#2 J. G. Parry-Thomas

J. G. Parry-Thomas was an engineer and motor racing enthusiast, who always dreamed of making a land speed record. For this purpose, he developed a car with many modifications including exposed chains that connect tires to the engine. On his first run, he successfully set the record of 170 miles per hour, which stood for one year.

On March 3, 1927 on his attempt to regain the speed record which was broken by Malcolm Campbell, Thomas met with an accident in his customized car, which broke one of the chains at high speed and flew into his neck, causing partial decapitation. He died on the spot.

#1 Franz Reichelt

Franz was a French tailor who invented earlier parachutes. He was referred as the “Flying Tailor.”

He dreamed of inventing a suit which will convert itself into a parachute on jumping from a higher place or plane. Franz had successfully tested the dummies and they survived the jump from fifth floor of his apartment. After a number of petitions to Prefecture of Police in Paris, he finally got the permission to conduct test from Eiffel Tower.

On the test day, February 4, 1912, in front of an assembled group of onlookers, Franz wore his invention and jumped from the first platform of the tower. The parachute failed to deploy causing him to crash land into the ground. He was killed on the spot.