Submission + - Leaked Email Reveals Mystery Death of HowStuffWorks Founder Marshall Brain (techspot.com)
jjslash writes: Marshall Brain, creator of HowStuffWorks, turned his 1998 hobby into a widely popular platform that explained complex topics in simple terms, eventually selling it to Discovery Channel for $250 million in 2007. A letter written before his death sheds light on his mental state. TechSpot reports:
Marshall Brain, the creator of the popular HowStuffWorks website, died the week before Thanksgiving in his office on the campus of North Carolina State University. He was 63. Brain's wife called NC State Police to perform a welfare check at 6:40 am on November 20. Officers arrived in his office at 7:00 am to find him already dead.
University newspaper Technician noted that initially, no cause of death was released. On Tuesday, Raleigh's The News & Observer obtained a copy of Brain's death certificate, confirming he committed suicide. The report did not mention motive or method, but an email sent a few hours before his death spelled out his motivation pretty clearly.
