Marie Curie

1

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.

Wan Hu

2

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.

Georg Wilhelm Richmann

3

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.

Henry Smolinski

4

(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.

Stockton Rush

5

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."

Franz Reichelt

6

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.

Valerian Abakovsky

7

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.

Robert Cocking

8

Robert Cocking (1776–1837) passed away when his homemade parachute malfunctioned. He had neglected to factor in the parachute's weight during his calculations.

Henry Winstanley

9

(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.

Louis Slotin

10

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.

Thom Andrews

11

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.

Luis Jimenez

12

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.

Carl Wilhelm Scheele

13

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.

Mary Ward

14

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.

Sabin Arnold Von Sochocky

15

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.

Sophie Blanchard

16

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.

Sylvester H. Roper

17

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.