biography
| name: |
Jones, Casey
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popular name of John Luther
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1863–1900)
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| biography:
| Railroader and folk hero, born in SE Missouri, USA. He grew up in Cayce, KY and became a railroad engineer. On 30 April 1900, he was driving the Cannonball Express southward when he saw a freight train on the track ahead (and there is some question as to whether he was at fault for going so fast at this point). Instead of jumping, he stayed in the cab and tried to brake the train, giving his co-worker a chance to jump free and saving others aboard from serious injuries, while he himself was killed in the crash. Wallace Saunders, an African-American railroad worker, celebrated Luther's heroism in a ballad that was eventually picked up by the commercial music world and performed in vaudeville. Casey Jones soon became a symbol to railroad men in particular and to the labour people in general. |
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