Porcia Catonis

Full Name: Porcia Catonis filia
Profession: Wife of Marcus Junius Brutus

Biography: Born in 70 BC Porcia was a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century BC, the daughter of Cato the Younger and the second wife of Marcus Junius Brutus, the most famous of Julius Caesar's assassins.

She was one of the only women (if not the only woman) to be involved in the conspiracy against Caesar.

She is famous for committing suicide in June 43 BC by (reputedly) swallowing hot coals, a theory considered implausible by many historians. An alternative theory has her taking her life by burning charcoal in an unventilated room and dying from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Cause of Death: Committed suicide by swallowing hot coals or burning them in an unventilated room.