← Back to the front page

A Prank Led to America’s First Nominated Female to Office, and Other Lesser Known American History Facts

Khalid Elhassan December 13, 2019 33 min

3. Killed by a Safe

The safe that killed Jack Daniel. Business Insider

The Jack Daniel’s brand reputation was greatly enhanced after it won the gold medal for finest whiskey at the 1904 St. Louis World Fair. That led to a surge of popularity nationwide, even as Daniel’s reputation suffered locally because of the growing temperance movement. Then he was killed by his office safe, whose combination he constantly had trouble remembering, and so relied on a trusted assistant to open it for him.

One day in October, 1911, Daniel went to work early, arriving at the office before his assistant. He tried to open the safe but was unable to do so on his own. In frustration, he kicked it, injuring his toe in the process. The toe became infected, the infection spread, and on October 10^th, 1911, Jack Daniel died of blood poisoning. The safe went on to gain legendary status, featuring prominently in tours of the facilities, and even getting sent out on public tours of its own.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.