A great many of the objects around us are the result of ingenious and resourceful minds. However, in testing some of them, the inventors themselves paid with their very lives.
The breathing apparatus of Sieur Freminet
The first diving dress was invented by the French man Sieur Freminet in 1772. It was the first ever apparatus that was supposed to provide oxygen to a person underwater but during testing, no air was actually generated and Freminet died after 20 min., suffocated by his own invention.
Max Valier's rocket car
Max Valier was one of the pioneers who developed the first rocket cars to run on liquid-propellant. On May 17, 1930, his lastest invention in this field blew up during a test run, killing its inventor.
Henry Fleuss's rebreather
The first oxygen breathing apparatus was invented in 1876 by Henry Fleuss from England. The invention was initially created to move an iron door of a sunken ship but subsequently, Fleuss decided to use it to make a diving suit and dive to a depth of 33 ft (10 m). However, pure oxygen under high pressure is deadly to humans.
Franz Reichelt's parachute
Franz Reichelt was an ordinary tailor, until he came up with the idea of the first parachute in history. The skilled man finished his invention, after which he decided to test it by jumping off the top of the Eiffel Tower. The parachute did not open and he smashed into the ground in front of hundreds of spectators.
The printing press of William Bullock
American inventor William Bullock brought about a real revolution with the first rotary printing press, as his new invention could print much faster and more effectively. To achieve this, Bullock used a driving belt but one time when he was placing it the machine caught and crushed his leg. At first, his leg developed gangrene, forcing him to have it amputated, but the disease spread throughout his body and killed the inventor.
Michael Dacre's flying car
In 2009, 53-year-old Michael Dacre announced that he had invented the first flying car. To prove that his invention worked he flew up to an altitude of 754 ft (230 m). But gravity had its say and the car-airplane crashed into pieces, taking the life of its inventor.
