December 19, 1848
Haworth, West Riding of Yorkshire, England
Emily Jane Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights, dies at the age of 30
Brontë, it is believed, had her health compromised by contaminated drinking water tainted by run-of from the local graveyard. In September 1848, her brother Branwell died suddenly and, while at his funeral, Emily developed a cold which later evolved into tuberculosis. She refused the aid of “poison doctors” and the medicine and remedies they offered until her last day. The last audible words she spoke were “If you will send for a doctor, I will see him now,” but she died roughly two hours later.
