August 6, 1890, was no ordinary day for the state of New York, for it was the first time a state would use an electric chair for execution. Neither was it a typical day for William Kemmler, for he was about to go down in history as the first man to be executed by the electric chair.

William Kemmler was a vegetable peddler in Buffalo, New York, and was a well-known alcoholic nicknamed “Philadelphia Billy.” On March 29, 1889, he was still recovering from the previous day’s hangover when he got into a domestic fight with his then-girlfriend, Tille Ziegler. The brawl started when Kemmler accused her of purporting to steal money from him and elope with another guy. In the heat of the argument, he briskly rushed to the barn, took a hatchet, and slew his common-law wife in cold blood. As if to celebrate that, he walked to his neighbor’s house to announce the murder.

The state of New York was having none of this. The murder trials proceeded speedily, and he was convicted of 1st-degree murder. Three days later, on May 10th, he was sentenced to death by electrocution on the electric chair, which was already prepared at the Auburn State Prison.

On the day of execution, August 6th, 1890, Kemmler was awakened at 5:00 am, and he wore a suit, white shirt, and a necktie. After prayers and eating breakfast, Kemmler’s head was shaved. He was taken to the electrocution chamber at 6:38 am with 17 witnesses. When he sat on the chair, it was powered with 1000 volts of current for 17 seconds, which was previously calculated to be enough to induce unconsciousness and a quick, painless death. However, after switching off the current, there were still some signs of mortality on him, making the first attempt almost unsuccessful. The attending physicians asked the power to be turned again quickly, now at 2000 volts, which was enough to execute Kemmler. The execution lasted about 8 minutes.

Eyewitnesses said that the execution chamber was filled with an odor of burning flesh, with 2 of them fainting at the sight and smell of it. Several others had a nasty, disgusting experience, with some newspapers recording it as a “historic bungle” that was “sickening, disgusting, and inhuman.”