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.
Henry John Wardell died in 1972.
Henry John Cambie died in 1928.
John Henry Rogers died in 1911.
John Henry Weber died in 1859.
John Henry Nicholson died in 1923.
John Henry Bastide died in 1770.
John Henry King died in 1965.
Henry John Hayward died in 1945.
John Henry Pratt died in 1871.
Henry John Whitehouse died in 1874.
John Henry Challis died in 1880.
John Henry Fisher died in 1933.
John Henry Miller died in 1782.
Henry John Burnett died in 1963.
John Henry Blunt died in 1884.
John Henry Hubbard died in 1872.
John Henry Ingram died in 1916.