Conductor Jean-Baptiste Lully sealed his fate while conducting the hymnal Te Deum for French King Louis XIV in 1687. While setting the musicians rhythm by banging his staff against the floor, Lully struck his toe.
The toe developed an abscess, which later turned gangrenous. Lully stubbornly refused to have it amputated. The gangrene spread and soon killed him.
Ironically, the hymn he was conducting was a celebration of Louis XIV’s recovery from on illness.
