A replication of Phillips' “death control study” (of famous Americans) was carried out on two Canadian groups-one defined as famous and the other as non famous. It is hypothesized that at least some people can exert control over their death dates and that such control is oriented toward important social dates, in this instance, their birth dates. It is expected, therefore, that death rates decrease prior to birth dates and increase after them. The results support the hypothesis with one exception: the death rate for the famous Canadians, although increasing substantially after the birth dates, did not decrease prior to them.
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