List of inventors killed by their own invention: Difference between revisions
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* [[Thomas Midgley, Jr.]] (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who contracted [[polio]] at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of strings and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. This system was the eventual cause of his death when he was accidentally entangled in the ropes of this device and died of strangulation at the age of 55. However, he is more famous--and infamous--for developing not only the [[tetraethyl lead]] (TEL) additive to [[gasoline]], but also [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s (CFCs).<ref>[[Bill Bryson|Bryson, Bill]]. ''[[A Short History of Nearly Everything]]''. (2003) Broadway Books, USA. ISBN 0-385-66004-9</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932 |title= The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth |author=Alan Bellows |work=Damn Interesting |date=2007-12-08}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801605,00.html Milestones, Nov. 13, 1944]" ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', November 13, 1944</ref> |
* [[Thomas Midgley, Jr.]] (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who contracted [[polio]] at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of strings and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. This system was the eventual cause of his death when he was accidentally entangled in the ropes of this device and died of strangulation at the age of 55. However, he is more famous--and infamous--for developing not only the [[tetraethyl lead]] (TEL) additive to [[gasoline]], but also [[chlorofluorocarbon]]s (CFCs).<ref>[[Bill Bryson|Bryson, Bill]]. ''[[A Short History of Nearly Everything]]''. (2003) Broadway Books, USA. ISBN 0-385-66004-9</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.damninteresting.com/?p=932 |title= The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth |author=Alan Bellows |work=Damn Interesting |date=2007-12-08}}</ref><ref>"[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,801605,00.html Milestones, Nov. 13, 1944]" ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', November 13, 1944</ref> |
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=== Music === |
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* [[Skrillex]] (1988-2011), inventor of [[dubstep]], died from a fatal and tragic case of too much bass. <ref>[http://www.hipsterrunoff.com]</ref><ref name=skrillex/> |
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===Physics=== |
===Physics=== |
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Revision as of 02:35, 18 April 2011
This is a list of inventors whose deaths were in some manner caused by or related to a product, process, procedure, or other innovation that they invented or designed.
Direct casualties
Automotive
- William Nelson (ca. 1879−1903), a General Electric employee, invented a new way to motorize bicycles. He then fell off his prototype bike during a test run.[1]
Aviation
- Ismail ibn Hammad al-Jawhari (died ca. 1003–1010), a Muslim Kazakh Turkic scholar from Farab, attempted to fly using two wooden wings and a rope. He leapt from the roof of a mosque in Nijabur and fell to his death.[2]
- Otto Lilienthal (1848–1896) died the day after crashing one of his hang gliders.[3]
- Franz Reichelt (1879–1912), a tailor, fell to his death off the first deck of the Eiffel Tower while testing his invention, the coat parachute. It was his first ever attempt with the parachute and he had told the authorities in advance he would test it first with a dummy.[4]
- Henry Smolinski (died 1973) was killed during a test flight of the AVE Mizar, a flying car based on the Ford Pinto and the sole product of the company he founded.[5]
- Aurel Vlaicu (1882–1913) died when his self-constructed airplane,[6] Vlaicu II, failed him during an attempt to cross the Carpathian Mountains by air.[7]
- Michael Dacre (died 2009, age 53) died after testing his flying taxi device designed to accommodate fast and affordable travel among nearby cities.[8]
Industrial
- William Bullock (1813–1867) invented the web rotary printing press.[9][10] Several years after its invention, his foot was crushed while installing a new machine in Philadelphia. The crushed foot developed gangrene and Bullock died during the amputation.[11]
Maritime
- Horace Lawson Hunley (died 1863, age 40), confederate marine engineer and inventor of the first combat submarine, CSS Hunley, died during a trial of his vessel. During a routine exercise of the submarine, which had already sunk twice previously, Hunley took command. After failing to resurface, Hunley and the seven other crew members drowned.[11]
Medical
- Thomas Midgley, Jr. (1889–1944) was an American engineer and chemist who contracted polio at age 51, leaving him severely disabled. He devised an elaborate system of strings and pulleys to help others lift him from bed. This system was the eventual cause of his death when he was accidentally entangled in the ropes of this device and died of strangulation at the age of 55. However, he is more famous--and infamous--for developing not only the tetraethyl lead (TEL) additive to gasoline, but also chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).[12][13][14]
Music
- Skrillex (1988-2011), inventor of dubstep, died from a fatal and tragic case of too much bass. [15][16]
Physics
- Maria Skłodowska-Curie (1867–1934) invented the process to isolate radium after co-discovering the radioactive elements radium and polonium.[17] She died of aplastic anemia as a result of prolonged exposure to ionizing radiation emanating from her research materials. The dangers of radiation were not well understood at the time.[18][11]
Punishment
- Li Si (208 BC) (Chinese first minister) was executed by The Five Pains method [19][20] which he had devised. [citation needed]
- James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton (1581) was executed in Edinburgh on the Scottish Maiden which he had introduced to Scotland as Regent.[21]
Railways
- Valerian Abakovsky (1895–1921) constructed the Aerowagon, an experimental high-speed railcar fitted with an aircraft engine and propeller traction; it was intended to carry Soviet officials. On July 24, 1921, a group led by Fyodor Sergeyev took the Aerowagon from Moscow to the Tula collieries to test it, with Abakovsky also on board. They successfully arrived in Tula, but on the return route to Moscow the Aerowagon derailed at high speed, killing everyone on board, including Abakovsky (at the age of 25).[22]
- Joseph-Ignace Guillotin (1738–1814) While he did not invent the guillotine, his name became an eponym for it.[23] Rumors circulated that he died by the machine, but historical references show that he died of natural causes.[24]
- Perillos of Athens (circa 550 BC), according to legend, was the first to be roasted in the brazen bull he made for Phalaris of Sicily for executing criminals, although he was taken out before he died.[25]
- James Heselden (1948–2010), owner of the Segway production company, died in a Segway accident. Dean Kamen invented the Segway.[26]
- Wan Hu, a sixteenth-century Chinese official, is said to have attempted to launch himself into outer space in a chair to which 47 rockets were attached. The rockets exploded and, it is said, neither he nor the chair were ever seen again.
See also
References
- ^ KILLED BY OWN INVENTION; While Trying Motor Bicycle He Had Made, Schenectady Man Meets Death — Article Preview — The New York Times
- ^ google.com Piero Boitani, Winged words: flight in poetry and history. University of Chicago Press, 2007. p. 38
- ^ Biography of Otto Lilienthal Lilienthal Museum
- ^ 2003 Personal Accounts Darwin Awards
- ^ Morris, Neil. From Fail to Win, Learning from Bad Ideas: Transportation. ISBN 1410939111.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|yar=ignored (help) - ^ Great Britain Patent GB191026658
- ^ Aurel Vlaicu at www.earlyaviators.com
- ^ British inventor dies in crash on est flight of his flying taxi
- ^ United States Patent 61996
- ^ United States Patent 100,367
- ^ a b c "Inventors killed by their own inventions". Discovery News. Retrieved 2010-10-30.
- ^ Bryson, Bill. A Short History of Nearly Everything. (2003) Broadway Books, USA. ISBN 0-385-66004-9
- ^ Alan Bellows (2007-12-08). "The Ethyl-Poisoned Earth". Damn Interesting.
- ^ "Milestones, Nov. 13, 1944" Time, November 13, 1944
- ^ [1]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
skrillexwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ American Institute of Physics Biography of Marie Curie
- ^ American Institute of Physics Biography of Marie Curie
- ^ Guisso, R. W. L., The first emperor of China, New York : Birch Lane Press, 1989. ISBN 1559720166. Cf. p.37
- ^ Fu, Zhengyuan, Autocratic tradition and Chinese politics, Cambridge University Press, 1993. Cf. p.126
- ^ "The Maiden". National Museums Scotland. Retrieved 6 August 2010.
- ^ Alexey Abramov / Алексей Абрамов By the Kremlin Wall / У кремлёвской стены Moscow / М., Politizdat / Политиздат 1978 pp./стр. 399 Template:Ru icon
- ^ "Dr Guillotin". Chambers's Edinburgh Journal. I: 218–221. January - June 1844. Retrieved 2009-12-30.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Joseph Ignace Guillotin" Who Named It?
- ^ "Perillos of the Brazen Bull". Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ^ "Segway company owner dies in apparent Segway accident". Retrieved 27 Sept 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help)
Further reading
- E. Cobham Brewer (1898). "Inventors Punished by their own inventions". Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Bartleby. pp. 657–658.