How did British painter J. M. W. Turner die?

On 19th December 1851, J.M.W Turner passed away from cholera while staying with his friend Sophia Caroline Booth at her house on Cheyne Walk in Chelsea, London. The artist Philip Hardwick arranged Turner’s funeral arrangements after writing to friends and family “I must inform you, we have lost him.” Turner is buried in St Paul’s Cathedral near Sir Joshua Reynolds, who played a large part in establishing Turner as an artist.

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in April 1775 in Covent Garden, London. At the age of 14, Turner entered the Royal Academy of Arts, earning a place as an academic probationer the following year. During his first few years at the Academy, Turner focused on watercolours of architectural buildings, before expanding to include maritime scenes. One of his most famous paintings is 'The Fighting Temeraire', which depicts the HMS 'Temeraire', one of the last ships used in the Battle of Trafalgar (1805), being towed up the River Thames towards Rotherhithe. This painting features on British £20 notes along with Turner's self-portrait.

Cholera is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium 'Vibrio cholerae', which infects the small intestine. The most common symptom is diarrhoea, which can cause death within a few hours due to dehydration. The disease spread to Russia in 1817 by trade routes over land and sea, before spreading to the rest of Europe. People usually get cholera by eating food or drinking water that is unclean.