American pharmacist (1898-1957). Full name: Erick Robert McPherson, but he insisted on being called "Bobby" because that was the name he played football under when he was in college.
Anyway, McPherson's claim to fame is this: he was the man who invented the eucalyptus cough drop back in 1935. Unfortunately, he didn't patent it, and other companies quickly and eagerly stole the formula.
He didn't die penniless and alone -- he owned his own pharmacy, which is a good way to spend your life making more than enough money to get by. But he certainly wasn't as rich as he could've been. He often said he wasn't bitter about losing out on all that money -- but he would love to have an hour or two alone with the jerks who stole the formula from him.
McPherson had a heart attack while working at his New York drugstore in 1957. Interestingly, three of his five children also became pharmacists, while the other two (an accountant and a chemist) both worked for pharmaceutical companies that profited from their father's invention...
Of course it's a true story!