Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions
An invention is said to be the ‘baby’ of an inventor. Inventors dedicate their time, energy and resources to perfect what they believe is a result of their creative genius. What if the cost of their invention is their life? Have a look at the most famous inventors killed by their own inventions.
The Word Web Dictionary defines an inventor as “someone who is the first to think of or make something”. While most of us would be ‘inventors’, if only the ‘thinking’ part was taken into consideration, there are a few who go one step further and actually put their ‘unique’ thoughts into action. It is because of these proactive people, who are passionate about their ideas and are willing to take risks, that the world has progressed over the years. Ironically, there are some inventors who were killed by their own inventions. These deaths were either a direct result of the invention (like when the invention failed during a test or when the invention crashed while being used) or indirect cause of the inventor’s death (like in case of exposure to harmful elements in a lab or fatal infection caused by an accident involving the invention or malfunction of the invention itself).
Given below is a list of the most famous inventors killed by their inventions.
List of Inventors Killed By Their Own Invention
Name
Nationality
Invention
Year of Death
Cause of Death
☛ Li Si
Chinese
The Five Pains
208 B.C.
He was executed by his own method of execution after being convicted of treason.
☛ James Douglas
Scottish
Scottish Maiden
1581
He was beheaded on the Scottish Maiden he invented.
☛ Henry Winstanley
British
Eddystone Lighthouse
1703
He died in his lighthouse during the Great Storm of 1703.
☛ Jean-Fran½ois Pil’tre de Rozier
French
Rozi’re Balloon
1785
He died when the balloon crashed while trying to cross the English Channel on its second flight.
☛ Horace Lawson Hunley
American
Submarine named H. L. Hunley
1863
He died in the 2nd failed attempt to use it.
☛ William Bullock
American
Rotary Printing Press
1867
His foot got caught in the press contraption, developed gangrene that led to his death 4 days later.
☛ Cowper Phipps Coles
British
Turret Ship
1870
He died when his ship sunk due to overload.
☛ Otto Lilienthal
German
Hang Glider
1896
He died due to a 56 feet (17 m) fall when his glider lost lift during a flight.
☛ William Nelson
American
Motorized Bicycle
1903
He died when he fell off his motorized bicycle while testing it in General Electric.
☛ Franz Reichelt
Austrian
Overcoat Parachute
1912
His death was due to fall from Eiffel Tower during a demonstration on 4th February.
☛ Thomas Andrews
Irish
Architect of Titanic
1912
He died when the Titanic capsized on its maiden voyage in April.
☛ Aurel Vlaicu
Romanian
Vlaicu II Airplane
1913
He died when his plane crashed on the Carpathian Mountains.
☛ Valerian Abakovsky
Latvian
Aerowagon
1921
He died when the Aerowagon derailed during the test ride.
☛ John Godfrey Parry-Thomas
Welsh
Babs Car
1927
His death occurred when the car’s right hand drive chain broke in a race which led to a fatal head injury.
☛ Alexander Bogdanov
Russian
Blood Transfusion
1928
He died when the blood in the 12th transfusion done on himself was contaminated (some say the blood group was incompatible).
☛ Max Valier
German
Liquid-fueled Rocket Engine
1930
He died when one of the liquid-fueled engines exploded on his lab desk.
☛ Marie Curie
Polish
Radium, Polonium and Theory of Radioactivity
1934
She died of aplastic anemia caused due to constant exposure to radioactive elements.
☛ Thomas Midgley, Jr.
American
Mechanical Bed with pulleys
1944
His death was due to lead poisoning and strangulation by ropes on his mechanical bed.
☛ Harry K. Daghlian, Jr.
American
Atom Bomb
1945
They died due to acute radiation caused by lab accidents involving the same plutonium sphere.
☛ Louis Slotin
Canadian
Atom Bomb
1946
☛ Donald M. Campbell
British
Motorboat Speed Engine
1966
He died when his motorboat (with the speed engine) capsized in a race.
☛ Henry Smolinski
American
Flying Car
1973
During a flight, the right wing of the car came off, resulting in a crash and the inventor’s death.
☛ Karel Soucek
Canadian
Water Capsule
1985
He succumbed to injuries caused when his capsule capsized on its second test.
☛ Michael Dacre
British
Flying Taxi
2009
He died when his flying taxi crashed during the test flight.
☛ James (Jimi) Heselden
British
Segway Gyrobike (Owner)
2010
He died when he fell off an 80 feet cliff after the Segway scooter he was riding lost balance.
It would be utter cowardice to say that it is better to keep ‘thinking’ instead of ‘doing’ just because some were unfortunate enough to pay with their lives for their creativity. Besides, many of the inventions mentioned above have played an important role in the development of man. Maybe the dying words of one such inventor (Otto Lilienthal) best describes the significance of losing a life for an invention –
“Sacrifices must be made.”
