13 Famous People Who Died On Friday 13th

12. Sam Patch (November 13, 1829) - Yankee Leaper Falls 125-Feet To His Death On Friday 13th

"The Yankee Leaper" Sam Patch was the very first celebrity American daredevil, completing a jump from a raised platform into the Niagara River in 1829. However, his passion for living on the edge by performing risky stunts eventually cost him his life when he jumped into the Genesee River for a second time. Having successfully leaped from the 99-foot High Falls on the river near Rochester, New York State, on November 6, 1829, after testing it by throwing a pet bear cub over first, Patch decided 8,000 spectators was too low an amount to witness such acts. So he decided to return to the Genesee River a week later in order to try and draw a far greater sum of money from his jump - this time from 125-feet after he constructed a 25-foot stand to be placed above High Falls. Although no-one is entirely sure whether Patch jumped or fell to his death on Friday November 13, what is known is that he did not achieve his usual feet-first vertical entry and made a brutal impact with the surface of the water instead. His body was then recovered, frozen solid in a block of ice, in Charlotte near Rochester the following spring. Certainly an exciting way to go, if nothing else.