If anyone has an interest … April is the birth month of Mary Ward. And in case you don’t know who Mary Ward is, well, she is the first person to die in an motor vehicle accident. But she was more than that.
Of course, I found this bit of information when I googled the keyword phrase “first person to be killed in an auto accident”. This wikipedia article was the ranked near the top.
The article relates Mary Ward was a scientist, astronomer, author and an artist.
Born in April 1827, she was an inquisitive child. She became known for her studies of insects and contributed drawings and sketches to many scientific books and articles. She documented by illustration the building of the 58 ft Leviathan Telescope at Birr Castle. Later, she self published a book titled ” Sketches with the Microscope”.
Her tragic death occurred on August 29, 1869 when he was thrown off the experimental steam power automobile built by her cousins. She fell underneath one of the steel wheels. It broke her neck as it ran over her.
Further information can be found here.