Pliny the Younger was a DWEEB

Explanation: The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder, the uncle of Pliny the Younger, invited the younger lad to go on a field trip to see the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, wherein Pliny the Elder intended to lead a rescue party for survivors during this unprecedented natural disaster.

Pliny the Younger opted to stay at home and do his homework.

Pliny the Elder would die due to his advanced age rendering him incapable of handling the toxic fumes and ash of the aftermath of the eruption, but the rescue party he led saved a number of survivors from the eruption.