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This list offers some overlap with our previous entry titled 'Top 10 Scientists Killed Or Injured By Their Experiments,' but it introduces enough new figures to make it a must-read. The pursuit of knowledge often comes with risks, and those featured here paid the ultimate price, yet their work still pushed humanity forward. Below are 10 remarkable inventors whose fates were sealed by the very inventions they created.
10.
Henry Winstanley was a renowned English architect and engineer, best known for designing the first Eddystone lighthouse. Eager to test its durability, Winstanley chose to be inside the lighthouse during a violent storm. Tragically, the structure collapsed, taking his life along with the lives of five others.
9.
Alexander Bogdanov was a distinguished Russian physician, philosopher, economist, science fiction writer, and revolutionary. Among his many scientific endeavors, he explored the possibility of rejuvenation through blood transfusion. After performing transfusions on several notable figures, including Lenin’s sister, Bogdanov decided to experiment on himself, using blood from a patient suffering from both malaria and tuberculosis. Unfortunately, he succumbed to the infections shortly after.
8.
Cowper Phipps Coles was a renowned Royal Navy Captain who invented the rotating turret for ships during the Crimean War. After the war, he patented his invention and set out to build his own ship based on this groundbreaking design, which had already been incorporated into other Royal Navy vessels. His ship, the HMS Captain, required several unconventional and hazardous modifications, including a 'hurricane deck' that raised the ship’s center of gravity. On September 6, 1870, the HMS Captain capsized, taking Coles and most of its 500-person crew with it.
7.
Karel Soucek was a Canadian stuntman famous for creating a 'capsule'—essentially a modified barrel—and riding it down Niagara Falls. He survived the stunt, though with some injuries. In 1985, he secured funding to perform a barrel drop from the top of the Houston Astrodome in Texas, where a special waterfall was set up. Unfortunately, the stunt went awry as Soucek hit the rim of the pool instead of landing in the center, causing the capsule to splinter and injure him severely. He passed away the following day. Evel Knievel later called it the most dangerous stunt he'd ever witnessed. Soucek's capsule is now displayed at the New York State Museum.
6.
Franz Reichelt was an Austrian tailor famous for creating a bizarre combination of overcoat and parachute that he claimed would allow the wearer to float gently to the ground or even fly. He decided to test his invention from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower, performing the experiment in front of a crowd of spectators and a camera crew. Unfortunately, his attempt ended in tragedy as he plunged straight down, dying instantly upon impact.
5.
Otto Lilienthal, known as the Glider King, was a pioneer of human aviation. He was the first person to achieve repeated successful gliding flights. His accomplishments were widely covered by newspapers and magazines across the globe, helping to shift public and scientific opinion on the feasibility of flying machines. On August 9, 1896, during a flight, Lilienthal fell 17 meters and broke his spine. He passed away the following day. His last words were, 'Small sacrifices must be made!'
4.
William Bullock was an American inventor who created the rotary printing press in 1863, an invention that revolutionized the printing industry with its remarkable speed and efficiency. Tragically, Bullock met his end while attempting to repair one of his presses. While trying to adjust a pulley, he accidentally crushed his foot under the machine. The injury led to gangrene, and Bullock died during an operation to amputate the foot.
3.
Marie Curie was a French-Polish physicist and chemist renowned for discovering several new elements, including radium and polonium, as well as developing the theory of radioactivity and isolating radioactive isotopes. She shared the Nobel Prize in 1903 with her husband Pierre. Curie passed away on July 4, 1934, from aplastic anaemia, a likely result of her prolonged exposure to radiation. At the time, the dangers of ionizing radiation were not yet understood, and she often worked in an improvised shed without safety protocols. She carried test tubes with radioactive isotopes in her pocket and stored them in her desk, fascinated by the blue-green glow they emitted in the dark.
2.
Thomas Midgley was an American chemist known for his invention of both leaded petrol and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). Initially celebrated, he later became infamous for having 'more impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in Earth history' and for being 'the one human responsible for more deaths than any other in history' due to his creations. After contracting Polio and lead poisoning, he was left bedridden, prompting him to develop a complex system of pulleys and ropes to lift himself. At the age of 55, he tragically died when one of his pulleys strangled him. Ironically, both his inventions—leaded petrol and the pulley-operated bed—played a role in his death.
1.
John Godfrey Parry-Thomas was a Welsh motor-racing driver and engineer with a lifelong ambition to break the land speed record held by Malcolm Campbell. To achieve this, he designed a car named Babs, featuring numerous modifications, including exposed chains connecting the wheels to the engines. On April 27, 1926, Parry-Thomas succeeded in breaking the existing speed record and even raised it to over 170 mph the following day. His record stood for a year before Campbell surpassed it in 1927. When Parry-Thomas attempted to reclaim the record, a chain snapped and struck his neck, partially decapitating him. He died instantly.
