11. Gioachino Rossini (November 13, 1868) - Italian Composer's Death Led To The First References Of "Unlucky Friday 13th"
Gioachino Rossini's passing itself may not have been the most "freaky" or unusual Friday 13th death ever, but it did help to further the myth and intrigue surrounding this particular day. The Italian composer, whose best-known works include The Barber of Seville (Il barbiere di Siviglia) and La Cenerentola, died of severe pneumonia on Friday November 13, 1868, aged 76. In a biography of the great composer and expressionist painter, written just a year after Rossini's death in 1869, author Henry Sutherland Edward wrote:
"He (Rossini) was surrounded to the last by admiring friends; and if it be true that, like so many Italians, he regarded Fridays as an unlucky day and 13 as an unlucky number, it is remarkable that one Friday 13th of November he died."
Interestingly, although the Italians are superstitious about Fridays and the number 13, it is actually "Friday the 17th" that is considered a day of bad luck there. In fact, the 2000 parody film Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday The Thirteenth was actually released in Italy with the title: Shriek - Do You Have Something To Do On Friday The 17th? ("Shriek - Hai impegni per venerdì 17?").
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
