Top 10 People Who Tragically Died Before the Age of 18
Annelies Marie Frank was a German-born diarist. Anne for short. One of the most discussed Jewish victims of the Holocaust, she gained fame posthumously with the publication of The Diary of a Young Girl in which she documents her life in hiding from 1942 to 1944, during the German occupation of the Netherlands... read more Known for her diary, which made her a famous writer after her death. She was Jewish and had to hide in her house with her family for almost three years. They had neighbors who were kind and gave them food and other needed items.
However, they were caught hiding in 1944. She died a year later at a Nazi concentration camp when it was freezing, a few months before she turned 16. The Diary of Anne Frank is now considered one of the greatest books ever written.
Anne Frank was a famous Jewish girl who died in 1944 in a concentration camp.
Richard Steven Valenzuela (May 13, 1941 – February 3, 1959), known as Ritchie Valens, was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. A rock and roll pioneer and a forefather of the Chicano rock movement, Valens' recording career lasted eight months, as it abruptly ended when he died (aged 17) in... read more He is the most well-known on the list because of the songs "Donna" and the more famous "La Bamba." He died in a plane crash with Buddy Holly and The Big Bopper on February 3, 1959. This day became known as The Day the Music Died, as referenced in "American Pie" by Don McLean. There was also a movie based on him.
Despite not being bilingual like me, he was a huge rock star with lots of potential to become an inspiring singer and musician. It's very tragic he had to die at age 17 on the day rock and roll died. He avoided planes because of a traumatic memory from his early childhood.
He was a 17-year-old African-American who was fatally shot in February 2012.
Emmett Louis Till (July 25, 1941 – August 28, 1955) was a 14-year-old African American who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955, after being accused of offending a white woman in her family's grocery store. The brutality of his murder and the fact that his killers were acquitted drew attention to the... read more He is known for his death in 1955 by being lynched because he whistled at a white woman. It caused controversy among African-Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.
The fact that there's barely any justice for the perpetrators who committed this heinous racial crime disgusts me beyond measure.
Judith Eva Barsi (June 6, 1978 – July 25, 1988) was an American child actress. She began her career in television, making appearances in commercials and television series as well as in the film Jaws: The Revenge. She provided voices for animated characters in The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to... read more She usually had minor roles before she died at the age of 10 in 1988. Her father was so abusive that he ended up murdering her, his wife, and himself. She received posthumous success with The Land Before Time and All Dogs Go to Heaven.
Heather Michele O'Rourke (December 27, 1975 – February 1, 1988) was an American child actress. She had her breakthrough starring as Carol Anne Freeling in the supernatural horror film Poltergeist (1982), which received critical acclaim and established her as an influential figure in the genre. She... read more Known for playing the little girl in Poltergeist, she died at almost 13 years old.
She was killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold during the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999.
Charles Lindbergh Jr. was the 20-month-old son of the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh. He was kidnapped and murdered in 1932. He was then featured on the cover of Time Magazine.
Known for playing Froggy in Our Gang (The Little Rascals). Four years after quitting acting in 1944, he was struck by a truck while riding the new scooter he got on his birthday. He died at the age of 16.
She was killed by Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold during the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999.
The Newcomers
The daughter of Kobe Bryant had a full life ahead but it was taken too soon. R.I.P. at only 13.
He was such a powerful member of the Bratayley and LeBlanc family. He was a big name on YouTube. He had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy at only 13. Gone way too soon. R.I.P.
James Bulger was a 3-year-old murdered by two 10-year-old boys in February 1993. It was shocking due to their age. Venables has never learned his lesson and was arrested again in 2017 for child pornography.
I forgot to add this. This 14-year-old was bullied because he was homosexual. This caused him to commit suicide. It's tragic how many people at school are homophobic because others are bisexual, gay, or lesbian. Couldn't they just accept others' orientations? Some characters I'm creating are bisexual.
Just 9 years old, of Ferguson, Missouri. She was shot and killed by De'Eris Brown, who was "peacefully" demonstrating. Brown received just 22 years in prison, although he should have received the death penalty or life without parole.
The 9-year-old boy was shot and killed on March 7, 2021, in St. Louis when two suspected gang members shot into the family car he was riding in with his father, mother, and 7-year-old brother.
That's just sad. Why get fatally killed because of your skin color?
