Inventors killed by their own invention
28 entries in the Inventors Killed by Their Own Invention compendium.
Valerian AbakovskySoviet engineer who invented the Aerowagon and died in its crash.Abu Nasr al-JawhariMedieval lexicographer who compiled the influential Arabic dictionary al-Ṣiḥāḥ.Alexander BogdanovBolshevik revolutionary, philosopher, and pioneer of systems theory.Leonard Warden BonneyPioneering aviator and designer of the Bonney Gull.William Bullock (inventor)Inventor of an improved web rotary printing press.Robert CockingBritish artist who died in the first known fatal parachute accident.Michael DacreFounder of Avcen Limited, died in Jetpod prototype crash.John Day (carpenter)First recorded death in a submarine accident.Frank De MartiniArchitect who led rescues in the North Tower on 9/11.Fred DuesenbergGerman-born American auto designer of racecars and luxury cars.Karl FlachGerman mechanic who built Chile's first submarine and died in it.Mike Hughes (daredevil)Daredevil who built and flew steam rockets.Charles LigetiDesigner of the radical closed-wing Stratos ultralight.Otto LilienthalFirst person to make repeated, documented successful glider flights.Thomas Midgley Jr.Engineer whose inventions later caused widespread environmental harm.PhalarisTyrant of Akragas known for extreme cruelty and the brazen bull.Jean-François Pilâtre de RozierFirst human to fly in a free balloon.Zygmunt PuławskiPolish aircraft designer who invented the gull-wing design.Franz ReicheltTailor and inventor who died testing his parachute from the Eiffel Tower.Georg Wilhelm RichmannPioneering physicist who died by lightning during an electrical experiment.Louis SlotinCanadian physicist who died in a criticality accident at Los Alamos.Henry SmolinskiCo-creator of the AVE Mizar, killed in its crash.Karel SoucekCzech daredevil who survived Niagara Falls but died in Astrodome stunt.Charles SpaldingConfectioner and engineer who improved the diving bell and died in its use.Francis Edgar StanleyCo-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company and inventor of an improved airbrush.Aurel VlaicuRomanian engineer and early aviation pioneer.Wan HuAlleged first man to attempt rocket-powered space flight.Henry WinstanleyBuilder of the first Eddystone Lighthouse, lost in the Great Storm of 1703.
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