Buzz
Inventing is a tough and unpredictable job. There's no certainty that your ideas will pan out. The constant trial-and-error process can leave you stuck in a loop of experimentation. Plus, with the complexities surrounding patents, product marketing, manufacturing, and sales, even if your invention reaches the market, making a profit isn’t guaranteed.
Naturally, many inventors find success, but even more face failure. With the passion people have for inventing and improving on existing ideas, there’s always a new wave of creators eager to enhance outdated methods or products.
But what happens when an invention takes a deadly turn? It's not just about poor sales or failed launches; what about those inventors who met their end because of their own creations? Though it might sound like a rare occurrence, it's surprisingly more common than you might think. In this list, we'll explore ten of the countless instances where inventors perished at the hands of their own designs. Chilling!
10. Car Troubles
Let's kick things off with a disturbing four-in-one tale, shall we? As the automobile began to take shape at the turn of the 20th century, it wasn't just Henry Ford in his factory refining the assembly line. Many inventors were experimenting with their own versions of what would eventually evolve into cars, motorcycles, and other motorized transport.
These inventors used a variety of engine styles and designs, and safety features were largely nonexistent. It was a chaotic era to be on the roads before any basic safety standards were put into place. As a result, many individuals—including at least four prominent inventors—met their end while driving these new and unfamiliar machines.
Take Sylvester H. Roper's story, for example. In 1896, he was fine-tuning his Roper steam velocipede, which was essentially an early version of the modern motorcycle. He decided to demonstrate its capabilities in a public speed trial, hoping to prove that his velocipede could handle roads and cover long distances.
However, during the ride, he suffered a heart attack, which left him unable to control the bike. As his heart failed, he lost control and crashed, tragically dying in the process. He wasn’t the only one to die in such circumstances. In 1903, a General Electric employee named William Nelson invented a unique way to motorize bicycles. After perfecting the prototype, he took it out for a test ride, but tragically crashed and lost his life on the road.
Even inventors of early automobiles faced dangerous risks. In 1918, Francis Edgar Stanley, a pioneer of the automobile industry, died while driving his groundbreaking Stanley Steamer down a country road. He swerved to avoid a group of slow-moving farm wagons but crashed into a woodpile and lost his life.
In 1932, the world of automobiles suffered a tragic loss. That year, Fred Duesenberg made headlines with his groundbreaking Duesenberg automobile, a car that offered unmatched power and speed. Perhaps it was too fast, though, as Fred lost his life in a high-speed road accident while driving his creation. His name, along with the Duesenberg brand, has since become infamous, forever linked to the fiery crash of the ambitious innovator and daring inventor.
9. Otto Lilienthal
Before the Wright brothers, there was Karl Wilhelm “Otto” Lilienthal. Born in Germany in 1848, Lilienthal took to the skies as an adult, becoming known across the nation as the “flying man.” He pioneered the use of hang gliders, achieving successful flights that no one had before. While he wasn’t soaring across the country like modern commercial jets, Lilienthal made a significant breakthrough in the 1890s: he figured out how to make a ‘heavier-than-air’ machine glide hundreds of yards or more.
His groundbreaking flights were widely covered by newspapers and magazines in the 1890s, establishing him as an authority on flight. Through his efforts, he gradually convinced the public of the potential of flying at high speeds through the air.
Unfortunately, fate had different plans for Lilienthal’s quest for flight. Despite his rising success and advancements, such as developing the modern wing and mass-producing the first gliders, his time in the air was tragically short. Though he is often regarded as the first modern person to fly, his pioneering efforts would come to an abrupt end.
On August 9, 1896, Lilienthal was soaring through the skies when his glider unexpectedly stalled mid-air. It veered downward, plummeting from a height of over 50 feet (15 meters) like a stone. In the ensuing crash, Lilienthal suffered a broken neck and passed away the following day. He remains celebrated as the ‘father of flight’ for his pioneering work that predated the Wright brothers. Sadly, he did not live long enough to see aviation technology evolve into the marvels of the 20th century.
8. Franz Reichelt
Franz Reichelt, originally from Germany, moved to France early in the 20th century, where he became a naturalized French citizen. Known as the 'Flying Tailor,' Reichelt devoted himself to the meticulous work of designing and sewing parachutes. His dedication to perfecting his parachute designs made him an early pioneer in the field of parachuting.
Reichelt’s relentless pursuit of creating a parachute that would allow people to safely land from great heights ultimately led to his tragic demise. Despite warnings from skeptics, many of whom were Parisians, his death became not only a horrific personal tragedy but also a widely publicized event due to the nature of his invention-related experiment.
On February 4, 1912, Reichelt climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, determined to demonstrate the effectiveness of his parachute. Having spent years working on his design to help aviators survive if they were forced to jump from a plane, Reichelt was confident in his creation. He felt that the Eiffel Tower, offering a high enough altitude, would serve as the perfect place for the final test. That morning, he received permission to use the tower as a platform for testing his parachute with a test dummy.
When the fateful morning arrived, Reichelt ascended the tower with his parachutes and, to the surprise of the officials, suddenly declared that he wasn’t going to drop a dummy after all. Instead, he planned to leap from the iconic tower himself while wearing the parachute. He confidently promised he would land safely and softly, thus proving his invention’s effectiveness.
Both the media and officials were highly skeptical, but somehow they allowed him to proceed with the jump. The outcome was as tragic as expected: Reichelt fell to his death as his parachute failed to deploy. In total, he fell a staggering 187 feet (57 meters), meeting a tragic end as he crashed into the unforgiving ground below. It was a heartbreaking moment, to say the least.
7. Michael Dacre
Michael Robert Dacre, born in the 1950s, was an inventor who dedicated much of his life to the dream of creating a flying car—well, something close to that. In the late 1980s, he introduced the AVCEN Jetpod, a small, quiet aircraft designed to revolutionize short-distance travel. This compact vehicle required less than 150 yards (137 meters) of space for takeoff and landing, making it highly efficient and user-friendly.
Dacre envisioned the Jetpod as a solution for transporting business executives between cities. Think of it as a medium-range air taxi: while it couldn’t fly from New York to Los Angeles, it could take someone from Los Angeles to Bakersfield for a business meeting, offering a convenient and time-saving alternative to traditional travel.
The Jetpod, designed to be small and requiring minimal runway space, had the unique potential to land in the heart of bustling cities. Its ability to fly at lower altitudes meant it wouldn't disrupt the high-flying commercial jets above, and its quiet engines ensured that it wouldn't disturb those on the ground. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Dacre certainly believed so.
Dacre, along with his colleagues and investors, spent years refining the AVCEN Jetpod from the late 1980s to the early 2000s. In August of 2009, he unveiled an impressive new prototype. Eager to test it, Dacre attempted to take the Jetpod for a flight. However, his first three attempts to take off ended in failure.
On the fourth try, Dacre successfully lifted the Jetpod off the ground. Unfortunately, mere moments into the flight, and less than 1,000 feet above the ground, the Jetpod became uncontrollable and crashed. Dacre tragically died instantly, his body later found among the wreckage.
6. John Day
Born in 1740, John Day is credited with creating the first-ever primitive submarine, and he holds the tragic distinction of being the first person to lose his life in a submarine-related incident. An English carpenter and wheelwright, Day was fascinated with the idea of diving into the deep ocean without the aid of an engine. With financial backing from the infamous English gambler Christopher Blake, Day crafted a wooden ‘diving chamber’.
Day connected his primitive submarine to a 50-ton sloop named the Maria and ventured out into Plymouth Sound, located near the port city of Plymouth, England, to test it. His plan was to balance the submarine with ballast weights, dive into the ocean, and then ascend back to the surface. To make it more interesting, his gambling friend Blake wagered that Day couldn’t descend 130 feet (40 meters) below the water and stay submerged for 12 hours.
Day, undeterred by the bet, accepted the challenge. On June 22, 1774, the Maria was towed to a spot off Drake’s Island in Plymouth Sound. Day, armed with a candle, water, and biscuits, boarded his makeshift submarine, which included a hammock for resting. He was confident he could easily wait out the 12 hours in his homemade vessel.
As one might expect, things didn’t go according to plan. Day’s calculations for balancing the submarine were completely off, causing it to immediately sink to the ocean floor. The exact cause of his death remains a mystery—whether it was from asphyxiation, hypothermia, or a catastrophic failure of the submarine’s structure is unknown. Regardless, Day was never heard from again, and there’s no record of how Blake might have collected on his victorious bet!
5. William Pitt
William Pitt, born in 1841 in Canada, was a noted inventor and engineer. Over his extensive career, he focused on improving boat traffic, which, though it may sound mundane, was crucial work. For over 30 years, Pitt’s contributions were well-known in the New Brunswick region, where people relied on his ferries for safe transportation across the water.
The key bottleneck was located on the Kennebecasis River, between the areas known as Gondola Point and Reed Point. Even today, the local community depends on the ferries to travel to work, school, and back home, creating their own version of rush hour. As a result, the people of New Brunswick came to regard Pitt as a friendly and indispensable figure in their unique way of life.
In 1903, Pitt introduced a revolutionary underwater cable system for his ferries, which was quickly installed along the Kennebecasis route. By the following spring, ferry traffic had grown substantially, making Pitt a hero of sorts, someone who had mastered the regional challenges of transportation. Unfortunately, his success came to a tragic and sudden halt in 1909.
While maintaining his groundbreaking ferry system, Pitt tragically fell into the machinery at one of the landing stations. He sustained severe injuries and, soon after, passed away due to the accident. In his honor, one of the two ferries that still operates today from Gondola Point is named the 'William Pitt II'.
4. Thomas Midgley Jr.
Of all the individuals on this list, Thomas Midgley Jr. might have the most curious and tragic invention story. He was the inventor of leaded gasoline, using tetraethyl lead. He also created and manufactured some of the first chlorofluorocarbons, which would go on to be widely recognized in the U.S. under the brand name Freon for many decades.
Both of these inventions would eventually be banned due to their significant harm to human health and the environment. In that sense, Midgley’s legacy is far from friendly to progress, the planet, or the future that carried on long after his death in 1944.
But it’s Midgley’s 1944 death that is the focus here. Beyond his role in inventing dangerous substances, Midgley also struggled with polio. He contracted the disease in 1940, and by 1944, he had become fully disabled. Despite this, the notorious inventor refused to let his physical limitations prevent him from continuing his work.
Determined not to be held back, Midgley—who held over 100 patents for a range of inventions—came up with a solution. He created a complex rope and pulley system above his bed to help him sit up, lift himself, and get out of bed, allowing him to manage tasks around the house. It sounds like an inspiring tale of ingenuity, doesn’t it?
However, the story ends in tragedy. In 1944, Midgley somehow became tangled in the ropes of his pulley system. It appeared that he was attempting to get out of bed when he became ensnared and ultimately died from strangulation, a conclusion later confirmed by authorities.
Some privately wondered if his death might have been intentional—whether Midgley had taken his own life using the very invention he had crafted. Regardless, the infamous tinkerer had, in the end, tinkered with his last device, and it was through its use that his life was tragically cut short.
3. Michael Hughes
You might recall the name Michael Hughes, the American limousine driver turned rocket scientist, famously known as 'Mad Mike.' Throughout his life, Hughes claimed to believe in a flat Earth, a belief that drew much attention his way. He leveraged this attention to fund his projects, specifically his homemade rockets. Tragically, it was one of these rockets that led to his untimely death.
On February 22, 2020, Hughes ventured into the desert near Barstow, California, hoping to launch his homemade rocket high into the sky. The stunt was being filmed for an upcoming Science Channel show titled Homemade Astronauts, which followed people who designed and tested their own rockets in the hopes of eventually flying to space. Sadly, Hughes would never reach that goal.
Surrounded by media and cameras, Hughes fired his rocket into the air, but something went terribly wrong. Instead of rising smoothly, the rocket shot straight up, but its flight quickly took a disastrous turn.
It appeared that the rocket's parachute, designed for a gentle landing, deployed prematurely and detached from the rocket itself. Without a means for a safe descent, the rocket plummeted back to Earth, resulting in Hughes' tragic death on impact.
2. Valerian Abakovsky
Valerian Ivanovich Abakovsky was born in 1895 in Riga, which is now part of Latvia. As a child of the early 20th century, he grew up during a time when technological advancements were rapidly changing the world, particularly in the realm of transportation.
Abakovsky quickly became fascinated by the concept of high-speed rail, a technology that remains a topic of discussion today, especially in countries like Japan with their renowned high-speed rail systems. However, during his time, it was just a budding idea. Abakovsky was determined to bring that idea to life. In his early 20s, he invented the Aerowagon, a revolutionary concept in transportation.
The Aerowagon was a high-speed rail vehicle powered by a plane-like propeller at the front. Abakovsky envisioned using it to transport Soviet officials, military personnel, and others at incredible speeds across vast distances. The prospect of reducing travel time between places like Moscow and Siberia was immensely appealing.
Tragically, Abakovsky's ambition led to his downfall. The speeds at which he was developing his airplane-style railcar proved too dangerous. On July 24, 1921, he and a group of engineers and Soviet scientists were killed when the Aerowagon crashed. This occurred just three months before Abakovsky’s 26th birthday.
1. Webster Wagner
Webster Wagner, a 19th-century figure from New York, initially started out in the wagon-making business alongside his brother James. However, by 1842, their company had failed. With the rise of the railroad industry, Wagner shifted his focus, seeking new opportunities that would prove far more successful.
He soon joined the New York Central Railroad, where he revolutionized the travel experience by inventing the sleeping car and the luxurious parlor car. These innovations greatly improved passenger comfort, leading to a substantial increase in the railroad's business.
Proud of his accomplishments, Wagner left the railroad and founded his own Wagner Palace Car Company in Buffalo, New York. Despite efforts from the Pullman Company to outcompete him, Wagner's company eventually merged with theirs, making him extraordinarily wealthy. He then transitioned into a political career.
In 1871, Wagner was elected to the New York State Assembly as a Republican and was re-elected several times over the next decade. Tragically, in 1882, Wagner died in a railroad accident. He was killed when a luxury train car he was traveling in collided with one from the Hudson River Railroad on January 13, 1882. His body was found crushed between the two rail cars, killed by the very invention he had created decades earlier.
