13 Famous People Who Died On Friday 13th

7. Sir Henry Segrave (June 13, 1930) - American Died While Setting The Water-Speed World Record On Friday 13th

Dying while setting a world record is a pretty cool - if undoubtedly painful - way to go, and that's exactly what happened to Sir Henry Segrave on Friday June 13, 1930. The American visited Britain in 1930 to be honorarily knighted and, in June of that year, he attempted to set the water-speed record on England's largest natural lake, Windermere. Despite having (unknowingly) already broken the record on his first run across the lake in his boat Miss England II, he attempted the feat once again. However, on the second run the boat caught a log in the water and capsized, instantly killing the mechanic Victor Halliwell, which Segrave was knocked unconscious and suffered fatal injuries. Awakening in hospital just long enough to learn he had broken the record, Segrave then succumbed to his severe internal injuries, which included lung haemorrhages. Upon his death, Segrave became the first person ever to hold the land-speed record and the water-speed record simultaneously - even though he only found out just before he took his last breath on that freaky Friday 13th.