Famous Inventors and a Researcher Killed by Their Own Methods

There are many things we take for granted. If we considered what might have happened to the inventors of everyday things we have grown accustomed to we might be surprised. I am certain there were many people that died of botulism from improperly sealed cans. You will find very safe cans in every household today but it was a journey for them to become cheaply made as well as safe.

This is a partial list of people, killed by their own inventions and early contributions in their respective fields.

There was a Russian named Alexander Bordanov who was well known writer, economist and revolutionist. He was also a doctor. He conducted experiments in blood transfusions, even on Lenins' sister after she volunteered. He, himself, was the recipient of his own experiment and had eleven transfusions in 1928. For a time all went well. He claimed positive effects such as lessening of his balding head and improved eyesight. A peer claimed he appeared 7-10 years younger. Blood transfusions were not well understood at that time and one of his transfusions was from and individual who was ill. The donor had both tuberculosis and malaria. It is widely believed he caught the illnesses and died as a result.

There was an eccentric gentleman from Austria named Franz Reichelt. He was a tailor by trade but apparently had much bigger inclinations. He concocted a strange hybrid of an overcoat and something that was not quite a parachute. The idea was that it would catch the air and let the wearer down from a high altitude safely, more of less floating down. He tried it out from the first deck of the Eiffel Tower where cameras and spectators watched. He swiftly plummeted down and was killed in 1928. If you have a morbid curiosity you can view the actual footage on You Tube.

There was the famous French physicist, Marie Curie. She won the Nobel Prize alongside her husband Pierre in 1903. She spent a good deal of her adult life working in the field of radioactivity. Although she made considerable progress educating herself about radioactive isotopes, it may have been her admiration of the colors and how they glowed in the dark that eventually did her in. She would carry around tubes of the stuff in her pocket and leave them in desk drawers. She died officially of aplastic anemia in 1934. The cause of death was no doubt due to radiation exposure.

These three individuals were not intentional martyrs. Their deaths did help others in their respective fields. Blood transfusions became safer and are in common use today. Many, many lives have undoubtedly been spared because the parachute was improved and made much safer. And the field of radioactivity has benefited mankind, notably in the medical field.