He wrote books on Natural History that are still read today, and he was an Admiral in the Roman Navy.
But he died trying to evacuate people from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius.
According to his nephew, Pliny the Younger, an author and lawyer in his own right who was also at Misenum and witnessed the eruption, Pliny the Elder's scientific curiosity was piqued by the dark, menacing clouds billowing from the volcano. Initially he intended to take a small, fast ship to observe the phenomenon.
But when he received a desperate message (possibly by signal or pigeon) from a family he knew in Stabiae, a town near Pompeii, he set out with his best ships to bring aid not only to his friends "but to the many people who lived on that beautiful coast." read more: https://www.haaretz.com/archaeology/1.80975
the article then goes on to say this was probably the first time military boats were used in a civilian disaster, and that an estimated 2000 people were saved.
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| A burnt Roman boat, possibly part of the rescue fleet, found on the coast near Herculaneum, Photo credit: Flavio Russo |
however, during the evacuation he got weak and collapsed and later died. From toxic fumes? Or a heart attack? or maybe the fumes/smoke/powdered pumice exacerbated his asthma.
more at wikipedia.
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