If you were considered a significant person and died in Rome after 59 B.C., your death was subject to be printed in the Acta Diurna, or “Daily Acts.” This daily government gazette, published on papyrus and posted publicly, reported news along with a list of recent deaths. Created by Julius Caesar, these pamphlets were posted on temples, markets, and public gathering places for the masses to read. Designed to convey information to the public, reading about the deaths of significant individuals became a popular section of the news and appealed to a morbid sense of humanity.

 Posting the deaths of individuals became common yet limited in scope as Rome collapsed. With the invention of movable-type printing by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440, the exponential increase in printing also increased the range of information throughout Europe. Listing the deaths of prominent individuals continued to be trendy. Colonial America printed death notices, limited by technology, but by the middle of the 1700s, the imported printing press allowed for local deaths to be published in most newspapers. Still, the limitations of newspaper size allowed the printing of famous or exciting death notices only, and smaller communities were more likely than large cities to print death notices. Even George Washington only received a couple of short paragraphs announcing his death.

As printing technology improved, more comprehensive death notifications became possible. The name of the death postings also varied by newspaper. Titles like “Memorial Advertisements,” “Death Acknowledgements,” and even simply “Died” were some of the section headings. Although printing death announcements remained moderately popular, the American Civil War dramatically changed the popularity of death notices. Around this time, the term “obituary” became more commonplace in newspapers. Obituary is a Latin derivative of obit or death.

During the American Civil War, families of soldiers from the North and the South scoured over newspaper reports of battles. With little official information on the fate of their loved ones or letters arriving home, families wanted as much information as possible, eager for something to give them knowledge. The increase in obituary notices also amplified the bibliographical information to assist families with identifying and spreading the information on the deceased.

After the American Civil War, the obituary classified became popular. People could post succinct obituaries of deceased accomplishments in local papers to announce a local death and inform neighbors of the funeral services. During the Industrial Revolution, obituaries were published with the individual’s wealth to expand readers' interest or to make them feel better about their wealth (or lack of prosperity). This advanced during the late 1800s as newspapers began to print comprehensive accounts of how a person died. The more gruesome, whimsical, or unusual deaths became popularized in what was deemed “death journalism” at the time.

The early 20th-century obituaries were still written with details about an individual’s method of demise but gradually changed to include a condensed life story. Obituaries developed into a tribute to the deceased with poems about their lives. World War I and World War II continued the trend of giving information to the public on soldiers but changed from details on how a person died to simply the location and rank of the soldier. By the 1950s, obituaries transformed again to detail an individual’s accomplishments and announce funeral arrangements for the community.

The late 20th century obituaries continued publishing the recently deceased manner of death but altered morbid details to more of a life story, not unlike more modern equivalents. By the late 20th century, information on an individual’s wealth and manner of death was uncommon, and the “common man” obituaries became popular. Today, newspapers have been replaced by electronic publications and social media. New means of cyber information have changed how people write and receive obituaries, but the trend continues to publish only basic information for funeral services and surviving family names. On the other hand, the famous garner lengthy tributes and detailed life information on their accomplishments in numerous electronic forms. Regrettably, for well-known individuals, websites are now dedicated to wagering when they will meet their demise, and the more macabre death details have returned to popularity.