William Kemmler (1860/1861 Buffalo, New York; "† 6 August 1890) was the first person, who was executed with the electrical chair. He was condemned to death, after he was found guilty, its wife Matilda Ziegler to 29. March 1889 with an axe to have murdered.

Before on 1 January 1889 a law had stepped into force, which planned the execution by electricity; one considered this method less cruel than the up to then usual The idea of the killing by alternating current decreased/went back on Thomas Alva Edison and its coworkers. These stood for refugee alternating current with the supply of direct current, offered by them, in sharp competition to of Nikola Tesla developed and from George Westinghouse commercially. Therefore Edison had killed and its coworkers for many years in public experiments numerous animals by alternating current, over to demonstrate that this are more dangerous (see-English: OF was Currents).

Kemmlers defence counsel tried to prevent in vain the Exekution, by arguing that death was cruel by electricity. It was supported also by Westinghouse, Edison however expressed themselves for the execution.

Kemmler was executed on 6 August 1890 at 6 o'clock in the prison by Auburn (New York). First one tried to accomplish the Exekution with an electrical tension of 1000 V, but when one switched the river off after 17 seconds, Kemmler lived still. Therefore one increased the tension to 2000 V. In the time, in which the generator loaded itself again, one could hear hurting sounds of the heavily burned Kemmler. The second attempt took about 70 seconds and led to death Kemmlers. Eye-witnesses report that it smelled after burned meat and smoke of Kemmlers head ascended. Westinghouse commentated later: "You could have struck it just as well with an axe with alive body into pieces. "

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