Various views of the famous wound in the skull of Phineas Gage, (1823-1860), showing wound made by iron rod and the rod itself. Gage was a railroad worker when the iron rod was driven completely through his head, into one or both of his brain's frontal lobes. Gage's physical recovery was complete, but his mental recovery was not. He died of injury related convulsions in 1860. His case informed scientists about the functions of different parts of the brain.