As part of the samurai bushido honor code, the ancient Japanese practiced Seppuku (also know as Harakiri) as a form of ritualistic suicide: to die in honor rather than submit to their enemies. These warriors are willing to exchange their life to defend their belief.
Beside Seppuku, there is also another ancient practice that was considered common practiced around the world even in today's modern world: self-immolation. This form of suicide by fire is often committed for political or moral reason as a form of protest. Self-immolation gained notoriety in 1963 when Thich Quang Duc, a Buddhist monk immolated himself in protest of the Vietnamese regime. As he burned he never moved a muscle, never uttered a sound, his outward composure in sharp contrast to the wailing people around him.
In 2011, a 26 year old man named Mohamed Bouazizi immolated himself in front of a Tunisian government building to protest the seizure of his livelihood (an unlicensed fruit cart). This Tunisian man's action has sparked a revolution around the nation forcing the nation's leader, Ben Ali to go into exile.
He'll never know he changed the world.
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