Some dictators suffer bloody ends, but many die of old age and natural diseases. Here are a baker's dozen famous modern dictators and their causes of death:
Joseph Stalin, Russia (1878-1953): Stroke
Benito Mussolini, Italy (1883-1945): Summarily executed by communists; body hung upside-down and pummeled with rocks.
Adolf Hitler, Germany (1889-1945): Suicide
Francisco Franco, Spain (1892-1975): Declining health and Parkinson's Disease
Mao Zedong, China (1893-1976): Declining health; possibly Lou Gehrig's Disease
Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, Haiti (1907-1971): Diabetes and heart disease
Kim Il-Sung, North Korea (1912-1994): Heart attack
Augusto Pinochet, Chile (1915-2006): Congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema
Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania (1918-1989): Executed by firing squad after a show trial
Idi Amin, Uganda (1925-2003): Kidney failure
Saddam Hussein, Iraq (1937-2006): Found guilty of crimes against humanity and hanged
Moammar Gaddhafi, Libya (1942-2011): Captured, beaten and killed by rebel fighters
Kim Jong-Il, North Korea (1941 or 1942-2011): Heart attack
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
