This is the felt hat of John Drinkwater, a young Englishman killed instantly by lightning while riding horseback at full speed trying to escape a storm near Fort Davis, Texas on August 2, 1885. The lightning struck the hat, tearing open the side. It then traveled through the man’s head, passing into his neck and chest, and it entered the body of the horse, killing it as well. Army Surgeon W. H. Gardner examined the body and sent the hat to the Army Medical Museum (now The National Museum of Health and Medicine). (Disclosure: This image has been cropped to emphasize the subject.) (N

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This is the felt hat of John Drinkwater, a young Englishman killed instantly by lightning while riding horseback at full speed trying to escape a storm near Fort Davis, Texas on August 2, 1885. The lightning struck the hat, tearing open the side. It then traveled through the man’s head, passing into his neck and chest, and it entered the body of the horse, killing it as well. Army Surgeon W. H. Gardner examined the body and sent the hat to the Army Medical Museum (now The National Museum of Health and Medicine). (Disclosure: This image has been cropped to emphasize the subject.) (National Museum of Health and Medicine Photo by Ian Herbst)

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Size: 2000px × 1333px
Photo credit: © Operation 2022 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: accidental, death, hat, horseback, injuries, lightning, medical, museum, nmhm