The death of Henry Hale Bliss (June 13, 1830 – September 14, 1899) was the first recorded instance of a person being killed in a
motor vehicle collision in the United States.
Death
On September 13, 1899, at
West 74th Street
74th Street is an east–west street carrying pedestrian traffic and eastbound automotive/bicycle traffic in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It runs through the Upper East Side neighborhood (in ZIP code 10021, where it is known as East ...
and
Central Park West
Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, Henry Hale Bliss, a 69-year-old local real estate dealer, was alighting from a south bound 8th Avenue trolley car when an electric-powered
taxicab
A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...
(Automobile No. 43) struck him. Bliss hit the pavement, crushing his head and chest. He was taken by ambulance to
Roosevelt Hospital
Mount Sinai West, opened in 1871 as Roosevelt Hospital, is affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Mount Sinai Health System.
The 514-bed facility is located in the Midtown West neighborhood of New York City. The f ...
, but upon arrival the house surgeon, Dr. Marny, said his injuries were too severe to survive, and Bliss died from his sustained injuries the next morning.
Arthur Smith, the driver of the taxicab, claimed that a large truck occupied the right side of the avenue, making it necessary to drive his vehicle closer to the car. Smith was arrested and charged with
manslaughter, but was subsequently acquitted on the grounds that he had
no malice
Gene Elliott Thornton Jr. (born August 18, 1972), better known by his stage name No Malice (formerly known as Malicious and later Malice), is an American rapper from Virginia Beach, Virginia. He is best known for being one half of hip hop duo C ...
, nor was he
negligent.
The passenger of the taxi-cab, Dr. David Orr Edson, was the son of former New York City mayor
Franklin Edson
Franklin Edson (April 5, 1832 – September 24, 1904) was an American merchant who served as the 85th Mayor of New York from 1883 to 1884.
Early life
Edson was born in Chester, Vermont on April 5, 1832, where his father had a farm. A descendant ...
.
Legacy
A plaque was dedicated at the site on September 13, 1999, to commemorate the centenary of this event. It reads:
The ceremony was attended by his great-granddaughter, who placed roses on the place where Bliss was struck.
Family
Bliss's stepdaughter, Mary Alice Altmont Livingston, who assumed the surname "Fleming", was later tried for the murder of her mother, Bliss's ex-wife, Evelina Bliss, by means of poisoned chowder. She was found innocent.
See also
*
Mary Ward Mary Ward may refer to:
Scientists and academics
* Mary Ward (nurse) (1884–1972) English nurse to the boat people on the waterways
* Mary Ward (scientist) (née King, 1827–1869) Irish amateur scientist, was killed by an experimental steam car ...
– (1827–1869) Anglo-Irish scientist, the first person known to have been killed by a car, Ireland, 1869. Also the first person killed by a car in the United Kingdom and in the entire
Western Hemisphere
The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the prime meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the antimeridian. The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Politically, the te ...
.
*
Bridget Driscoll
The death of Bridget Driscoll (c. 185117 August 1896) was the first recorded case of a pedestrian killed in a collision with a motor car in Great Britain. Driscoll, in the company of her teenage daughter May and her friend Elizabeth Murphy, was ...
– (1851/1852–1896) the first pedestrian to be killed in a collision with a car in Great Britain.
*
Elaine Herzberg
The death of Elaine Herzberg (August 2, 1968 – March 18, 2018) was the first recorded case of a pedestrian fatality involving a self-driving car, after a collision that occurred late in the evening of March 18, 2018. Herzberg was pushing a bic ...
– the first pedestrian to be killed in an autonomous motor car crash
Notes
References
External links
*
*
Citystreets.org - Henry Bliss Plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bliss, Henry Hale
1899 deaths
American real estate businesspeople
Deaths by person in New York City
Pedestrian road incident deaths
Road incident deaths in New York City
1830 births