Inventors Who Were Killed By Their Inventions

October 2, 2022

Death can be an unfortunate side effect of inventing. The very nature of inventing exposes the Inventor to new and exciting possibilities and ideas. They step, willingly, towards the unknown, with the focus and desire to improve our lives. Unfortunately, that step forward can lead them straight to destruction instead of success and achievement. They are inventing the unknown from theories and possibilities. Theoretically, it should work but when it doesn't, look out!

Vampires Beware!

Blood transfusions are a long-accepted medical procedure, responsible for saving countless lives since its discovery. Alexander Bogdanov, the first inventor to research the concept, fatally proved that you could not transfuse diseased or mistyped blood. Alexander lived a colorful life. Philosopher, writer, political revolutionary and eventually physician were a few of his primary interests. Near the end of his life, he became interested in Hematology, the study of blood. He hypothesized that eternal life could be possible through blood transfusions. Through statistical luck, his first dozen self-inflicted transfusions worked. Colleagues and friends commented on how younger and healthier he looked. Inevitably his luck ran out. His last transfusion contained malaria, tuberculosis and (possibly) a mismatched blood type.

Submarines Are Better When Eaten.

Horace Lawson Hunley was a brilliant marine engineer during the American civil war. His original concept was hand/man driven and named The Hunley. It was the first submarine to sink a warship although it to suffered destruction during that battle. Each time the Hunley was dropped, he would raise it for modification and repair. Horace then joined with McClintock and Watson to build a new submarine. After several failures and loss of life, Horace funded his combat submarine project. This project also faced many problems and deaths. Taking matters into his own hands, he assumed command of the troubled invention and piloted it to his death, under the sea.

To The Moon, Alice!

Physicist and machinist Max Valier's passion was to become a free-lance science writer. After reading a colleague's book on the concept of space travel, Max focused his writing on how that could be accomplished. He formed an amateur rocket association called the Spaceflight Society where he designed and successfully tested the first liquid-fueled rocket. His fruitful and favorite books caught the eye and interest of industrialist Fritz von Opel. Valier worked with Opel to design and implement several liquid-fuel propelled rockets. Opel was mostly interested in using the rocket tests as publicity stunts for his Corporation. Max piloted a rocket car during one of their demonstrations. One month later, while working on an alcohol-fueled prototype, he accidentally triggered a lethal explosion.

The Samples Glowed Like Faint Fairy Lights

Solving the mysteries of science was already a driving motivation for Marie Sklodowska Curie. It was the soft fairy light glow of the materials she carried in her pocket that drew her to radiation research. What was it and is it for all materials? Marie Curie's research into radioactive substances won her two Nobel prizes, making her the first woman to win that award. For decades she worked in the presence of radioactive material with only her lab coat to protect her. She had no idea that her life's work would be the ultimate cause of her death. Her clothing and archived research papers will remain radioactive for the next 1500 years.

We Should Have Stayed With Steam Power

By the time Francis Edgar Stanley became interested in the concept of an automobile, he already owned a successful photography business. He used the money from the sale of that business to Eastman-Kodak, to fund the development of his steam-powered car. It was quickly crowned the Stanley Steamer by some and by others The Flying Teapot. Production of the car grew to five hundred per year. Eventually, it's popularity was overshadowed by the more efficient and powerful combustion engine. While driving a Steamer, Francis swerved to avoid horse-drawn wagons blocking the road and crashed into a woodpile. The company was sold soon after his death.

He Should Have Stuck To Chemistry?

During the many years that Thomas Midgley Jr worked for General Motors, he was credited with over one hundred patents. He researched and invented many compounds that, at the time, were beneficial to humanity but later on were found to be lethal. Leaded gas and chlorofluorocarbon were two of those compounds. The leaded gasoline solved engine problems (knocking) but also created lead poisoning and environmental pollution. We now know that chlorofluorocarbons are responsible for thinning the ozone layer and accelerating global warming. His exposure to the leaded gas made him very sick, but that isn't what ended his life. After contracting Polio, he invented the first bed lift. When operating the device by himself one day, he became tangled in the ropes and asphyxiated.

Speed Kills

Valerian Abakovsky was a Latvian born inventor. He must have been of considerable mechanical talent to dream up his most notable invention, the Aerowagon. His primary profession was that of chauffeur for what was then known as the Soviet secret police. It is believed that his proximity to these high state individuals allowed him to propose the idea of building a high-speed train. The project was funded, and he attached an airplane engine to a rail car. On its first run, it traveled from Moscow to Tula at speeds of 140 km/hr. The ride must have been exhilarating! On the way back it derailed at high speed, killing the inventor and six passengers.

It Was Sad, So Sad.

Thomas Andrews was the chief naval architect of the Titanic. Although he initially specified that forty-six lifeboats were required, only twenty were supplied to provide more deck space for the travelers. Thomas rode on the Titanic for its maiden voyage. He must have been quite proud of his accomplishment. Then disaster struck. It quickly became apparent that the design of the hull that should have saved the ship from sinking would be its demise. Thomas started helping everyone he could to the lifeboats. He went from stateroom to stateroom telling everyone to get life jackets and head to the upper deck. Recognized as a hero that day, he was last seen on board, and his body was never recovered.

Don't Screw Around With Plutonium

Einstein had given science the theory that energy could be created from the mass of an object. To release this energy, a critical mass event would have to be initiated. Louis Slotin performed experimentation to determine the critical mass of uranium. He was a principal scientist on the Manhattan project. He assembled the nuclear core of the bomb that was the first detonated nuclear device. After the war, he expressed his desire to stop working on nuclear projects for moral reasons. During an experiment to find the critical mass of plutonium he accidentally dropped a screwdriver into the operation and triggered a momentary burst of radiation. Although he heroically stopped the reaction he died nine days later of radiation poisoning.

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