Christopher Stanley
From Kook Science
Christopher Stanley (c. 1816 - September 15, 1890) was a mechanic and inventor resident at Elizabeth, New Jersey who, according to newspaper reports published following his death, had been working on the problem of perpetual motion when he committed suicide in 1890.
Press Coverage
- "AN INVENTOR'S SUICIDE.", Rutland Daily Herald (Rutland, VT): 1, 17 Sept. 1890, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/532792434/
ELIZABETH, Sept. 16. — Christopher Stanley, an old inventor, killed himself here yesterday with Paris green, because it is alleged, he was unable to discover perpetual motion. He had experimented for years and spent hundreds of dollars. He was 74 years old, a veteran of the Franco-German war, and was a fine mechanic, but an eccentric character. He ate half a can of poison, told his landlady he was tired of life and his struggle for fame, and, giving her $75 to pay his funeral expenses, lay down in his bed and died.
- "He Couldn't Discover Perpetual Motion", Boston Globe (Boston, MA): 2, 19 Sept. 1890, https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/430664512