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Railroad worker John Henry dies
after suffering a heart attack while trying to race a
mechanised steam drill on a site along the Georgia Central Line
near the Oak and Coosa Mountains, Alabama, USA. The result of the race is that John Henry drilled 27 1/2 feet while the steam drill
managed just 21. John
Henry's achievement is immortalised in the song that bears
his name, which has been recorded in many versions by artists
including Harry Belafonte, Furry
Lewis, Big
Bill Broonzy, Uncle Dave Macon, Leon Bibb, Lead
Belly, Johnny Cash, Woody
Guthrie, Paul
Robeson, Pete Seeger, Bruce
Springsteen and Ramblin' Jack
Elliott.