Most people go their whole lives without being struck by lightning. Roy Sullivan was hit seven times - and walked away from every single one.

A Ranger at the Wrong Place, Again and Again

Sullivan spent his career patrolling Shenandoah National Park in Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains. The park sits in one of the most lightning-active regions of the eastern United States. His first strike came in April 1942, when a bolt hit him in the right leg as he fled a burning fire-tower lookout. He lost the nail on his big toe.

That alone would be a story. Sullivan kept going. A second bolt knocked him unconscious in his truck in 1969, burning off his eyebrows. A third seared his left shoulder in July 1970 while he was in his own garden.

Four More Strikes

By 1972, Sullivan had been struck three times and people at the park were starting to notice. That April, lightning found him inside a guardhouse and set his hair on fire. He beat the flames out with a wet towel. A year later, in August 1973, it happened again - a storm cloud tracked him as he drove away, and when he stepped out of his truck to check the sky, lightning hit and set his hair alight a second time. His legs were badly seared and he poured water over his head to douse the flames.

Strike six came in June 1976 during a walk, injuring his ankle. By then Sullivan had started carrying a bucket of water with him at all times.

The Seventh Strike

On June 25, 1977, Sullivan was fishing at a local pond when lightning struck the top of his head, set his hair on fire, and traveled down through his chest and stomach. He drove himself to the hospital. He was 65 years old and had now survived more confirmed lightning strikes than any person in recorded history.

Guinness World Records certified the achievement. Sullivan was known to show his scars to skeptical visitors who doubted his story.

The Record That Still Stands

Sullivan earned the nickname "Spark Ranger" among park staff. His wife was struck once - while hanging laundry - and Sullivan, who was helping her at the time, escaped injury. He retired from the park service and died in September 1983 at age 71. His seven-strike record has never been matched. A single lightning bolt carries roughly 300 million volts - Sullivan absorbed seven.

Related Tags