The image of sailors as being particularly mentally unbalanced has a surprising degree of official confirmation. As far back as 1815, Sir Gilbert Blaine, the Royal Navy’s Physician of the Fleet and the Prince Regent’s personal doctor, reported that sailors were roughly seven times more likely to go mad than the general population. Considering the many stress factors from cramped quarters to horrifying diseases with very high mortality rates such as yellow fever, no one can blame them.
When it comes to mental health, it’s not a matter to be taken lightly. While some of the people mentioned in this list may come across as whimsical or just odd, there will be some tragic entries included as well. Additionally there are both famous accounts from antiquity and recent, relatively obscure stories. All such stories are worth telling.
This is an encore of one of our previous lists, as presented by our YouTube host Simon Whistler. Read the full list!