William Kemmler
Videos
William Francis Kemmler was an American murderer who was the first person executed by electric chair. He was convicted of murdering Matilda "Tillie" Ziegler, his common-law wife, a year earlier. Altho
Portrait of Kemmler
The execution of William Kemmler, August 6, 1890
The electric chair in which Kemmler was executed on August 6, 1890
Auburn Correctional Facility
Videos
Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility.
William Kemmler
…death by electrocution, the first such law ever. After Kemmler's conviction, it was determined that his sentence was to be carried out at New York's Auburn Prison via the new electric chair, a device invented in 1881 by Buffalo, New York dentist Alfred Southwick. After nine years of development and legislation…
The current front of Auburn Prison. Note the two guard towers on either side and Copper John on top
Female prisoners in Auburn's workshop
Copper John as he is today
The original Copper John