A fight to the death

❍ Future US President Andrew Jackson fought several duels and killed a famous marksman, Charles Dickinson, in 1806. Abraham Lincoln and an adversary were dissuaded by their seconds in 1842 ❍ Mark Twain was challenged to a duel in 1864, but his opponent withdrew after hearing of Twain’s pistol prowess (which was a fallacy) ❍ Irish statesman Daniel O’connell killed a duel opponent in 1815 ❍ Russian literary giant Alexander Pushkin, a serial duellist, died in 1837 during his 29th encounter ❍ Two Frenchmen agreed to duel from balloons over Paris in 1808, one plummeting to his death after his envelope was punctured ❍ Recorded non-events include two Frenchmen duelling, in 1842, by throwing billiard balls. Another, in 1865, saw scientist and politician Rudolf Virchow challenged over Prussian navy funding by the president, Otto von Bismarck. Sausage consumption was chosen over weapons—one of them being laced with the Trichinella spiralis parasite. Bismarck had to choose which to eat, but withdrew his challenge ❍ Duelling fell out of favour in Britain in the 19th century, with the last fatal meeting in 1852, but continued as a sport in France. Opponents in padded clothing and helmets used wax bullets, a practice that gained favour in America ❍ The modern Olympic Games once featured ‘duelling pistol’ events with military revolvers and, in 1906, a quasi-olympics called the Intercalated Games included marksmanship with real duelling pistols at 20m and 30m. The targets were dummies dressed in frock coats with bullseyes pinned at chest level