A posthumous birth is the birth of a child after the death of a parent.[1] A person born in these circumstances is called a posthumous child or a posthumously born person. Most instances of posthumous birth involve the birth of a child after the death of its father, but the term is also applied to infants delivered shortly after the death of the mother, usually by caesarean section.[2]
Legal implications
Posthumous birth has special implications in law, potentially affecting the child's citizenship and legal rights, inheritance, and order of succession. Legal systems generally include special provisions regarding inheritance by posthumous children and the legal status of such children. For example, Massachusetts law states that a posthumous child is treated as having been living at the death of the parent,[3] meaning that the child receives the same share of the parent's estate as if the child had been born before the parent's death.
Another emerging legal issue in the United States is the control of genetic material after the death of the donor.[4] United States law holds that posthumous children of U.S. citizens who are born outside the United States have the same rights to citizenship that they would have had if the deceased U.S. citizen parent had been alive at the time of their birth.[5] In the field of assisted reproduction, snowflake children, i.e. those "adopted" as frozen embryos by people unrelated to them, can result in the birth of a child after the death of one or both of their genetic parents.
In monarchies and nobilities
A posthumous birth has special significance in the case of hereditary monarchies and hereditary noble titles following primogeniture. In this system, a monarch's or peer's own child precedes that monarch's or peer's sibling in the order of succession. In cases where the widow of a childless king or nobleman is pregnant at the time of his death, the next-in-line is not permitted to assume the throne or title, but must yield place to the unborn child, or ascends and reigns (in the case of a monarch) or succeeds (in the case of a peer) until the child is born (see Alfonso XIII or Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha).
In monarchies and noble titles that follow male-preference cognatic primogeniture, the situation is similar where the dead monarch or peer was not childless but left a daughter as the next-in-line, as well as a pregnant widow. A posthumous brother would supplant that daughter in the succession, whereas a posthumous sister, being younger, would not. Similarly, in monarchies and noble titles that follow agnatic primogeniture, the sex of the unborn child determines the succession; a posthumous male child would himself succeed, whereas the next-in-line would succeed upon the birth of a posthumous female child.
Modern complications
Posthumous conception by artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization, whether done using sperm or ova stored before a parent's death or sperm retrieved from a man's corpse, has created new legal issues.[3] When a woman is inseminated with her deceased husband's sperm, laws that establish that a sperm donor is not the legal father of the child born as a result of artificial insemination have had the effect of excluding the deceased husband from fatherhood and making the child legally fatherless.[6]
In the United Kingdom before 2000, birth records of children conceived using a dead man's sperm had to identify the infants as fatherless, but in 2000 the government announced that the law would be changed to allow the deceased father's name to be listed on the birth certificate.[7] In 1986, a New South Wales legal reform commission recommended that the law should recognize the deceased husband as the father of a child born from post-mortem artificial insemination, provided that the woman is his widow and unmarried at the time of birth, but the child should have inheritance rights to the father's estate only if the father left a will that included specific provisions for the child.[7]
In 2001, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court was asked to consider whether the father's name should appear on the birth record for a child conceived through artificial insemination after her father's death, as well as whether that child was eligible for U.S. Social Security benefits. The court ruled in January 2002 that a child could be the legal heir of a dead parent if there was a genetic relationship and the deceased parent had both agreed to the posthumous conception and committed to support the child.[3] Different U.S. state courts and federal appellate courts have ruled differently in similar cases. In 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Astrue v. Capato that twins born 18 months after their father's death using the father's frozen sperm were not eligible for Social Security benefits, which set a new precedent.
Naming
In the Middle Ages, it was traditional for posthumous children born in England to be given a matronymic surname instead of a patronymic one. This may in part explain why matronyms are more common in England than in other parts of Europe.[8]
In Ancient Rome, posthumous children of noble birth were often given the cognomen (or third name) 'Postumus.' One example is Agrippa Postumus.
In Yoruba culture, posthumous children are given names that referred to the circumstances concerning the birth. Examples of this include Bàbárímisá, meaning that the Father saw (the child) and ran, Yeyérínsá, meaning that the Mother saw (the child) and ran, Ikúdáyísí (or any name with the root dáyísí, which means that death spared the child), and Ẹnúyàmí, meaning that "I was surprised," referring to the fact that the tragic death of the father, mother, or both was sudden and surprising for the family.
Notable people born posthumously
Antiquity
| Name | Born | Late parent | Parent died | Gap | Cause of parent's death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bindusara Mauryan Emperor | 320 BCE | Durdhara Mauryan Empress | 320 BCE | Same Day | Poisoning. He was delivered through caesarean section.[9] |
| Alexander IV King of Macedon | August 323 BCE | Alexander the Great King of Macedon | 11 June 323 BCE | 2 months | Disease. |
| Cornelia Postuma | 77 BCE | Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix Roman dictator | 78 BCE | Disease, possibly related to chronic alcoholic abuse. | |
| Agrippa Postumus Grandson of Augustus Caesar | 12 BCE | Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa Roman general and statesman | 12 BCE | A few weeks | Disease. |
| Shapur II Sasanian Emperor | 309 AD | Hormizd II Sasanian Emperor | 309 AD | Forty days | Assassination. Shapur is said to be the only monarch in history who was crowned in utero. |
| Flavia Maxima Constantia Roman Empress | 1 January 362 | Constantius II Roman Emperor | 3 November 361 | 1 month, 29 days | Fever. |
Middle Ages
| Name | Born | Late parent | Parent died | Gap | Cause of parent's death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Prophet of Islam | 570 | Abdullah ibn Abdul-Muttalib Arab trader | 569 | <6 months | Disease while returning from a trade mission in Medina. |
| Umm Kulthum bint Abi Bakr Early Muslim scholar | 634 | Abu Bakr al-Siddiq Caliph | 23 August 634 | <3 months | On 23 August 634, Abu Bakr fell sick and did not recover. He developed a high fever and was confined to bed. His illness was prolonged, and when his condition worsened, he died in Medina |
| Constantine Byzantine prince | 1 January 798 | Constantine VI Byzantine Emperor | 19 April 797 | 8 months, 13 days | Died of wounds after being blinded by his mother, Irene, who proclaimed herself Empress. |
| Robert I King of France | 15 August 866 | Robert the Strong Count of Anjou | 2 July 866 | 1 month, 13 days | Killed at the Battle of Brissarthe. |
| Charles the Simple King of France | 17 September 879 | Louis the Stammerer King of France | 10 April 879 | 5 months, 7 days | Disease contracted during a campaign against the Vikings. |
| Al-Mustakfi Abbasid caliph[10][11] | 11 November 908 | al-Muktafi Abbasid caliph | 13 August 908 | 3 months, 2 days | His father fell gravely ill for about three months. It soon became clear, that he would not survive his illness. |
| Lothair III Holy Roman Emperor | 1075 | Gebhard of Supplinburg Saxon count | 9 June 1075 | Killed at the Battle of Langensalza. | |
| Valdemar I King of Denmark | 14 January 1131 | Canute Lavard Duke of Schleswig | 7 January 1131 | 7 days | Murdered by Magnus the Strong. |
| Raymond II of Turenne Viscount of Turenne | 1143 | Boson II of Turenne Viscount of Turenne | 1143 | 4 months | |
| Constance I Queen of Sicily | 2 November 1154 | Roger II King of Sicily and Africa | 26 February 1154 | 8 months, 5 days | |
| Baldwin V King of Jerusalem | August 1177 | William of Montferrat Count of Jaffa and Ascalon | June 1177 | 2 months | Possibly malaria. |
| Arthur I Duke of Brittany | 29 March 1187 | Geoffrey II Duke of Brittany | 19 August 1186 | 7 months, 10 days | Disputed. One source claims he was trampled to death in a joust, other that he died of a sudden chest affliction. |
| Maria of Montferrat Queen of Jerusalem | Summer 1192 | Conrad of Montferrat King of Jerusalem | 28 April 1192 | A few months | Assassination. |
| Theobald I King of Navarre | 30 May 1201 | Theobald III Count of Champagne | 24 May 1201 | 6 days | |
| Raymond Nonnatus Catholic Saint | 1204 | His mother | 1204 | Same Day | Childbirth. He was retrieved through caesarean section afterward.[2] |
| Walter IV Count of Brienne | 1205 | Walter III Count of Brienne | 14 June 1205 | Killed in battle. | |
| Charles I King of Sicily | early 1227 | Louis VIII King of France | 8 November 1226 | ?? | Dysentery. |
| Stephen the Posthumous Hungarian prince | 1236 | Andrew II King of Hungary and Croatia | 21 September 1235 | at least 2 months | |
| Przemysł II King of Poland | 14 October 1257 | Przemysł I Duke of Greater Poland | 4 June 1257 | 4 months, 10 days | |
| Władysław of Legnica Duke of Legnica | 6 June 1296 | Henry V, Duke of Legnica Duke of Legnica | 22 February 1296 | 4 months | Illness following imprisonment. |
| John I King of France and Navarre | 15 November 1316 | Louis X King of France and Navarre | 5 June 1316 | 5 months, 10 days | Pneumonia or pleurisy from drinking excess cooled wine after a real tennis match. |
| Isabel de Verdun Baroness Ferrers de Groby | 21 March 1317 | Theobald de Verdun Justiciar of Ireland | 27 July 1316 | 7 months, 22 days | Typhoid. |
| Maria of Calabria Latin Empress consort of Constantinople | 6 May 1329 | Charles Duke of Calabria | 9 November 1328 | 5 months, 27 days | |
| John, 3rd Earl of Kent | 7 April 1330 | Edmund of Woodstock English prince | 19 March 1330 | 19 days | Executed for treason against his nephew, Edward III of England. |
| Joan of France | May 1351 | Philip VI King of France and Navarre | 22 August 1350 | 9 months | |
| William of Bavaria-Munich | 1435 | William III Duke of Bavaria | 12 September 1435 | up to 3 months | |
| Joan of Portugal Consort queen of Castile | 31 March 1439 | Edward, King of Portugal | 9 September 1438 | 6 months, 22 days | Plague. |
| Ladislaus VI King of Hungary, Bohemia and Archduke of Austria | 22 February 1440 | Albert II King of Germany, Bohemia and Hungary | 27 October 1439 | 3 months, 23 days | |
| Henry VII King of England | 28 January 1457 | Edmund Tudor Earl of Richmond | 1 or 3 November 1456 | 2 months, 25 days | Bubonic plague. |
| John Louis Count of Nassau-Saarbrücken | 19 October 1472 | John II Duke of Nassau-Saarbrücken | 15 July 1472 | 3 months, 4 days | |
| Mencía Pacheco[12] Castilian noblewoman | 1474–1475 | Juan Pacheco Marquis of Villena | 1 October 1474 | Throat ailment. | |
| Clement VII Pope of the Catholic Church | 26 May 1478 | Giuliano de' Medici Ruler of the Florentine Republic | 26 April 1478 | 1 month | Assassination in the Pazzi Conspiracy. |
16th–18th centuries
| Name | Born | Late parent | Parent died | Gap | Cause of parent's death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catherine of Austria Consort queen of Portugal | 14 January 1507 | Philip I King of Castile and Duke of Burgundy | 25 September 1506 | 3 months, 18 days | Typhoid or poison. |
| Alexander Stewart Duke of Ross | 30 April 1514 | James IV King of Scotland | 9 September 1513 | 7 months, 21 days | Killed at the Battle of Flodden. |
| Duarte Duke of Guimarães | March 1541 | Duarte Duke of Guimarães | 20 September 1540 | 7 months | |
| Françoise d'Orléans-Longueville Wife of Louis I of Bourbon | 5 April 1549 | François d'Orléans French nobleman | 25 October 1548 | 5 months, 8 days | |
| Sebastian King of Portugal | 20 January 1554 | João Manuel Prince of Portugal | 2 January 1554 | 18 days | Tuberculosis or diabetes. |
| Ben Jonson Elizabethan playwright | c. 11 June 1572 | His father | April 1572 | 1-2 months | |
| Henry II Prince of Condé | 1 September 1588 | Henry I Prince of Condé | 5 Mar 1588 | 5 months, 23 days | Disease. |
| Charles of Austria Bishop of Wroclaw | 7 August 1590 | Charles II Archduke of Austria | 10 July 1590 | 28 days | |
| Toyotomi Sadako Wife of Kugyō Kujō Yukiie | 1592 | Toyotomi Hidekatsu | 14 October 1592 | Killed in Korean Campaign. | |
| Sveinn "Skotti" Björnsson Icelandic criminal | 1596–1597 | Björn Pétursson Only Icelandic serial killer | 1596 | Executed for murder. | |
| Thomas Herbert Welsh seaman and author | 15 May 1597 | Richard Herbert Justice of the Peace and Member of Parliament | 15 October 1596 (buried) | 7 months | |
| Friedrich Wilhelm II Duke of Saxe-Altenburg | 12 February 1603 | Friedrich Wilhelm I Duke of Saxe-Weimar | 7 July 1602 | 7 months, 5 days | |
| Joseph of Cupertino Catholic saint | 17 June 1603 | Felice Desa Apulian carpenter[13] | |||
| Abraham Cowley English poet | 1618 | His father | |||
| Elizabeth Gyllenhielm Swedish noblewoman | 1622 | Charles Philip Duke of Södermanland | 25 January 1622 | Disease during the 1622 siege of Narva. | |
| François-Henri de Montmorency Duke of Luxembourg | 8 January 1628 | François de Montmorency-Bouteville Duke of Luxembourg | 22 June 1627 | 6 months, 15 days | Executed for dueling. |
| Isaac Newton English scientist | 4 January 1643 | Isaac Newton, Sr. English farmer | October 1642 | 3 months | |
| Gulielma Penn wife of William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania | February 1644 | Sir William Springett English Parliamentarian army officer | 3 February 1644 | a few days | Fever following Siege of Arundel. |
| William III Stadholder of the Dutch Republic, King of England and Scotland | 14 November 1650 | William II Stadtholder of the Dutch Republic | 6 November 1650 | 8 days | Smallpox. |
| Robert Molesworth Irish politician and writer | 7 September 1656 | Robert Molesworth, Sr. | 3 September 1656 | 4 days | |
| Adolphus Frederick II Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz | 19 October 1658 | Adolf Frederick I Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin | 27 February 1658 | 7 months, 21 days | |
| Jonathan Swift Author of Gulliver's Travels | 30 November 1667 | Jonathan Swift, Sr. English lawyer in Ireland | c. April 1667 | 7 months | Syphilis. |
| William August Duke of Saxe-Eisenach | 30 November 1668 | Adolf William, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach Duke of Saxe-Eisenach | 21 November 1668 | 9 days | |
| Thomas Greenhill English surgeon | 1669? | William Greenhill | |||
| Emmanuel Lebrecht Prince of Anhalt-Köthen | 20 May 1671 | Emmanuel Prince of Anhalt-Köthen | 8 November 1670 | 6 months | |
| Godscall Paleologue Last known member of the Paleologus dynasty | 12 January 1694 | Theodorious Paleologus Barbadian privateer | August-December 1693 | Up to 5 months | |
| Christine Marie Jacqueline Henriette FitzJames French nun | 29 May 1703 | Henry FitzJames Jacobite peer | 16 December 1702 | 5 months, 13 days | |
| Edward Ward, 9th Baron Dudley British peer | 16 June 1704 | Edward Ward, 8th Baron Dudley | 28 March 1704 | 2 months, 15 days | Smallpox. |
| Frederick Christian Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth | 17 July 1708 | Christian Henry Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach | 5 April 1708 | 3 months, 12 days | |
| Georg Wilhelm Richmann Livonian physicist | 22 July 1711 | His father | Plague. | ||
| William IV Stadholder of the Dutch Republic | 1 September 1711 | John William Friso Prince of Orange | 14 July 1711 | 1 month, 15 days | Drowning in a ferryboat accident. |
| Robert Petre, 8th Baron Petre British peer and horticulturist | 3 June 1713 | Robert Petre, 7th Baron Petre | 22 March 1713 | 2 months, 7 days | Smallpox. |
| Edmund Pendleton American politician | 9 September 1721 | Henry Pendleton | 1721 | 4 months | |
| John Morton American politician | 1725 | John Morton, Sr. | 1724 | ||
| Sir Brook Bridges, 3rd Baronet British politician | 17 September 1733 | Sir Brook Bridges, 2nd Baronet | 23 May 1733[14] | 3 months, 22 days | |
| Barbara Herbert Countess of Powis | 24 June 1735 | Edward Herbert British aristocrat | c. March 1735 | 3 months | |
| Caroline Matilda Consort queen of Denmark and Norway | 11 July 1751 | Frederick, Prince of Wales | 20 March 1751 | 3 months, 17 days | Pulmonary embolism. |
| Thomas Chatterton English poet and forger | 20 November 1752 | Thomas Chatterton Sr. English poet and musician | 7 August 1752[15] | 3 months, 13 days | |
| John Hamilton, 1st Marquess of Abercorn Irish peer and politician | July 1756 | John Hamilton, Sr. Royal Navy officer | December 1755 | 7 months | Accidental drowning while on duty. |
| Frederick Ferdinand Constantin Prince of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | 8 September 1758 | Ernest Augustus II Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach | 28 May 1758 | 3 months | |
| Elizabeth Simcoe British Canadian artist | 22 September 1762 | Thomas Gwillim Military officer | 29 January 1762 | 7 months, 22 days | Killed or died otherwise in the Seven Years' War.[16] |
| Benedict Joseph Flaget French American bishop | 7 November 1763 | His father[17] | |||
| Andrew Jackson 7th President of the United States | 15 March 1767 | Andrew Jackson, Sr. Irish American colonist | c. 23 February 1767 | Around 21 days | Logging accident. |
| Sawai Madhavrao 12th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire | 18 April 1774 | Narayan Rao 10th Peshwa of the Maratha Empire | 30 August, 1773 | 7 months | Murder. |
| Tenskwatawa Shawnee prophet and leader | January 1775 | Puckenshinwa Leader of the Kispokotha division of the Shawnee tribe | October 10, 1774 | 3-4 months | Killed at the Battle of Point Pleasant. |
19th century
| Name | Born | Late parent | Parent died | Gap | Cause of parent's death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lord George Hill British politician | 9 December 1801 | Arthur Hill, 2nd Marquess of Downshire | 7 September 1801 | 3 months, 2 days | Suicide. |
| Louis Augustus Karl Frederick Emil Duke of Anhalt-Köthen | 20 September 1802 | Louis Prince of Anhalt-Köthen | 16 September 1802 | 4 days | |
| William Holland Thomas American merchant, lawyer, politician, soldier. | 5 February 1805 | Richard Thomas | ?? | ?? | ?? |
| Sir George Grey British soldier, explorer, governor | 14 April 1812 | Lt-Col George Grey | Early April 1812 | a few days | Killed at the Battle of Badajoz. |
| Arthur MacArthur Sr. Governor of Wisconsin and grandfather of Douglas MacArthur | 26 January 1815 | His father | 19 January 1815 | 7 days | |
| François Sabatier-Ungher French philanthropist | 2 July 1818 | His father | shortly before | ?? | |
| Charles de La Roche | 30 March 1820 | Charles Ferdinand Duke of Berry | 14 February 1820 | 1 month, 16 days | Assassination by a Bonapartist. Each child was born to a different mother. |
| Alix Mélanie Cosnefroy de Saint-Ange | 16 September 1820 | 7 months, 2 days | |||
| Henri, Count of Chambord Legitimist pretender to the French throne | 29 September 1820 | 7 months, 15 days | |||
| Ferdinand Oreille de Carrière | 10 October 1820 | 7 months, 25 days | |||
| Rutherford B. Hayes 19th President of the United States | 4 October 1822 | Rutherford Hayes, Jr. American storekeeper | 20 July 1822 | 1 month, 22 days | |
| Jemima Blackburn Scottish painter | 1 May 1823 | James Wedderburn Solicitor General for Scotland | 7 November 1822 | 5 months, 23 days | |
| Anna Leonowens British teacher co-subject of The King and I | 5 November 1831 | Thomas Edwards East India Company officer | c. August 1831 | 3 months | |
| Henry B. Wheatley English author, editor and indexer | 1838 | Benjamin Wheatley Auctioneer | |||
| David Hyrum Smith Leader of the RLDS Church | 7 November 1844 | Joseph Smith Founder of the Latter Day Saint movement | 27 June 1844 | 4 months, 9 days | Lynching while awaiting trial in jail. |
| Tokugawa Iemochi 14th shōgun of Tokugawa Shogunate | 17 July 1846 | Tokugawa Nariyuki Lord of Wakayama Domain | 1 June 1846 | 1 month, 16 days | |
| Princess Kazu Wife of Tokugawa Iemochi | 1 August 1846 | Ninkō Emperor of Japan | 21 February 1846 | 5 months, 9 days | |
| Horace Tabberer Brown British chemist | 20 July 1848 | His father | |||
| Henry Waldegrave, 11th Earl Waldegrave British minister and noble | 14 October 1854 | William Waldegrave, Viscount Chewton | 8 October 1854 | 6 days | Wounds from the Battle of the Alma. |
| Katherine Harley British suffragist | 3 May 1855 | John Tracy William French Royal Navy officer | 1854 | ||
| Samuel Alexander British philosopher | 6 January 1859 | Samuel Alexander, Sr. Australian saddler | |||
| Motilal Nehru 36th and 47th President of the Indian National Congress | 6 May 1861 | Gangadhar Nehru Last Kotwal of Delhi | 4 February 1861 | 3 months, 2 days | |
| Florence Maybrick British-American convicted murderess | 3 September 1862 | William George Chandler Banker and Mayor of Mobile | |||
| Breaker Morant Australian soldier and folk hero | 9 December 1864 | Edwin Murrant English workhouse master | August 1864 | 4 months | |
| Frank Anstey Australian politician | 18 August 1865 | Samuel Anstey English iron miner | c. March 1865 | 5 months | |
| Rua Kenana Hepetipa Maori prophet, faith healer, and activist | 1869 | Kenana Tumoana | November 1868 | Killed in Te Kooti's War. | |
| George Washington Lambert Australian artist | 13 September 1873 | George Washington Lambert, Sr. | 25 July 1873 | 1 month, 16 days | |
| Rudolf Besier Dutch/English dramatist | 2 July 1878 | Rudolf Besier, Sr. | c. January 1878 | c. 6 months | |
| Carl Schuricht German conductor | 3 July 1880 | Carl Conrad Schuricht | June 1880 | c. 21 days | Drowned in the Baltic Sea while trying to save a friend. |
| Charles Edward Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha | 19 July 1884 | Leopold, Duke of Albany British prince | 28 March 1884 | 3 months, 18 days | Haemophilia-related intracerebral hemorrhage after a fall. |
| Chester W. Nimitz American fleet admiral | 24 February 1885 | Chester Bernard Nimitz | 14 August 1884 | 6 months, 10 days | |
| Abd al-Rahman al-Mahdi Sudanese Imam of the Ansar, first Chief Minister of Sudan | 15 July 1885 | Muhammad Ahmad Sudanese self-proclaimed Mahdi | 22 June 1885 | 23 days | Typhus. |
| Clara Sipprell Canadian-American photographer | 31 October 1885 | Francis Sipprell | |||
| Alfonso XIII King of Spain | 17 May 1886 | Alfonso XII King of Spain | 25 November 1885 | 5 months, 21 days | Dysentery worsened by tuberculosis. |
| Li Dazhao Co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party | 29 October 1889 | His father | A few months | ||
| Manuel Roxas President of the Philippines | 1 January 1892 | Gerardo Roxas y Arroyo | 21 April 1891 | 8 months, 11 days | Killed by the Civil Guard |
| Charles Wilfred Orr English song composer | 31 July 1893 | His father | |||
| Thomas Iorwerth Ellis Welsh classicist | 19 December 1899 | Thomas Edward Ellis Welsh politician | 5 April 1899 | 8 months, 14 days | |
| Mabel Mercer British-American jazz singer | 3 February 1900 | Her father |
20th century
| Name | Born | Late parent | Parent died | Gap | Cause of parent's death |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stanley Kunitz American poet | 29 July 1905 | Solomon Z. Kunitz Immigrant Russian Jewish dressmaker | June 1905 | 6 weeks | Suicide by drinking carbolic acid after going bankrupt. |
| Johan Kjær Hansen Danish Resistance fighter | 7 April 1907 | Hans Christian Johan Andreas Hansen Bicycle manufacturer | 13 December 1906 | 3 months, 22 days | |
| Xiao Qian Chinese essayist and translator | 27 January 1910 | His father | |||
| John Jacob Astor VI American shipping businessman | 14 August 1912 | John Jacob Astor IV American businessman | 15 April 1912 | 3 months, 28 days | Sinking of the RMS Titanic. |
| Raoul Wallenberg Swedish diplomat and humanitarian | 14 August 1912 | Raoul Oscar Wallenberg Swedish Navy officer | May 1912 | 3 months | Cancer. |
| Red Skelton American comedian | 18 July 1913 | Joseph Elmer Skelton Grocer and former circus clown | May 1913 | 2 months | |
| Cäzilia Gabriel Hinterkaifeck victim | January 1915 | Karl Gabriel German soldier | December 1914 | 1 month | Killed in World War I. |
| Georg Quistgaard Danish Resistance fighter | 19 February 1915 | Georg Brockhoff Quistgaard Danish secretary | 18 December 1914 | 2 months, 1 day | |
| Alfred Shaughnessy English screenwriter and producer | 19 May 1916 | Thomas Alfred Shaughnessy Canadian Army officer | 31 March 1916 | 50 days | Killed in World War I. |
| Mihrişah Sultan Ottoman princess | 1 June 1916 | Yusuf Izzeddin Ottoman Crown Prince | 1 February 1916 | 4 months | Suicide. |
| Ronald R. Van Stockum Brigadier General of the U.S. Marines | 8 July 1916 | His father | 1 week | Killed in World War I. | |
| Edward Bell, Jr. Squadron Leader of the Royal Air Force | October 1918 | Edward Bell, Sr. Commander of the Football Battalion | 24 March 1918 | 6 months | Killed in World War I. |
| Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Russian novelist | 11 December 1918 | Isaakiy Semyonovich Solzhenitsyn Imperial Russian Army officer | 15 June 1918 | 5 months, 25 days | Hunting accident. |
| Lawrence Ferlinghetti American poet | 24 March 1919 | Carlo Ferlinghetti Italian immigrant | Heart attack. | ||
| John Mitchum American actor | 6 September 1919 | James Thomas Mitchum | February 1919 | 7 months | Railyard accident. |
| Jehanne Rosemary Ernestine Beaumont | 7 September 1919 | Dudley Beaumont British Army officer | 24 November 1918 | 9 months | Spanish flu. |
| Kung Te-cheng Last Duke Yansheng | 23 February 1920 | Kong Lingyi Duke Yansheng | 8 November 1919 | 3 months, 15 days | |
| Alexandra Last queen consort of Yugoslavia | 25 March 1921 | Alexander King of Greece | 25 October 1920 | 5 months | Sepsis from a captive Barbary macaque's bite. |
| Jules Olitski Ukrainian-American painter, sculptor | 27 March 1922 | Jevel Demikovsky[18] Soviet Commissar | A few months | Execution. | |
| Elisabeth of Austria Member of the House of Habsburg-Lorraine | 31 May 1922 | Charles I Last Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary | 1 April 1922 | 1 month, 30 days | Pneumonia. |
| Stephen Wurm Hungarian-Australian linguist | 19 August 1922 | Adolphe Wurm | |||
| Mary Warnock English philosopher | 14 April 1924 | Archibald Edward Wilson Teacher at Winchester College | 1923 | ||
| Anthony Earnshaw English anarchist | 9 October 1924 | His father | |||
| Felipe Rodríguez Puerto Rican singer | 8 May 1926 | His father | |||
| Earl Holliman American actor | 11 September 1928 | William A. Frost American farmer | 7 months | ||
| Bertram Wainer Australian doctor and activist | 30 December 1928 | His father | |||
| Itamar Franco 33rd President of Brazil | 28 June 1930 | Augusto César Stiebler Franco | April 1930 | 2 months | Malaria.[19] |
| Thomas Sowell American economist | 30 June 1930 | His father | |||
| Brian Sewell British art critic | 15 July 1931 | Peter Warlock British composer and music critic (claimed by Sewell) | 17 December 1930 | 6 months, 26 days | Coal gas poisoning. |
| Don Durant American actor | 20 November 1932 | His father | September-October 1932 | 2 months | Truck accident. |
| Margaret O'Brien American actress | 15 January 1937 | Lawrence O'Brien Circus performer | |||
| Saddam Hussein Iraqi dictator | 28 April 1937 | His father | Cancer. | ||
| Ian Brady British serial killer | 2 January 1938 | His father (according to his mother) | 3 months | Unknown. Brady's father was never identified, casting doubt on his mother's claims. | |
| Lee Harvey Oswald Assassin of John F. Kennedy | 18 October 1939 | Robert Edward Lee Oswald United States Marine | 19 August 1939 | 1 month, 28 days | Heart attack. |
| Jacques Mairesse French economist | 16 August 1940 | Jacques Mairesse, Sr. French footballer | 13 June 1940 | 2 months, 3 days | Killed while trying to escape a prisoner-of-war camp during the Battle of France. |
| Edwin Wilson Australian poet | 27 October 1942 | His father | |||
| Henry and David Cecil British twin racehorse trainers | 11 January 1943 | Henry Kerr Auchmuty Cecil Parachute Regiment officer | 30 November – 2 December 1942 | 1 month, 1-2 days | Killed in the North African campaign of World War II.[20] |
| Sylvester McCoy British actor and comedian | 20 August 1943 | Percy Kent-Smith | 18 July 1943 | 1 month, 2 days | Killed in World War II. |
| Ranulph Fiennes British explorer and writer | 7 March 1944 | Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes Royal Scots Greys commander | 24 November 1943 | 3 months, 12 days | Killed by landmine in Italy while serving in World War II.[21] |
| John Pelham Earl of Chichester | 14 April 1944 | John Pelham, Sr. British diplomat and Captain of the Scots Guards | 21 February 1944 | 1 month, 22 days | Killed in a road accident while serving in World War II. |
| Maria João Pires Portuguese-Swiss classical pianist | 23 July 1944 | João Baptista Pires | 1 July 1944 | 22 days | |
| Bernard Collaery Australian lawyer and politician | 12 October 1944 | Edward Francis Collaery RAAF flying officer | 29 June 1944 | 3 months 13 days | Killed in World War II. |
| Edward Foljambe Earl of Liverpool | 14 November 1944 | Peter George William Savile Foljambe | 2 September 1944 | 2 months, 12 days | Killed in World War II. |
| Joachim 8th Prince Murat | 26 November 1944 | Joachim 7th Prince Murat | 20 July 1944 | 4 months, 6 days | Killed in World War II. |
| Konstanze von Schulthess German author | 27 January 1945 | Claus von Stauffenberg German army officer | 21 July 1944 | 6 months, 6 days | Executed for 20 July plot against Hitler. |
| Eva Barbara Fegelein | 5 May 1945 | Hermann Fegelein High-ranking Nazi officer | 28 April 1945 | 6 days | Execution. |
| Frederica von Stade American opera singer | 1 June 1945 | Charles S. von Stade South African-American polo champion | 10 April 1945 | 1 month, 20 days | Killed in World War II. |
| Graça Machel Mozambican politician | 17 October 1945 | 30 September 1945 | 17 days | [22] | |
| Bill Clinton 42nd President of the United States | 19 August 1946 | William Jefferson Blythe Jr. American traveling salesman | 17 May 1946 | 3 months, 2 days | Automobile accident. |
| Peter Kocan Australian author and attempted assassin of Arthur Calwell | 4 May 1947 | His father | 3 months | Automobile accident. | |
| Pedro López Colombian serial killer | 8 October 1948 | Midardo Reyes | 4 April 1948 | 6 months, 4 days | Murdered in La Violencia.[23] |
| Jett Williams American singer | 6 January 1953 | Hank Williams American singer | 1 January 1953 | 5 days | Possibly drug-induced cardiac arrest. |
| Wally Carr Aboriginal Australian boxer | 11 August 1954 | His father | 2 months | Suicide by gunshot. | |
| Janet Lynn Skinner American Gospel musician | 5 July 1955 | Billie Haille | Spinal meningitis. | ||
| Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and founder of The Emirates Group | 1 December 1958 | Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum Emir of Dubai | 9 September 1958 | 2 months, 21 days | |
| Tyrone Power Jr. American actor | 22 January 1959 | Tyrone Power American actor | 15 November 1958 | 2 months, 7 days | Fulminant angina pectoris while filming an action scene. |
| Antwone Fisher American author and film director | 3 August 1959 | Eddie Elkins | 2 months | Murdered (shot) by a jealous girlfriend. | |
| John Clark Gable American actor | 20 March 1961 | Clark Gable American actor | 16 November 1960 | 4 months, 4 days | Heart attack induced by an arterial blood clot. |
| Yves Amu Klein French artist | 6 August 1962 | Yves Klein French Nouveau réalisme artist | 6 June 1962 | 2 months | Three heart attacks, the first while watching the exploitation film Mondo Cane. |
| Sławomir Makaruk Polish traveler and photographer | 4 October 1963 | Sławomir Makaruk Polish aviator | 20 April 1963 | 5 months, 13 days | Accident aboard an experimental SZD-21 Kobuz glider. |
| Tariq Al-Ali Kuwaiti actor and comedian | 18 January 1966 | His father | |||
| Rory Kennedy American documentary filmmaker | 12 December 1968 | Robert F. Kennedy U.S. Senator from New York and younger brother of John F. Kennedy | 6 June 1968 | 6 months, 6 days | Assassination while campaigning for the 1968 Democratic Party presidential primaries. |
| Brandon Teena American victim of transphobic hate murder | 12 December 1972 | Patrick Brandon | 7 April 1972 | 8 months, 5 days | Automobile accident. |
| Philippe Cousteau Jr. Franco-American oceanographer and environmental activist | 20 January 1980 | Philippe Cousteau French cinematographer | 28 June 1979 | 6 months, 21 days | Aviation accident. |
| Diana Yukawa Japanese-British violinist and composer | 16 September 1985 | Akihisa Yukawa Japanese banker | 12 August 1985 | 1 month, 4 days | Japan Airlines Flight 123 crash. |
| Natasha Ignatenko Chernobyl disaster victim | 1986 | Vasily Ignatenko Soviet firefighter | 13 May 1986 | Acute Radiation Syndrome contracted while extinguishing fires above the exploded Reactor Nº4. | |
| Gia Coppola American filmmaker | 1 January 1987 | Gian-Carlo Coppola American film producer | 26 May 1986 | 7 months, 3 days | Speedboating accident. |
Religious and mythological people born posthumously
The Bible's Old Testament mentions two named cases of posthumous children:
- Ashhur, youngest son of Hezron, born when his father had died when aged past 60 years. (1 Chronicles 2:21, 24)
- Ichabod, who was born when his mother, who subsequently died, heard news that his father Phinehas had been killed at the Battle of Aphek and paternal grandfather Eli accidentally killed afterwards. (1 Samuel 4:19–22)
Parikshit, the sole survivor of the Kuru dynasty in Mahabharata, was born after his father Abhimanyu was killed in the Kurukshetra war.
The Greek god Asclepius is said to have been delivered by caesarean section after his mother was killed on Mount Olympus.[2]
Fictional characters born posthumously
- Macduff, a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth, revealed that he was not literally born, but removed from his [dead] mother, completing a plot twist.
- In Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve's fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, the Prince's father, the King, died months before he was born.
- The Irish Republican song "The Broad Black Brimmer" was about a boy whose father died before he was born.
- The Charles Dickens character David Copperfield was a posthumous child, whose father had died six months before he was born.[24] Another Dickens character, Oliver Twist, was posthumous as his mother died while giving birth.
- On A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child, baby Jacob was born after his father Dan was killed by Freddy.
- In The Hunger Games series, Gale Hawthorne's sister Posy is born shortly after their father dies in a mine explosion, and Finnick Odair's son is born months after his death in battle.
- John Connor, a principal character in the Terminator franchise, and son of Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese (a time traveler from the future), was conceived shortly before his father was killed. As an adult, John was in fact responsible for selecting Reese (who was unaware of their relation) to go back in time.
- The Noughts and Crosses series character Callie-Rose Hadley is born after the execution of her father, Callum McGregor.
- In the British television soap opera Coronation Street, Liam Connor Jr. was born in July 2009; his father and namesake Liam Connor, was ordered murdered by Tony Gordon just a short time after Liam Jr.'s conception in October 2008.
- The Stephen King novel Carrie tells briefly of the parents of the titular character, Margaret and Ralph White. Ralph, a construction worker, had impregnated Margaret, only to be killed in a construction accident shortly before the birth of their daughter.
- In Berserk, the main character Guts is found after having been birthed by a hanging corpse.
- Grey's Anatomy: Derek Shepherd dies in a car accident in Season 11, nine months before the birth of his daughter.
- Bahubali series: Mahendra Bahubali is born shortly after his father Amarendra Bahubali is killed.
- Star Wars Rebels: Kanan Jarrus dies sacrificing himself while rescuing his lover Hera Syndulla, who is pregnant with their son, Jacen Syndulla.
- In A Song of Ice and Fire, Princess Daenerys Targaryen is born months after the death of her father, King Aerys II Targaryen.
- Avatar series: Grace Augustine's human form was killed by Colonel Miles Quaritch, but her unconscious Avatar body was kept in stasis and later gave birth to Kiri.
See also
References
- ↑ "Posthumous Child Law and Legal Definition". USLegal.
- 1 2 3 Christine Quigley, The Corpse: A History, McFarland, 1996, ISBN 0-7864-0170-2, pages 180 to 181.
- 1 2 3 Renee H. Sekino, Posthumous Conception: The Birth of a New Class Archived 15 July 2004 at the Wayback Machine, Boston University Journal of Sci. and Tech. Law, 2001.
- ↑ "Frozen in Time: Planning for the Posthumously Conceived Child". The National Law Review. Fairfield and Woods P.C. 9 July 2009. Retrieved 7 April 2012.
- ↑ "U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 8, 8 FAM 304.4 Posthumous Children". Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ↑ "Report 49 (1986) — Artificial Conception: Human Artificial Insemination, 12. AIH and Posthumous Use of Semen". Law Reform Commission, New South Wales.
- 1 2 "Posthumous fathers to be recognised". BBC News. 25 August 2000.
- ↑ Bowman, William Dodgson. The Story of Surnames. London, George Routledge & Sons, Ltd., 1932. No ISBN.
- ↑ Lurie S (2005). "The changing motives of cesarean section: from the ancient world to the twenty-first century". Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics. 271 (4): 281–285. doi:10.1007/s00404-005-0724-4. PMID 15856269.
- ↑ Bowen 1928, pp. 384–385.
- ↑ Bosworth 1993, pp. 723–724.
- ↑ Franco Silva, A. (2009) "Las mujeres de Juan Pacheco y su parentela." Historia, Instituciones, Documentos. Vol. 36, pgs. 161-182
- ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia
- ↑ leighrayment, The Baronetage[usurped]. Retrieved 14 March 2014
- ↑ Wikisource. Retrieved 14 March 2014
- ↑ Beacock Fryer, Mary (1989). Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe 1762-1850. A Biography. Toronto, London: Dundurn. p. 10–12.
- ↑ Catholic Encyclopedia
- ↑ New York Magazine (1 Oct 1973), Vol. 6, Nº 40, pg. 76
- ↑ Corpo de Itamar Franco chega a Juiz de Fora (MG), onde será velado UOL (In Portuguese), 3 July 2011, accessed in 29 November 2016.
- ↑ Wilson, Julian (11 June 2013). "Sir Henry Cecil obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
- ↑ Jinman, Richard (19 February 2019). "Sir Ranulph Fiennes on rivalry, pain and the storage of amputated fingers". Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 22 February 2019. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ↑ "Graca Machel: There Is Nothing Exceptional About Me..." This Day Live. 16 August 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2015.
- ↑ Cowton, Michael (2020) Murders that shocked the world - 70s. Banovallum, 200 pages.
- ↑ "David Copperfield". Blundeston. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
External links
- Posthumous Child (i.e., Born After Father's Death), Adoption.com
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