdrawal. One author has suggested Poe may have had complex partial seizures.
Leo Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy was a Russian writer who primarily wrote novels and short stories. Later in life, he also wrote plays and essays. His two most famous works, the novels War and Peace and Anna Karenina, are acknowledged as two of the greatest novels of all time and a pinnacle of realist...	1828–1910	"Fits of spleen" and anguish attacks. Had seizures while dying of pneumonia Pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes... .
Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He invented the roundel form, wrote several novels, and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica...	1837–1909	Alcohol withdrawal attacks.
Lewis Carroll Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...	1832–1898	Migraine Migraine Migraine is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by moderate to severe headaches, and nausea...  and a possible seizure that was probably due to the effects of drug withdrawal.
Alfred Nobel Alfred Nobel Alfred Bernhard Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, innovator, and armaments manufacturer. He is the inventor of dynamite. Nobel also owned Bofors, which he had redirected from its previous role as primarily an iron and steel producer to a major manufacturer of cannon and other armaments...	1833–1896	Febrile seizure Febrile seizure A febrile seizure, also known as a fever fit or febrile convulsion, is a convulsion associated with a significant rise in body temperature... s in infancy.
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...	1840–1893	Seizures in the hours before death. Possible family history of epilepsy.
Truman Capote Truman Capote Truman Streckfus Persons , known as Truman Capote , was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays, and nonfiction are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast at Tiffany's and the true crime novel In Cold Blood , which he labeled a "nonfiction novel." At...	1924–1984	Alcohol withdrawal seizures.
Richard Burton Richard Burton Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...	1925–1984	Alcohol withdrawal seizures.

Similar conditions

There are many conditions that produce paroxysmal attacks or events. These events (especially in historical, non-medical literature such as biographies) are often called fits, seizures or convulsions. Those terms are not exclusive to epilepsy and such events are sometimes categorised as non-epileptic seizures

Non-epileptic seizures

Non-epileptic seizures are paroxysmal events that mimic an epileptic seizure but do not involve abnormal, rhythmic discharges of cortical neurons. They are caused by either physiological or psychological conditions...

. When studied in detail, the attacks were more fully described as "fits of spleen", "seized by pain", "convulsed with anguish", etc.

Name	Life	Comments	Reference
Alexander the Great	356–323 BC	Collapsed after taking strong medicine for pneumonia.
Charles the Fat Charles the Fat Charles the Fat was the King of Alemannia from 876, King of Italy from 879, western Emperor from 881, King of East Francia from 882, and King of West Francia from 884. In 887, he was deposed in East Francia, Lotharingia, and possibly Italy, where the records are not clear...	c.839–888	Commonly regarded as a sickly king, with epilepsy, who had a "fit" in Frankfurt in 873. One author's recent detailed investigations cast doubt on the accuracy of certain reports, or their common interpretation. Instead, headache, malaria and a stroke are suggested.
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great Alfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...	849–899	Acute pain Pain Pain is an unpleasant sensation often caused by intense or damaging stimuli such as stubbing a toe, burning a finger, putting iodine on a cut, and bumping the "funny bone."... .
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...	1452–1519	Nervous shaking and spasms when furious.
Michelangelo Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni , commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art...	1475–1564	A faint due to working in very hot weather.
Martin Luther Martin Luther Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...	1483–1546	In John Osborne John Osborne John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre.... 's play Luther Luther (play) Luther is a 1961 play by John Osborne that explored the forces that were involved in the life of Martin Luther, one of the instigators of the Protestant Reformation. Osborne was influenced by Erik Erikson's book, Young Man Luther, which had been published three years prior in 1958. In the play,... , his visions are the result of epileptic seizures. Luther had many documented illnesses, but any recurrent attacks were probably due to Ménière’s disease.
Cardinal Richelieu	1585–1642	Bouts of tears.
Louis XIII of France Louis XIII of France Louis XIII was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1610 to 1643.Louis was only eight years old when he succeeded his father. His mother, Marie de Medici, acted as regent during Louis' minority...	1601–1643	Episodes of violence, moodiness and fearfulness.
Molière Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...	1622–1673	A coughing fit.
Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal , was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and Catholic philosopher. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen...	1623–1662	Breath-holding spells Breath-holding spells Breath holding spells are the occurrence of episodic apnea in children, possibly associated with loss of consciousness, and changes in postural tone....  as a child.
William III of England William III of England William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...	1650–1702	Fainting and coughing fits.
Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...	1667–1745	Severe fits of giddiness due to Ménière’s disease.
George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...	1685–1759	A stroke Stroke A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage... .
William Pitt the Elder William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...	1708–1778	Attacks of gout Gout Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate... .
Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson , often referred to as Dr. Johnson, was an English author who made lasting contributions to English literature as a poet, essayist, moralist, literary critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer...	1709–1784	Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome is an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder with onset in childhood, characterized by multiple physical tics and at least one vocal tic; these tics characteristically wax and wane... .
Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...	1712–1778	Dizzy Dizziness Dizziness refers to an impairment in spatial perception and stability. The term is somewhat imprecise. It can be used to mean vertigo, presyncope, disequilibrium, or a non-specific feeling such as giddiness or foolishness....  fits and agitation.
James Madison James Madison James Madison, Jr. was an American statesman and political theorist. He was the fourth President of the United States and is hailed as the “Father of the Constitution” for being the primary author of the United States Constitution and at first an opponent of, and then a key author of the United...	1751–1836	Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures.
Walter Scott Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....	1771–1832	Seizures of cramp Cramp Cramps are unpleasant, often painful sensations caused by muscle contraction or over shortening. Common causes of skeletal muscle cramps include muscle fatigue, low sodium, and low potassium...  due to kidney stone Kidney stone A kidney stone, also known as a renal calculus is a solid concretion or crystal aggregation formed in the kidneys from dietary minerals in the urine... s and, later, a stroke.
Niccolò Paganini Niccolò Paganini Niccolò Paganini was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique...	1784–1840	Repeated collapsing due to weakness.
Lord Byron	1788–1824	Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures , also known as Non-Epileptic Attack Disorders, are events superficially resembling an epileptic seizure, but without the characteristic electrical discharges associated with epilepsy. Instead, PNES are psychological in origin, and may be thought of as similar to... .
Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...	1792–1822	Fits of pain and nervous attacks.
Hector Berlioz Hector Berlioz Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...	1803–1869	"Fits of spleen".
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann Robert Schumann, sometimes known as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic. He is regarded as one of the greatest and most representative composers of the Romantic era....	1810–1856	Depression Clinical depression Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...  and hallucinations.
Charles Dickens Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...	1812–1870	Renal colic Renal colic Renal colic is a type of abdominal pain commonly caused by kidney stones.-Presentation:The pain typically begins in the abdomen and often radiates to the hypochondrium or the groin. The pain is often colicky due to ureteric peristalsis, but may be constant... .
Søren Kierkegaard Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...	1813–1855	Collapsing due to weakness.
Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...	1821–1880	In 1984, Henri Gastaut Henri Gastaut Henri Gastaut was a French neurologist.Henri Gastaut was educated in neurology and neuroanatomy at the University of Marseille, graduating M.D. in 1945. In 1953 he became head of the neurobiological laboratories. He was appointed professor of anatomical pathology in 1954 and director of the...  proposed a very specific retrospective diagnosis of a particular form of complex partial epilepsy. More recent biographical information led John Hughes, in 2005, to conclude that Flaubert had psychogenic non-epileptic seizures, and migraine.
Guy de Maupassant Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....	1850–1893	Mental illness and hallucinations caused by inhaling ether Ether Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"... .
Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...	1853–1890	Over 150 physicians have produced nearly 30 different diagnoses for van Gogh's illness Vincent van Gogh's medical condition There is no consensus on Vincent van Gogh's health. His death in 1890 occurred after a self-inflicted bullet wound. Many competing hypotheses have been put forward about possible medical conditions he had... . Henri Gastaut Henri Gastaut Henri Gastaut was a French neurologist.Henri Gastaut was educated in neurology and neuroanatomy at the University of Marseille, graduating M.D. in 1945. In 1953 he became head of the neurobiological laboratories. He was appointed professor of anatomical pathology in 1954 and director of the... 's posthumous diagnosis was "temporal lobe epilepsy precipitated by the use of absinthe in the presence of an early limbic lesion". This agrees with that of van Gogh's own doctor, Felix Rey, who prescribed potassium bromide Potassium bromide Potassium bromide is a salt, widely used as an anticonvulsant and a sedative in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with over-the-counter use extending to 1975 in the United States. Its action is due to the bromide ion... . That van Gogh's personality closely matches the Geschwind syndrome Geschwind syndrome Geschwind syndrome, also known as "Gastaut-Geschwind" is a characteristic personality syndrome consisting of symptoms such as circumstantiality, hypergraphia, altered sexuality , and intensified mental life , hyper-religiosity and/or hyper-morality or moral ideas that is present in some...  is seen as further evidence by some. Not everyone agrees – a recent review by John Hughes concluded that van Gogh did not have epilepsy. He certainly was mentally ill at times and had "fainting fits" after heavy drinking.
Graham Greene Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...	1904–1991	Greene was diagnosed with epilepsy as a young man, after several episodes of loss of consciousness. His impending marriage was at risk and he considered suicide. Treatment consisted of good walks and Kepler's Malt Extract. Greene eventually distrusted the diagnosis and it is now considered likely that the episodes were fainting spells.
John Berryman John Berryman John Allyn Berryman was an American poet and scholar, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and was considered a key figure in the Confessional school of poetry...	1914–1972	Diagnosed with petit mal epilepsy, now reckoned to have been nervous exhaustion. Berryman suffered from depression and alcoholism.