This is a chronological list of people who committed self-immolation, the act of setting themselves on fire, for political reasons. Non-political self-immolations are not included in the list.
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Background
Self-immolation is commonly understood as suicide by means of fire, although some scholars refer to the practice using the term "auto-cremation". The act of self-immolation has historical roots extending back centuries. Self-immolation was undertaken by a group of Christians around 300 A.D., who chose to burn themselves before Roman authorities could enact an execution order issued by Emperor Diocletian. Jack Downey, a professor of religious studies at the University of Rochester who specializes in the study of self-immolation as a form of protest, notes that there has long been debate over whether the act's extreme nature ultimately overshadows or detracts from the intended message of the protest itself.