World Best Inventors killed by their own Inventions

Inventors killed - It is quite a tragic paradox that some of the world famous inventors died due to their own inventions. We have listed here ten such inventors who met with miserable death because of their inventions which turned against their own lives. Inventions or discoveries are normally made out of undying quest and pretty deep curiosity of inventors and researchers with a particular purpose of finding truth and utility to mankind. The inventors, or for that matter anybody else on earth, would have never thought that the inventions would ironically become the fateful cause for the death of the very persons who invented them.

Famous Inventors Killed:

1. Sylvester H. Roper:

Roper was an American inventor and pioneering builder of early automobiles and motorcycles from Boston. He invented the steam powered velocipede, also shotgun choke, revolver repeating shotgun. On June 1, 1896 Roper died in a crash during the testing of the machine on a bicycle racing track when he was lapping the pedal-powered two-wheelers at over forty mph. After the autopsy, the cause of death was found to be heart failure, but it’s not known if the attack caused the crash or if the crash caused the attack. AMA motorcycle museum has all his memorable things.

2. Franz Reichelt:

Reichelt was an Austrian-born French tailor, inventor and a parachuting pioneer, sometimes referred to as the “Flying Tailor” because he invented the coat parachute. First when Reichelt experimented with dummies to jump from the 5^th floor of his apartment, they proved to be successful descents. After many successful experiments he decided to jump from the Eiffel tower. He was granted the permission from the police. On 4 February 1912, he jumped himself instead of utilizing the services of his proxies for the test. But unfortunately the parachute failed to unfurl promptly and he crashed onto the ground and died instantly.

3. Marie Curie:

Marie curie, she was the first woman  to win two Nobel Prizes in  different fields. She was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who pioneered research into radioactivity. She discovered radioactive elements polonium and radium and made use of mobile radiography. On July 14, 1934 she died because of anemia due to long term exposure to radiation; she had also the  habit of carrying test-tubes of plutonium in her pockets.

inventors killed

Inventors killed Inventors killed

4. Horace Lawson Hunley:

Horace Lawson Hunley was a Confederate marine engineer and inventor of first combat submarine. He developed three different models, but two submarines were sunk.  After two unsuccessful attempts he successfully developed the third submarine named the H.L. Hunley. On October 15, 1863 Hunley was testing the submarine off the coast of Charleston, South Carolina, but the vessel sank and all the crew members died including Hunley.

5. Henry Smolinski:

Henry Smolinski graduated in aeronautical engineering from the Northrup Institute of Technology. Henry invented a hybrid car-aircraft, the AVE Mirzar. On September 11, 1973, Henry took the aircraft for a test flight at Camarillo. While in the air one of the wings separated from the pinto with the result of uncontrollable crash of the flight and the inevitable death of Henry Smolinski, Harold Blake, a passenger, the Vice President of AVE.

6. Max Valier:

Max Valier was an Austrian rocket pioneer, who invented the liquid-fuelled rocket engines. He worked on a number of rocket-powered cars and aircraft. Valier focused on inventing the liquid-filled rocket engines. Shortly he developed the rocket car using liquid propulsion. It worked, too, and he got it up to 250 mph. Trying to get even better, Valier experimented with alcohol as a combustible substance but unfortunately on May 17, 1930 he died, when an alcohol-fueled rocket engine exploded on his test bench.

7. William Bullock:

William Bullock was an American scientist, who invented first modern printing press. On April 12, 1867, while making the adjustments to a printing press, his leg got caught and crushed in the moving machine. His leg needed amputating because of gangrene set in.  During his surgery time, William bullock died.

8. Aurel Vlaicu:

Aurel Vlaicu was a Romanian engineer, inventor, airplane constructor and early pilot. He built three powered planes, A. Vlaicu Nr. I, II and III. He achieved many notable firsts such as the, longest, fastest and highest flights. AurelVlaicu was died on September 13, 1913, while attempting to fly across the Carpathian Mountains the plane nosedived and crashed. The cause of the crash was never determined.

9. Valerian Abakovsky:

Valerian Abakovsky was a Russian inventor, who invented a high-speed railcar also known as Aerowagon. Aerowagon had an airplane engine and propeller and was designed to carry Soviet officials to and from Moscow. On 24 July 1921, twenty-five-year-old Abakovsky and five other died, when it was taken on a test run from Moscow to Tula. It reached successfully to Tula, but on return journey to Moscow Aerowagon derailed.

inventors killed

​​10. Karel Soucek:

Karel Soucek was a Canadian professional stuntman and inventor. He built a custom-made barrel flowed over the Niagara Falls. On July 2, 1984, Karel Soucek was first person in 23 years to go over Niagara's Horseshoe Falls in a barrel. To top this feat he decided to perform a barrel drop of 180 feet from the top of the Houston Astrodome into a tank of water on January 20, 1985, but it missed its target, which was a small water container, and Soucek was killed in the  crash.

Other Inventors Killed By Their Own Inventions:

1. William Nelson:

William Nelson invented a motorized bicycles. He was died during the test run of his motorized bicycles.

2. Francis Edgar Stanley:  

Stanley invented the Stanley Steamer automobile. He was killed while driving the Stanley Steamer automobile.

3. Fred Duesenberg:  

Fred Duesenberg invented the Duesenberg automobile. He died in high-speed road accident in a Duesenberg automobile.

4. Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier:

He invented the Roziere balloon. His balloon crashed while attempting to cross the English Channel and became the first known victims of an air crash.

5. Otto Lilienthal:

Otto invented the hang gliders. He was died by one of his hang gliders.

6. Michael Dacre:

Michael Dacre invented the flying taxi device. He died in a crash while conducting the test flight of his experimental flying taxi device.

7. Sabin Arnold von Sochocky:

 Sochocky invented the first radium-based luminescent paint. He died with aplastic anemia, resulting from his exposure to the radioactive material.

8. Thomas Midgley Jr.:

Thomas   invented the elaborate system of ropes and pulleys to help others lift him from bed, two of his other inventions are the tetraethyl lead (TEL) additive to gasoline, and chlorofluorocarbons. He died, accidentally entangled in the ropes.