Edwin Davis
Encyclopedia
Edwin F. Davis was the first "state electrician
" (executioner
) for the State of New York. In 1890, Davis finalized many features of the first electric chair
used. Davis performed 240 executions between 1890 and 1914, including the first prisoner to be electrocuted, William Kemmler
, and Martha M. Place
, as well as the assasin of William Mckinley
, Leon Frank Czolgosz.
Davis held a patent on certain features of the electric chair. He received U.S. Patent No. 587,649, for his "Electrocution-Chair", on August 3, 1897.
State Electrician
"State Electrician" was the euphemistic title given to some American state executioners in states using the electric chair during the early twentieth century....
" (executioner
Executioner
A judicial executioner is a person who carries out a death sentence ordered by the state or other legal authority, which was known in feudal terminology as high justice.-Scope and job:...
) for the State of New York. In 1890, Davis finalized many features of the first electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
used. Davis performed 240 executions between 1890 and 1914, including the first prisoner to be electrocuted, William Kemmler
William Kemmler
William Francis Kemmler of Buffalo, New York, was a convicted murderer and the first person in the world to be executed using an electric chair.-Early life:...
, and Martha M. Place
Martha M. Place
Martha M. Place was the first woman to die in the electric chair. She was executed on March 20, 1899 at age 44, in Sing Sing prison for the murder of her stepdaughter Ida Place.-Background:...
, as well as the assasin of William Mckinley
William McKinley
William McKinley, Jr. was the 25th President of the United States . He is best known for winning fiercely fought elections, while supporting the gold standard and high tariffs; he succeeded in forging a Republican coalition that for the most part dominated national politics until the 1930s...
, Leon Frank Czolgosz.
Davis held a patent on certain features of the electric chair. He received U.S. Patent No. 587,649, for his "Electrocution-Chair", on August 3, 1897.