Alexander Bogdanov, The Soviet Genius Who Died Trying To Become Immortal
Wikimedia CommonsAlexander Bogdanov was a science fiction writer, poet, and hematologist.
Alexander Bogdanov was a man of many talents. A highly intelligent doctor who served in World War I, Bogdanov also wrote a series of essays on the politics of war economies in which he made several predictions about the modern military-industrial complex. In his spare time, he dabbled in science fiction and poetry.
After the war, Bogdanov became fascinated with the idea of blood transfusions, particularly as a method of extending one’s life. According to Gizmodo, he even believed that he could make himself immortal through these transfusions.
Throughout the 1920s, he subjected himself to a series of blood transfusions, which he claimed had several positive effects on him. He said that his eyesight had improved and his hair had stopped falling out. His friends even told him that he looked younger.
Unfortunately, Bogdanov’s hubris got the better of him. For someone so obsessed with blood, he had little foresight — or capability — to actually test the substance before the transfusions.
In 1928, Bogdanov took the blood of a student who had both malaria and tuberculosis. The student made a full recovery after being injected with some of Bogdanov’s blood. Bogdanov, on the other hand, became incredibly ill and died shortly after.
