12 Of The World’s Most Unluckiest People In The World

From the frustration of spilled coffee on manuscripts to the crashing of my hard drives, I’ve always wondered if I am the unluckiest person in the world. God knows I’ve seen my fair share of chaotic back-to-back unfortunate events. But when I started my research on this topic, I realized there are many unlucky people in the world who have faced a series of unfortunate events that defy the odds.

Their stories, from bizarre accidents to strange coincidences will baffle you. They are not only unpredictable but they are also a bit amusing. Okay, yes. We shouldn’t find joy in other people’s misery but these extraordinary tales of those whose luck, or lack thereof, is quite interesting. Stay with us till the end and find out all about the unluckiest people in the world.

The Ultimate List Of The Most Unluckiest People In The World

Sometimes human beings attract negative energy and fall prey to all the misfortunes that the universe has to offer. Luck has a very capricious nature. You can never predict when it’ll turn its back on you. Join me as we explore the remarkable and often surreal experiences of those whose misfortune truly seems to know no bounds. 

1. Frane Selak

Frane Selak is known as the world’s luckiest unluckiest man as he had seven brushes with death. Not once or twice but seven times he has escaped death. Here is a list of major accidents he has slipped away from:

• A train derailment
• He has been ejected through an airplane door
• He has survived a bus plunging into a river
• He endured two car fires
• He has been struck by a bus
• He has narrowly missed a 300-foot drop following a driving misadventure  

In his later years, he confessed that won a huge lottery, which he chose to donate. Bad luck became his companion but he still chose to be generous in life. Now that’s commendable! 

2. Henry Ziegland

Henry Ziegler from Texas is yet another world’s most unfortunate man. His life was a good one for 20 years but then he cheated on his girlfriend. He dumped her but her brother swore to take revenge. 

Her brother sought revenge by riding over to Zeigland’s farm and firing a pistol at him. The bullet narrowly missed Zeigland’s face and embedded itself in a tree. Lucky for him now but unlucky for him later.

Two decades later, Henry found the bullet stuck to the same tree and he decided to blow the tree. After lighting the fuse, Zeigland moved 50 yards away to observe. When the dynamite detonated, it propelled the bullet out of the tree. 

The bullet struck Zeigland in the head, killing him instantly. He avoided death for 20 years but it eventually caught up with him. They say every grain of rice has the name of its eater but in Henry’s case, every bullet has the name of its victim. Que sera sera. 

3. Melanie Martinez

Behold the world’s unluckiest woman in America, Melanie Martinez, a woman who lost her home five times in a hurricane. She is probably one of the unluckiest people in the world as these disasters happened to her over a span of 50 years when she was living in Louisiana and working as a school bus driver. A stormy misfortune for sure. 

4. James Howells

Imagine purchasing 8,000 bitcoins but throwing the hard drive away. That’s what happened with James Howells. He bought 8,000 bitcoins but threw the hard drive away. 

He is currently pleading with the Newport council to let him check the entire landfill site of Newport to find his drive. However, his pleas have been ignored and that’s why he is one of the unluckiest people in history. Imagine how rich he could have been. But his bad luck got in the way. 

5. Violet Jessop

Meet the woman who survived the RMS Titanic and HMHS Britannic, Violet Jessop. She was on both the RMS Titanic and the HMHS Britannic when they sank in the early 1900s. She is surely one unlucky person.

Plus, she was aboard the RMS Olympic when it collided with another ship. She got the title of “Miss Unsinkable” and went back to working on ships till she retired at the age of 63. 

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6. Wilmer McLean

Who is the unluckiest person in the world? Probably Wilmer McLean who had to face two armies of unwanted soldiers during both the First and Second Battles of Bull Run in the American Civil War. He lived in Manassas, Virginia, where his house was used as a Confederate headquarters. Sadly, a cannonball even hit his kitchen.

When the battles were over, McLean moved his family 100 miles away only to end up in Appomattox Court House, where General Lee surrendered to General Grant in 1865. McLean’s home was looted by soldiers, and he could only watch as they took art, furniture, and even his daughter’s doll. He is probably one of the most unlucky historical figures ever. 

7. Roy Sullivan and Major Summerford 

Have you ever met a man who was struck by lightning? No no. Not just once but seven times. Roy Sullivan was hit by lightning seven times between the years 1969 and 1973. The odds of being struck by lightning is 1 in 500,000. 

How hapless does one have to be to go through this seven times?  A lot. He was even named as “human lightning rod”. He is even featured on the Guinness World Record for surviving more lightning than anyone else in history.

A similar thing happened with a man named Walter Summerford who survived lightning four times. The fourth time, lightning hit his grave. He couldn’t escape bad luck even after death.  

8. Ronald Wayne

In January 2022, Apple’s market value briefly reached $3 trillion. While Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak are well-known as Apple’s founders, Ronald Wayne, the third co-founder, is less familiar. Wayne was brought on to help with administrative decisions and resolve disputes, and he played a key role in early decisions, such as advising on proprietary circuits and designing the company’s first logo.

However, he sold his 10 percent stake in Apple just 12 days after joining, earning $800. In a 2017 interview, he said he has no regrets because he wasn’t passionate about computers and doesn’t even own an Apple product.

Despite his decision, if he had kept his shares, they would have been worth over $200 billion today. He could have been one of the richest men in the world today but his hasty decision caused him a great deal. In my view, this makes him the unluckiest person in history. 

9. John Wade Agan 

Here is a list of unfortunate events that have happened to John Wade Agan:

• A lightning strike
• A stabbing
• Snake bites
• A robbery at gunpoint

He is one of the world’s most unfortunate men because no lucky person would go through so many ill-fated events in one lifetime. 

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10. Erik Norrie

Meet the man who attracts bad luck and wards it off because he is also kind of lucky. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Erik Norrie has endured a rattlesnake bite, a shark attack, a monkey attack, and a lightning strike.

Although he lost part of his leg to the shark, his father-in-law saved him. Despite surviving these rare incidents, Norrie’s string of misfortunes sounds like something out of a real-life nightmare.

11. Adolphe Sax

Born in 1814, Adolphe Sax invented the saxophone. But his personal life was nothing short of a series of unfortunate events. When he was just a baby, he fell from a three-story building and was considered dead. 

When three years old, he drank sulphuric acid thinking it was milk. Then, he swallowed a pin and later he toppled onto a burning stove and burnt most of his body. 

At the age ten, he drowned in the river and his head was hit by a cobblestone. He was also involved in a gunpowder accident where his father’s workshop exploded but he survived. His mother noticed all the signs of an unlucky person in him and believed he wouldn’t survive. But he did. 

12. Tsutomu Yamaguchi

When Tsutomu Yamaguchi was 29, he escaped death twice within three days. He is the only confirmed survivor of both atomic bombings in Japan during World War II. 

On August 6, he was just two miles from Hiroshima’s blast site, suffering only a perforated eardrum and burns. Then, he returned to Nagasaki, only to be caught in the second explosion on August 9 while recounting his experience. Known as a ‘Niju Hibaku’ or ‘twice bombed,’ Yamaguchi went on to live till he was 93. 

Conclusion: 12 People Who Should Come With a Warning Label 

Some people have a knack for attracting misery but they’ve also survived them like a hero. While their stories tickle us, they are a great example of resilience and perseverance. The next time you feel like you are having a bad day, think about all the unlucky people in the world and be thankful that you are living a good life.