Alexander Bogdanov (died 1873)

Bogdanov was a polymath who studied medicine and psychiatry. He was also a Marxist political dissident and co-founder of the Bolshevik movement making him a direct opponent of Lenin (the picture below shows the two men playing chess).

Bogdanov became obsessed with finding the fountain of youth. He wanted to live forever, or failing that at least extend his life significantly. He thought that the answer lay in blood. The literal liquid of life.

Bogdanov had a number of blood transfusions and was well chuffed with his perceived improvement in eyesight and the fact that his ever growing bald spots had stopped growing.

He was convinced this was the answer to longer, healthier lives. Unfortunately for Bogdanov, this fountain of youth would be the death of him. He infected himself with the blood of a boy who had TB and malaria and died shortly after. Some argue that the boy may have simply been of a different blood group and this was the cause of death; others still say Bogdanov’s death may have been an act of suicide. They theorise that he feared his political activism had gotten him in to sinister troubles.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you’re going to start thinking outside of the box, you must be prepared to end up in a box.