Some of the things we use every day are the inventions of the greatest minds in human history. If not for these brilliant inventors, we'd still be lighting up our rooms with oil lamps, reading hand-written manuscripts, and walking everywhere on foot.
What we don't think about is how these inventors achieved the impossible. While some of them patented their creations, became rich, and lived fulfilling lives, others had to pay the ultimate price in the name of science.
For this list, we've collected the most tragic cases where brilliant minds were taken out by their own inventions. From Marie Curie to the architect of the Titanic and the infamous OceanGate submersible – you'll find many interesting stories below!
#1 Wan Hu
A possibly legendary 16th-century Chinese official is said to have tried to launch himself into outer space in a chair equipped with 47 rockets. The rockets exploded, and it is claimed that neither he nor the chair were ever found again.
Image credits: wikipedia
#2 Marie Curie
Curie visited Poland for the last time in early 1934 and passed away on 4 July 1934 at 66, likely from aplastic anaemia caused by radiation exposure. At the time, the dangers of radiation were not known, and she had stored radioactive test tubes in her desk and carried them in her pocket. She was also exposed to X-rays during World War I. In 1995, it was suggested that her illness was more likely due to this exposure than radium.
Image credits: wikipedia
#3 Georg Wilhelm Richmann
He created a device to study electricity from lightning. While attempting to measure the response of an insulated rod to a nearby storm, it generated a ball of lightning that struck him in the forehead, leading to his passing.
Image credits: wikipedia
Most inventors expect fame and fortune to befall them for their scientific efforts. But, as we see from this list, their Frankensteinian inventions sometimes become the reason for their demise. Many of the entries in this list feature unsuccessful attempts at parachutes, makeshift planes or cars, and you might see them as failed inventors.
But failing is an unavoidable part of innovation. Many scientists say that failing is critical to any kind of scientific research. In her 2019 TED Talk, University of Arizona astrophysicist Emily Hamden said: "The reality of my job is that I fail almost all the time and still keep going."
#4 Franz Reichelt
A tailor fell from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower during a test of a coat parachute he had invented. Although Reichelt had assured authorities he would use a dummy, he chose to wear the parachute himself at the last moment and jumped in front of a camera crew.
Image credits: wikipedia
#5 Stockton Rush
He was a pilot, engineer, and businessman who managed the design and construction of the OceanGate submersible Titan, used to take tourists to see the Titanic wreck. On 18 June 2023, the submersible imploded during a dive to the Titanic, resulting in the loss of Rush and four other passengers. Rush had long defended his unregulated design, stating that "at some point, safety is just pure waste. I mean, if you just want to be safe, don't get out of bed, don't get in your car, don't do anything."
Image credits: wikipedia
#6 Henry Smolinski
(1933–1973) passed away during a test flight of the AVE Mizar, a flying car built on the Ford Pinto, which was the only product from the company he founded.
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But scientists and innovators don't like talking about failure. Or, rather, people don't really like hearing and reading about it. If there's no sensational death or tragic story behind a failed invention or project, it doesn't get as much attention. As molecular biologist Maryam Zaringhalam wrote in Scientific American, much of science goes unreported.
"Nearly everything that happens in the lab will never make it to print," she explained. "The Journal for the Banal Failures and Self Doubt that Face Day-to-Day Life in the Lab does not exist." But she emphasizes how important it is to report on scientists' failures. "Without failure, we lack a complete picture of science. And, a bigger shame, we lack a complete picture of the scientist beyond the brainy stereotype."
#7 Henry Winstanley
(1644–1703) designed and built the first offshore lighthouse on the Eddystone Rocks in Devon, England, between 1696 and 1698. Confident in its safety, he once expressed a wish to take shelter inside it "during the greatest storm there ever was." However, during the Great Storm of 1703, the lighthouse was destroyed with Winstanley and five others inside, and no trace of them was ever found.
Image credits: en.wikipedia.org
#8 Valerian Abakovsky
He built the Aerowagon, an experimental high-speed railcar powered by an aircraft engine and propeller, designed to transport Soviet officials. On 24 July 1921, the railcar derailed at high speed, resulting in the loss of 7 of the 22 people on board, including Abakovsky.
Image credits: wikipedia
#9 Luis Jimenez
He was a Chicano sculptor and graphic artist, known for his work highlighting Mexican, Southwestern, and Hispanic-American themes. His most famous piece, Blue Mustang, was commissioned by Denver International Airport. Jiménez passed away in an industrial accident while working on the sculpture, which was completed posthumously.
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Many young scientists give up precisely because they fail or are not ready for failure. A study published in Higher Education found that almost half of all people working towards an academic science career will drop out after five years. And even more will do so after 10 years. The number of women leaving academic careers is disproportionately higher by one-tenth.
#10 Robert Cocking
Robert Cocking (1776–1837) passed away when his homemade parachute malfunctioned. He had neglected to factor in the parachute's weight during his calculations.
Image credits: wikipedia.org
#11 Thom Andrews
The naval architect of the Titanic designed the renowned ship while working as the managing director and head of the drafting department at Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was aboard the Titanic during its maiden voyage and was lost along with about 1,500 others when the ship struck an iceberg and sank on 14 April 1912. His body was never found.
Image credits: wikipedia
#12 Sabin Arnold Von Sochocky
Ukrainian chemist Sabin Arnold von Sochocky is credited with inventing luminescent paint using radium, discovered by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898. His company, the Radium Luminous Material Corporation, produced luminous watch dials, but female workers later sued for radiation exposure. Von Sochocky eventually suffered from radiation effects, developing aplastic anemia in 1928, the same condition that claimed Marie Curie's life.
Image credits: bbc
Fellow scientists say that's because young scientists are deterred by failures. "Many students who began science degrees with me switched to other majors the first time a project failed. One failure and they were gone," structural biology graduate student Sara Whitlock wrote in STAT.
#13 Carl Wilhelm Scheele
In the fall of 1785, Scheele began experiencing symptoms of kidney disease and a skin condition, which weakened him significantly. Foreseeing his early demise, he married his predecessor’s widow in early 1786 to ensure his pharmacy and possessions were passed on to her. Known for his hazardous experiments with toxic substances like arsenic, mercury, and lead, his exposure to these chemicals, along with his practices of tasting and smelling compounds, likely led to his death at 43 on May 21, 1786, from mercury poisoning.
Image credits: wikipedia
#14 Louis Slotin
Louis Slotin (1910–1946), a Canadian physicist, was involved in the Manhattan Project. While conducting a dangerous experiment with radioactive materials, he was exposed to lethal radiation. Despite medical efforts and his parents’ presence, he suffered severe radiation injuries, including organ failure, and passed away five days later.
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#15 Mary Ward
She was an Irish naturalist, astronomer, microscopist, author, and artist. She tragically fell under the wheels of an experimental steam car built by her cousins in 1869, becoming the first person recorded to have been involved in a motor vehicle accident.
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Ultimately, scientists need resilience, and Emily Hamden emphasized that in her TED Talk. "Discovery is mostly a process of finding things that don’t work, and failure is inevitable when you’re pushing the limits of knowledge, and that’s what I want to do, and so I’m choosing to keep going," she said, referring to her project FIREBall.
#16 Sophie Blanchard
She was a French aeronaut and the wife of ballooning pioneer Jean-Pierre Blanchard. Ballooning was perilous for pioneers. Blanchard faced freezing temperatures, near-drownings, and lost consciousness multiple times. In 1819, she became the first woman to perish in an aviation accident when fireworks ignited the gas in her balloon during a Paris exhibition, causing a crash and her fall from the roof of a house.
Image credits: wikipedia
#17 Alexander Bogdanov
He established the first Institute of Blood Transfusion in 1926. He passed away from an acute hemolytic transfusion reaction after performing an experimental mutual blood transfusion between himself and a 21-year-old student with a dormant case of tuberculosis. Bogdanov believed that the younger man's blood would rejuvenate his aging body, and that his own blood, which he thought was immune to tuberculosis, would cure the student's condition.
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#18 Sylvester H. Roper
Sylvester Howard Roper (1823–1896) was an American inventor known for his early work on automobiles and motorcycles. On June 1, 1896, he rode one of his steam-powered bicycles at the Charles River track in Cambridge, Massachusetts, reaching speeds of 40 mph. After completing several laps, he fell and suffered a head injury. He was later found dead, with an autopsy revealing heart failure, though it’s unclear whether the crash caused the heart failure or if it occurred beforehand.
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However, not all inventions fail; sometimes, inventors are successful in their efforts, but their creations fail in the marketplace. Author John J. Geoghegan calls them White Elephant Technology or WETech for short. Think tanks that fly, jet-powered trains, and wave-powered boats. Essentially, inventions that nobody asked for and have little practical use in the real world.
#19 Thomas Midgley Jr
An American engineer and chemist, he contracted polio at 51, which left him with significant disabilities. To assist with getting out of bed, he created a complex system of ropes and pulleys. Unfortunately, he became tangled in the ropes and passed away from strangulation at 55. Despite this, he is more widely recognized for two other inventions: the tetraethyl lead (TEL) additive for gasoline and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Image credits: wikipedia
#20 Max Valier
As a member of the 1920s German rocket society Verein frr Raumschiffahrt, he invented liquid-fueled rocket engines. On 17 May 1930, an alcohol-fueled engine exploded on his test bench in Berlin, resulting in his immediate death.
Image credits: wikipedia
#21 Francis Edgar Stanley
Francis Edgar Stanley, the inventor of the Stanley Steamer automobile, passed away following a car crash driving his automobile while attempting to avoid farm wagons.
Image credits: wikipedia.org
One such failed invention is New York's M-497 "Black Beetle" Turbojet Train. As fewer people were taking trains with the advent of cars and airlines, The New York Central decided to create a train that could run just as fast. Basically, scientists slapped a jet engine on a train and let it rip, setting the record for land speed for a light rail vehicle. It didn't go to mass production, though, as it nearly shook itself apart and couldn't fit under tunnels or bridges.
#22 Aurel Vlaicu
On September 13, 1913, Aurel Vlaicu crashed his A. Vlaicu Nr. II near Campina while attempting to be the first to fly across the Carpathian Mountains. He was en route to the ASTRA festivities in Oraștie. The cause of the crash remains uncertain, but it is believed the airplane stalled during a landing with the engine off, a common practice
Image credits: wikipedia
#23 Horace Lawson Hunley
Horace Lawson Hunley (1823–1863) was a Confederate marine engineer who built the H. L. Hunley submarine. He tragically became part of the second crew to face fatalities while testing the experimental vessel. After his passing, the Confederates raised the submarine for another mission, which resulted in the successful sinking of the USS Housatonic during the American Civil War. This achievement made the H. L. Hunley the first submarine to sink an enemy warship in wartime.
Image credits: wikipedia
#24 Orban
The designer and maker of the Basilic, a massive cannon used to breach the walls of Constantinople in 1453, passed away when one of his cannons exploded during battle.
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Geoghegan has some thoughts on why some inventors fail. First, he says, money is important. Most unsuccessful inventors either didn't have the money themselves or didn't find investors who would believe in their vision. Second, according to Geoghegan, many inventors underestimate how long it will take to perfect their invention. This one especially hurts a project if they're receiving funding from someone else, as non-scientists often lack the patience.
#25 William Bullock
(1813–1867) invented the web rotary printing press. Several years later, while a new machine was being installed in Philadelphia, his foot was crushed. The injury developed into gangrene, and Bullock passed away during the amputation procedure.
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#26 Cowper Phipps Coles
He was a Royal Navy captain who perished along with around 480 others when the HMS Captain, a masted turret ship of his design, sank.
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#27 Jean-Francois Pilatre De Rozier
He completed the first manned free balloon flight with François Laurent d'Arlandes on 21 November 1783, using a Montgolfier balloon. Later, during an attempt to cross the English Channel, his balloon crashed near Wimereux in the Pas-de-Calais. As a result, he and his companion Pierre Romain became the first recorded victims of an air crash.
Image credits: wikipedia
Another big problem is that most inventors have great ideas, but they're not mechanics and engineers. There's a big difference between inventing and manufacturing. "The personality and creativity it takes to come up with an incredible invention are very different from the skills to build manufacturing capabilities," Geoghegan told the Berkeley University of California. "These are two different skill sets, and they usually reside in two very different types of people."
#28 Otto Lilienthal
On 9 August 1896, Lilienthal flew his glider in the Rhinow Hills under good weather. The first flights were successful, covering 250 meters. During the fourth flight, his glider pitched upward and then quickly descended, possibly due to a stall. Unable to recover, he fell from a height of about 15 meters while still in the glider.
Image credits: wikipedia
#29 Karl Flach
A German resident of Valparaiso, Chile, he constructed the submarine Flach at the request of the Chilean government following the bombing of Valparaiso. The submarine, a sibling to the Peruvian "Toro" (which sank, was refloated by the Chilean Navy, and then disappeared during the Saltpeter War), failed to surface during testing. He, along with his son and other sailors, lost their lives in the incident.
Image credits: wikipedia
#30 Jimi Heselden
He passed away while riding a Segway scooter. Although he owned Segway Inc., he was not the inventor of the Segway.
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Being an inventor can be a blessing and a curse, it seems. What do you think about the tragic fates of these inventors, Pandas? Did we miss any similar intriguing cases? Let us know in the comments if we did! And while you're here, be sure to check out this post about women inventors who changed the world.
#31 Thomas Harris
Harris passed away during a flight in the balloon Royal George from Vauxhall, London, on 25 May 1824. According to L. T. C. Rolt’s account, it is believed that as the gas slowly leaked from the balloon, the cord linked to the gas discharge valve tightened, causing more gas to be released. This led to a crash in which Harris lost his life, while his companion, an eighteen-year-old woman named Sophia Stocks from the Haymarket, suffered severe injuries.
Image credits: wikipedia
#32 William Brodie
"Deacon Brodie" of 18th-century Edinburgh is said to have been the first person to be executed by a new type of gallows that he had designed and built, though this claim is uncertain.
Image credits: wikipedia
#33 Webster Wagner
Passed away in a train accident, trapped between two of the railway sleeper cars he had invented.
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#34 Daedalus
In Greek mythology, Daedalus crafted wings made of feathers and cloth to escape the labyrinth of Crete with his son Icarus, who met his end after disregarding his father's warning not to "fly too close to the sun."
Image credits: wikipedia
