Death of Ivan Ivanovich

November 19, 1581 - Ivan Ivanovich died on this day. He was the 27-year-old son, and heir-apparent of the Russian Tsar, Ivan the Terrible.

According to historians, the Tsar had apparently gone into a rage and physically assaulted his son’s pregnant wife, Yelena, causing her to have a miscarriage. When the younger Ivan confronted his father, a fight ensued and the Tsar smacked his son across the temple with his heavy sceptre.

Immediately regretting his actions, the Tsar cradled his son’s bleeding head and cried out, “May I be damned! I’ve killed my son! I’ve killed my son!”

The death of Ivan Ivanovich was a huge blow to Russia, which lost a promising heir to the throne. Instead, upon Ivan the Terrible’s death, his other son, Feodor, became the Tsar, but he had little interest in ruling Russia, so he basically let his brother in law, Boris Gudonov, take care of business.

Did you know that the sinister character Boris Badenov in The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show is a tongue-in-cheek homage to Boris Gudonov?