Friedrich III, German Emperor (1831 – 1888)
Friedrich had incurable cancer of the larynx, which had been misdiagnosed by the English doctor Morell Mackenzie (later knighted by Queen Victoria). As a result of the misdiagnosis, surgery that might have cured the cancer was canceled in 1887. When the error was caught, it was too late to operate. Later swelling by the tumor caused the prince to begin to suffocate, and so on February 9, 1888, a tracheotomy was performed and a silver tube was put into the prince's wind pipe. As a result of this operation, Friedrich was unable to speak for the remainder of his life, and communicated through writing. Friedrich ruled for only 99 days before his death, being succeeded by his son Wilhelm II.
Source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_III,_German_Emperor
