He did not die because he was old. He died because he was having a competition against a man and his steam drill. The man challenged John Henry. So,one afternoon, they had the competition on a hill. At first,the steam drill was beating John Henry, but John Henry had lightning in his eyes.He started pounding those steel nails into that ground with his sledgehammer! He went 14 feet but the steam drill went only 9. Then it broke down. But right when John Henry broke through to daylight and stepped out, he died because his heart could not take the strain of that final task. They say, that if you go into that tunnel in West Virginia and listen closely,you can still hear his sledgehammer pounding those nails into the ground. He was born and died with a hammer in his hand.
John Henry Nicholson died in 1923.
Henry John Boddington died in 1865.
John Henry Rogers died in 1911.
John Henry Weber died in 1859.
Henry John Wardell died in 1972.
John Henry Stelle died in 1962.
John Henry Whitley died in 1935.
Henry John Cambie died in 1928.
John Henry Muirhead died in 1940.
John Flournoy Henry died in 1873.
John Henry Bremridge died in 1994.
John Henry Puleston died in 1908.
John Henry Challis died in 1880.
John Henry Vivian died in 1855.
John Henry Raap died in 1897.
John Henry Dell died in 1888.
Henry John Trotter died in 1888.