Episode 2 of 2
First Execution by Electric Chair
- When
- August 6, 1890
- Where
- Auburn Prison
William Kemmler was executed at Auburn Prison on August 6, 1890, marking the first judicial use of the electric chair.
Kemmler was awakened at 5:00 a.m. for his execution. The procedure, intended to be humane, did not go smoothly despite prior animal testing. Edwin Davis served as the state electrician. Kemmler was buried in the prison precincts.
Sources
- William Kemmler Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-07
- Electric chair Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-04
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.