Today in History:
Casey Jones Dies on the Cannonball Express 1900
John Luther ("Casey") Jones (March 14, 1863 – April 30, 1900) was an American railroad engineerfrom Jackson, Tennessee, who worked for the Illinois Central Railroad (IC). On April 30, 1900, he alone was killed when his passenger train, the "Cannonball Express," collided with a stalled freight train atVaughan, Mississippi, on a foggy and rainy night.
His dramatic death, trying to stop his train and save lives, made him a folk hero; he was immortalized in a popular ballad sung by his friend Wallace Saunders, an African American engine wiper for the IC. Thanks to this song his life and legend have been celebrated worldwide for over a century.
Source: encyclopedia.thefreedictionary
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