Search results
- As the rail workers celebrated, John Henry toppled over and died from exhaustion. An amazing story of the human spirit and work ethic, yes, but was John Henry a real person? Most historians agree that he was, as thousands of African-Americans worked on the railroad, with hundreds perishing during the drilling of the Great Bend Tunnel.
history.howstuffworks.com › history-vs-myth › real-john-henry
People also ask
How did John Henry die?
Was John Henry a real person?
What is the story of John Henry?
Who was John Henry?
As the rail workers celebrated, John Henry toppled over and died from exhaustion. An amazing story of the human spirit and work ethic, yes, but was John Henry a real person? Most historians agree that he was, as thousands of African-Americans worked on the railroad, with hundreds perishing during the drilling of the Great Bend Tunnel .
Jul 24, 2018 · This West Virginia Town Is Where the Real John Henry Died. Outside the Big Bend Tunnel in Talcott, West Virginia, stands a statue of a powerfully built man holding a hammer in his hands. It pays tribute to John Henry, the American folk hero whose larger-than-life feats inspired the popular song, “The Ballad of John Henry.”.
Presenter. Scott Reynolds Nelson. According to the ballad that made him famous, John Henry did battle with a steam-powered drill, beat the machine, and died. Folklorists have long thought John Henry to be mythical, but historian Scott Nelson has discovered that he was a real person—a nineteen-year-old from New Jersey who was convicted of ...
Received wisdom, from Johnson and Chappell, says he passed away in West Virginia. MacEdward Leach writing some thirty years later said Jamaica.
- John Garst
The historical accuracy of many of the aspects of the John Henry legend are subject to debate. [1] [2] According to researcher Scott Reynolds Nelson, the actual John Henry was born in 1848 in New Jersey and died of silicosis and not due to exhaustion of work.
- 1840s or 1850s
- American folk hero
Feb 28, 2006 · Breaking News. 2-28-06. John Henry real? Truth or tall tale, the John Henry story has been told for more than a hundred years. Many historians believe it is based, in part, on a real...
Aug 26, 2007 · By Alanna Nash on August 26, 2007. Scott Reynolds Nelson. John Henry, the mighty railroad worker with a sledgehammer who beat a steam-powered drill in a spike-driving contest, long has been a celebrated folk hero. But most people assume he was only a legend.