Fearless Starlight: 10 Great Inventors Who Died Because of Their Inventions

Editor: Li Yashan

Editor: Huang Shan

Layout: Li Xuewei

Nikola Tesla, Edison... There are many shining names in the history of human invention. Their inventions are not only creative, but the process of invention is often full of twists and turns.

However, not every invention story is a starting point; sometimes it is also the end of the inventor’s life.

This article will introduce 10 inventors who died from their own inventions. Before we formally introduce them, we need to emphasize that these inventors are not the kind of "weird" inventors who killed themselves because of their fantastic ideas. On the contrary, even in their time, they were great creators.

As we all know, inventors are people who invent new things or technologies, which means they are also the first to come into contact with these new things and technologies. Before an invention is made public and widely used, the inventor will go through a long trial and error process to ensure that the tool or object he invented is safe. This trial and error process is likely to cause the inventor to become ill or suffer a fatal accident, or even die.

They were fearless and took huge risks. Here are 10 inventors who helped create the technology we enjoy today.

1. HENRY WINSTANLEY

Henry Winstanley was an inventor and engineer in 17th century England who owned a mechanical museum and operated a special “floating theater.” Winstanley used his earnings to buy five ships, two of which were soon wrecked on rocks near Plymouth, England.

Ordinary people might report the risk of running aground to the government and wait for it to solve the problem. However, as an inventor and engineer, Winstanley decided to solve these problems himself.

In 1696, Winstanley designed a huge lighthouse to mark these dangerous reefs, and his design was approved. Over the next few years, he built the lighthouse on the rocks a few miles from the coast. The lighthouse was fixed on an iron pole, 115 feet high, and the glass lamp house was lit with 60 candles to guide nearby ships.

Everything went well for the next few years until the night of November 26, 1703. A storm that lasted for several days hit the coast of the English Channel, one of the largest storms in British history. The strong winds and waves swept away Winstanley's lighthouse, which was in the lighthouse at the time. From then on, Winstanley and his lighthouse disappeared in the vast ocean.

2. THOMAS MIDGLEY, JR.

THOMAS MIDGLEY, JR. was an American chemist of the 20th century.

Some of his discoveries were widely used at the time. He found that the compound tetraethyl lead could be added to gasoline to reduce knocks in car engines. He also found that a certain type of chlorofluorocarbon made a good refrigerant. Although both applications ultimately had a bad impact on the environment, at the time, Midgley was an executive at a chemical company and a researcher, and he received numerous medals for his innovative work.

However, MIDGLEY did not die from lead poisoning from his gasoline experiments. At the age of 51, MIDGLEY suffered a stroke and became paralyzed in his bed. He invented a pulley system for his bed so that he could sit up on his own. Tragically, on November 2, 1944, MIDGLEY was strangled to death by the rope he invented.

3. VALERIAN IVANOVICH ABAKOVSKY

Many inventors have tried to make bicycles, cars, or trains faster, only to end up with irreversible consequences.

Valerian Ivanovich Abakovsky was a Soviet train driver who tried to build a high-speed train that could carry Soviet officials across the Soviet Union faster. At the time, the Soviet Union was encouraging engineers to modify trains to speed up their travel. In this environment, the 25-year-old Abakovsky designed a streamlined train with an airplane engine and a propeller at the rear to increase thrust. He named the train Flying Dragon, and it could reach speeds of 87 miles per hour (about 140 kilometers per hour).

On July 24, 1921, Abakovsky and about 24 other passengers boarded a train that took them safely from Moscow to a city 120 miles away. However, on the return trip, the train derailed at 70 miles per hour, killing Abakovsky and five European diplomats on board.

4. FRANCIS EDGAR STANLEY

In 1897, FRANCIS EDGAR STANLEY and his twin brother Freelan began developing a steam-powered car.

By 1899, after founding the STANLEY Motor Transport Company, the brothers had sold more than 200 STANLEY steam cars. They became the most successful automobile manufacturer in the United States. Their steam convertible cars were much faster than other earlier cars: the top speed record reached nearly 128 miles per hour.

The New York Herald noted that "STANLEY and his brother opened a shop selling the latest products hand-made in their factory."

But on July 31, 1918, STANLEY's private car overturned on a Massachusetts highway and STANLEY was killed in the accident.

5. HARRY SMOLINSKI

HARRY SMOLINSKI is an aerospace engineer who has spent many years designing jet aircraft and rockets.

In the early 1970s, he became obsessed with making flying cars and tried to invent a new means of transportation. But SMOLINSKI did not design it from scratch, but wanted to design light wings and tails for existing cars. His idea was that cars on the market could fly with these devices installed, and they could still be driven normally after being disassembled. The prototype he designed was based on a Cessna twin-engine aircraft and a Ford car. SMOLINSKI's team admitted that there were still problems with the idea, but claimed that "the answer will be found."

On September 11, 1973, SMOLINSKI and a co-pilot took off from Ventura County Airport in California. The prototype crashed and burned shortly after takeoff. The fatal accident was caused by poor welding and some loose parts.

6. OTTO LILIENTHAL

Otto Lilienthal was a 19th century aviation pioneer who was inspired to study the aerodynamics of wings after observing the flight of birds. He invented many gliders and flying machines in his Berlin studio.

One of them, called the "Normal Glider," had a 23-foot wingspan and required the pilot to sit and hold onto supports underneath. To promote his invention, LILIENTHAL commissioned photos of the glider in action. But the photos masked a problem: The glider was difficult to fly.

During a test flight on August 9, 1896, Lilienthal's glider suddenly stalled and plunged headfirst toward the ground. Lilienthal was unable to regain control of the glider and fell about 50 feet, breaking his neck and dying the next day.

Although Lilienthal's research ended in tragedy, his study of flight dynamics influenced the Wright brothers, leading to the subsequent airplane.

7.MAX VALIER

What Max Valier wanted to explore was space flight.

In the 1920s, the Austrian pilot became fascinated with space flight and developed a "four-step" plan to achieve space travel: the first stage was engine testing, the second stage was to build a rocket engine, the third stage was to develop a rocket-powered aircraft, and the fourth stage was to develop a spacecraft. Unfortunately, Valier was unable to complete the third stage.

In 1928, Valier and two colleagues selected an engine design and built an airplane powered by rocket solid propellant. During a test run, it reached a speed of 145 miles per hour. But in the pursuit of flying faster and eventually escaping the pull of Earth's gravity, Valier experimented with liquid fuels on his prototype airplane.

On May 17, 1930, one of the planes exploded, and Valier became the first casualty of the space age.

8. HORACE LAWSON HUNLEY

During the American Civil War, the Union Navy blockaded Southern ports, and the Confederate government offered a $50,000 reward to anyone who could sink a Union warship.

Confederate engineer Horace Lawson Hunley took up the challenge. Hunley had worked on two earlier submarines, both of which had failed, but his third effort, the HL Hunley, proved its worth by successfully sinking an old ship during an exercise. However, during a later test, the submarine accidentally filled with water and sank, killing five men.

But Hunley was undeterred. After taking the submarine to Charleston, South Carolina, he assembled a new crew and continued testing.

On October 15, 1863, during an exercise, the HUNLEY unexpectedly sank, and all the crew members were killed - this time, HUNLEY was also on the submarine. But this was not the end of the story.

Soon after, the submarine was raised and put into service with the Confederate fleet. The HUNLEY did become the first submarine to sink a Union battleship, but in the process, it sank again, again killing its entire crew.

9. Thomas Andreas

THOMAS ANDREWS was the managing director of the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast and one of the shipbuilders of the most luxurious RMS Titanic.

On April 10, 1912, Andrews boarded Titanic on her maiden voyage to monitor her performance at sea. The first three days of the voyage were uneventful, but on the evening of April 14, Titanic hit an iceberg, and it is said that Andrews and Captain Edward Smith inspected the damage to the hull and believed that Titanic had at most two hours left.

Of course, this claim is largely unverifiable, but the story has been passed down from generation to generation. Over the years, fact may have been intertwined with fiction, but some details of the tragedy are undeniable. In the end, Andrews went down with the Titanic, and his body was never found.

10. WILLIAM BULLOCK

William Bullock was a newspaper editor in the mid-19th century who made some key technological advances in the printing press.

To reduce the labor required to print newspapers, Bullock invented a rotary printing press that fed paper continuously, successfully replacing manual paper feeding and increasing production to approximately 11,000 newspapers per hour.

However, like many new inventions, Bullock's printing press was unreliable.

On April 2, 1867, Bullock was adjusting a working printing press with his foot when his leg became entangled in a belt and was shattered. A few days later, Bullock developed gangrene and underwent amputation. Things got worse and Bullock died from complications of the surgery.