Editor: Li Yashan
Editor: Huang Shan
Typography: Li Xuewei
Nikolas Tesla, Edison... There are many star-studded names in the history of human invention. Not only are their inventions inventive, but the process of invention is often full of twists and turns.
However, not every invention story is the starting point, and sometimes it will be the end of the inventor's life.
This article is about 10 inventors who died in their own inventions. Before we get formally introduced, we need to emphasize that these inventors are not the kind of "strange" inventors who end up killing themselves because of their whimsy, but rather, they are great creators even in their time.
As we all know, inventors are people who invent new things or new technologies, which means that they are the first to contact these new things and new technologies. Before an invention is made public and widely used, the inventor goes through a long trial-and-error process to ensure that the tool or object he invents is safe. These trial-and-error processes are likely to cause inventors to fall ill or suffer fatal accidents, or even death.
They have a fearless spirit and take great risks. This article is about 10 such inventors. To this day, many of the scientific and technological achievements we have enjoyed and witnessed are based on their achievements.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="13">1. HENRY WINSTANLEY</h1>
Henry Winstanley, an inventor and engineer from 17th-century England, owned a mechanical museum and ran a featured "Water Theatre". Winstanley used the money he earned to buy five boats, two of which soon went into a shoal crash near Plymouth, England.
Ordinary people may report the risk of reefing to the government and then wait for the government to resolve it. However, as an inventor and engineer, Winstanley decided to solve these troubles 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 a rock a few miles from the coast, fixed by iron pillars, 115 feet high, and lit 60 candles in a glass lighthouse to navigate nearby ships.
Everything went well for the next few years, until the evening of November 26, 1703. A storm that lasted for days hit the English Channel coast, one of the largest in British history. The wind and waves swept away Winstanley's lighthouse, which was there. Since then, Winstanley and his lighthouse have disappeared into the vast sea.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="117">2. THOMAS MIDGLEY, JR.</h1>
THOMAS MIDGLEY, JR. was a 20th-century American chemist.
Some of his discoveries were widely used at the time. He discovered that the compound tetraethyl lead could be added to gasoline to mitigate impacts in car engines. He also found that a certain CFC could be made into a good refrigerant. While both applications ended up having a harsh impact on the environment, at the time, MIDGLEY received numerous medals for his innovative work as an executive and researcher at a chemical company.
However, MIDGLEY did not die of lead poisoning from gasoline experiments. At the age of 51, MIDGLEY suffered a stroke and was paralyzed in bed. He invented a pulley system in bed so he could sit up on his own. Tragically, on November 2, 1944, MIDGLEY was strangled to death by a rope of his own invention.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="118">3. VALERIAN IVANOVICH ABAKOVSKY</h1>
Many inventors have tried to make bicycles, cars, or trains faster, with irreparable consequences.
Valerian Ivanovich Abakovsky, a former Soviet train driver who had tried to build a high-speed train, hoped to carry Soviet officials across the Soviet Union faster. At the time, the Soviet Union was encouraging engineers to modify trains and speed them up. In this environment, Abakovsky, 25, designed a streamlined train with an airplane engine and a propeller for increased thrust at the rear. He named the train Wyvern, which could reach speeds of up to 87 miles per hour (about 140 km/h).
On July 24, 1921, Abakovsky and about 24 passengers boarded a train and arrived safely from Moscow to a city 120 miles away. On the way back, however, the train derailed at 70 miles per hour, killing Abakovsky and five European diplomats on board.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="120">4. FRANCIS EDGAR STANLEY</h1>
In 1897, FRANCIS EDGAR STANLEY and his twin brother Freelan began developing steam-powered cars.
By 1899, after the establishment of the STANLEY Motor Transport Company, the brothers had sold more than 200 STANLEY steam cars. They also became the most successful automaker in the United States at the time. The steam convertibles they built were much faster than other early cars: the top speed record reached nearly 128 miles per hour.
The New York Herald noted that "Stanley and his brothers are handmade in the latest products made by their factory." ”
But on July 31, 1918, Stanley's private car overturned on a Massachusetts highway, killing Stanley.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="122">5. HARRY SMOLINSKI</h1>
HARRY SMOLINSKI is an aeronautical engineer who has worked for many years in the design of jets and rockets.
In the early 1970s, he became obsessed with building flying cars and tried to invent a new means of transportation. But SMOLINSKI didn't design from scratch, but wanted to design lightweight wings and tails for existing cars. His idea was that the cars on the market would be equipped with these devices to fly, and they would still be able to travel regularly after disassembly. His prototype was based on a Cessna twin-engine aircraft and a Ford car. SMOLINSKI's team acknowledges that there are problems with the idea, but declares that "the answer will be found."
On September 11, 1973, SMOLINSKI and a co-pilot piloted the prototype from Ventura County, California, which crashed and burned shortly after takeoff. The fatal accident was caused by poor welding and loosening of some parts.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="124">6.</h1>
Otto Lilienthal, a 19th-century aviation pioneer, was inspired to observe the flight of birds and began studying the aerodynamics of wings. He invented many gliders and flying machines in his Berlin studio.
One of them, called the "Ordinary Glider," has a wingspan of 23 feet, and the pilot needs to grasp the supports underneath in a seated position. To promote his invention, LILIENTHAL commissioned someone to take a photo of the glider in action. But the photos obscure a problem: The glider is difficult to drive.
During a test flight on August 9, 1896, Lilienthal's glider suddenly stalled and slammed its head down toward the ground. Unable to regain control of the glider, LILIENTHAL fell from an altitude of about 50 feet, broke its neck, and died the next day.
Although LILIENTHAL's research ended in tragedy, his study of flight dynamics influenced the Wright brothers to have the aircraft that followed.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="127">7.MAX VALIER</h1>
What Max Valier wants to explore is spaceflight.
In the 1920s, the Austrian pilot became obsessed with spaceflight and developed a "four-step" plan for space travel: the first phase was engine testing, the second phase was the construction of rocket engines, the third phase was the development of rocket-powered aircraft, and the fourth phase was the development of spacecraft. Unfortunately, Valier failed to complete the third step.
In 1928, Valier and two of his colleagues chose an engine design and built an aircraft powered by solid propellant from rockets. In the test drive, it reached speeds of 145 miles per hour. But in pursuit of flying faster and eventually escaping Earth's gravity, Valier experimented with liquid fuel on the prototype.
On May 17, 1930, one of the planes exploded, and Valier became the first victim of the exploration of the space age.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="130">8. HORACE LAWSON HUNLEY</h1>
During the American Civil War, the Confederate Navy blockaded southern ports, and the Confederate government offered a $50,000 reward for anyone who could sink a Confederate warship.
Confederate engineer HORACE LAWSON HUNLEY accepted the challenge. HUNLEY had studied two early submarines, both of which ended in failure, but his third study, the H.L. HUNLEY, proved its worth by successfully sinking an old ship in one exercise. However, in a later test, the submarine accidentally sank, killing five people.
But HUNLEY wasn't intimidated. After bringing the submarine to Charleston, South Carolina, he gathered a new crew and continued experimenting.
On October 15, 1863, during an exercise, the HUNLEY accidentally sank, sparing no one of its crew — this time, HUNLEY was also aboard the submarine. But that's not the end of the story.
Soon after, the submarine was salvaged and put into service in the Confederate fleet. The HUNLEY did become the first submarine to sink a Federation warship, but in the process it sank again, killing the entire crew again.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="131">9. THOMAS ANDREWS</h1>
THOMAS ANDREWS is Managing Director of Harland & Wolff Shipyard in Belfast and one of the most luxurious ship builders of the Royal Cruise Line Titanic.
On April 10, 1912, ANDREWS boarded the Titanic's maiden voyage to oversee its performance at sea. The first three days of the voyage were uneventful, but on the evening of April 14, the Titanic hit an iceberg, and ANDREWS is said to have inspected the damage to the hull with captain Edward Smith and believed that the 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. For years, facts may have been intertwined with fiction, but some of the details of the tragedy are undeniable. In the end, ANDREWS sank along with the Titanic, and his body was not found.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="134">10. WILLIAM BULLOCK</h1>
William Bullock, a newspaper editor in the mid-19th century, made some key technological advances on the printing press.
In order to reduce the labor required to print newspapers, Bullock invented a rotary printing press that could feed paper continuously, successfully replacing manual paper feeds and increasing production to about 11,000 newspapers per hour.
However, like many new inventions, Bullock's presses were unreliable.
On April 2, 1867, While adjusting a working printing press with his foot, Bullock fractured his leg with a belt wrapped around it. A few days later, Bullock developed gangrene and underwent amputation. After that, things got worse, and eventually, Bullock died of complications from surgery.