Death
Fritz Zwicky, a member of the original Aerojet team, disliked Parsons, and described him as a "dangerous man." This pronouncement would prove prophetic, at least for Parsons himself. On 17 June 1952 Parsons was killed by an explosion of fulminate of mercury at his home laboratory. Though gravely injured, he survived the immediate explosion, but he died of his wounds a few hours later. Distraught, Parsons' mother killed herself just hours after he died.
Unsubstantiated rumors of suicide, murder, or a magical ritual gone wrong have attempted to explain Parsons' death. However, Parsons did store many volatile chemicals and compounds in his laboratory and had been working to finish a contract for a special effects firm.
Read more about this topic: John Whiteside Parsons
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