Edwin F. Davis (May 28, 1846 – May 26, 1923), of Corning, Steuben County, New York, was the first " state electrician" ( executioner) for the state of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. In 1890, Davis finalized many features of the first electric chair used. Davis performed 240 executions between 1890 and 1914, including the first person to be executed by electric chair,

William Kemmler William Francis Kemmler (May 9, 1860 – August 6, 1890) was an American peddler, alcoholic, and murderer, who, in 1890, became the first person in the world to be executed by electric chair. He was convicted of murdering Matilda "Tillie" Ziegle ...

, and the first woman,

Martha M. Place Martha M. Place (September 18, 1849 – March 20, 1899) was an American murderer and the first woman to die in the electric chair. She was Execution (legal), executed on March 20, 1899, at Sing Sing Correctional Facility for the murder of her ste ...

, as well as

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

's assassin, 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. He died in May 1923 and is buried in Barnard Cemetery in Corning, New York.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Edwin 1846 births 1923 deaths American executioners People from Corning, New York 19th-century American inventors American electricians Burials in New York (state)

See also

References