Ball lightning kills Richmann. German physicist Georg Wilhelm Richmann (1722-1753) was killed by ball lightning in his laboratory in St Petersburg,Russia,on 6 August 1753. The previous year,several experiments had been carried out to investigate lightning. Richmann rushed home during a thunderstorm to carry out the experiment,but the force of the lightning singed his clothes,blew open his shoes,knocked out his engineer Sokoloff,ripped the door off its hinges,and killed Richmann,leaving a red mark on his forehead. Artwork from 'Electricite' (1911) by Max de Nansouty,part of the 'Les merveilles de la science' series of 1867-1891 by Louis Figuier |