August 6, 2011

August 6: First Execution by Electric Chair, 1890



William Kemmler was the first person to be executed by electric chair, on August 6, 1890.

The man's character and crimes were overshadowed by the invention of the devise, and by the competition between the two giants of electricity -- Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse.

Read article here.

Pictured: Contemporary illustration of Kemmler's execution.

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