Ronald Reagan's Press Secretary, he was declared dead by ABC, CBS, and NBC in 1981 following injuries sustained during an attempted assassination of Reagan
1940 - 2014
CBS News got overzealous and published this First Lady's on file obituary a few days before her actual death
1925 - 2018
Multiple sources listed this former American President as dead due to multiple trips to intensive care prior to his actual death in 2018
1924 - 2018
A Scottish radio station announced this Prime Minister's death by accident when David Bowie had, in fact, died
1966 - Still Living
This Cuban president's obituary was one of many leaked by CNN in 2003
1926 - 2016
WABC in New York reported that this Presidential nominee had died on September 11, 2016 due to getting ill at a 9/11 memorial
1947 - Still Living
CNN reported this grunge icon as dead when he slipped into a drug induced coma one month before his suicide
1967 - 1994
A draft of this actor's obituary was accidentally leaked by People magazine in 2014; his 'Lust for Life' was too strong, though
1916 - Still Living
A BBC radio program declared this monarch dead in 2010 when, in fact, a Facebook user with her name had died
1926 - Still Living
This black nationalist read his obituary after recovering from a stroke; it's been said that the negativity of the obituary caused him to have a second stroke that killed him
1887 - 1940
This Arizona congresswoman was reported as dead after she was shot in the head in 2011
1970 - Still Living
This author of 'I, Claudius' received grave injuries in the Battle of the Somme but recovered and lived for seventy years
1895 - 1985
Following 2 plane crashes in 1954, this 'The Sun Also Rises' author read his obituaries every morning with a glass of champagne until his suicide
1899 - 1961
Bloomberg published this giant of the computer industry's 17-page obituary in 2008
1955 - 2011
CNN reported this religious figure dead following a 1981 attempt on his life
1920 - 2005
This 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest' writer actually faked his death to escape drug charges
1935 - 2001
BBC's YouTube channel accidentally released a premature obituary of this 'Queen of Pop' in 2010
1958 - Still Living
This South African president was part of an accidental CNN leak of 2003 and by German newspapers in 2013
1918 - 2013
The New York Times reported this co-author of 'The Communist Manifesto' dead twelve years early
1818 - 1883
One of the most persistent rumors in rock'n'roll started when this Brit was reported dead on a Detroit radio show
1942 - Still Living
This inventor was so saddened by a premature obituary that called him 'the merchant of death' that he created prizes that bore his name to change his legacy
1833 - 1896
This soccer legend was reported dead via a Twitter account linked to a CNN show
1940 - Still Living
This former US President was one of many obituaries accidentally leaked by CNN.com in 2003, one year before his actual death
1911 - 2004
This US Secretary of State was reported as dead in the confusion following the assassination of President Lincoln
1801 - 1872
Due to a misunderstanding (the Canadian Minister of Transportation named his cat after her), PM Stephen Harper was ready to read out this British PM's obituary four years early
1925 - 2013
This legendary American author said that 'the report of my death was an exaggeration' after journalists inquired about his health in 1897
1835 - 1910
This actor in 'The Godfather' was called 'late' in 1982 by People magazine; he turned it into a running joke until his actual death
1921 - 2016
El_Dandy
Plays
Quiz Updated May 6, 2017
Show Comments