William Kemmler, the First Person in the World to Be Executed by Electric Chair in 1890 March 14, 2026 1800s , event & history , law & criminal William Kemmler (1860–1890) was an American produce merchant and convicted murderer who became the first person in history to be executed by electric chair. His execution took place on August 6, 1890, at Auburn Prison in New York. In March 1889, Kemmler murdered his common-law wife, Matilda “Tillie” Ziegler, with a hatchet during a drunken argument in Buffalo, New York. He was sentenced to death under a new New York law that replaced hanging with electrocution, which was promoted as a more “humane” and scientific method. His lawyers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court (In re Kemmler), arguing that electrocution was “cruel and unusual punishment.” The court rejected the appeal, ruling the method was intended to be more humane. On the morning of his execution, ...
