William Kemmler of Buffalo, N.Y., did not intend to make history by hacking his mistress to death with an axe, but did so nonetheless when punishment for the deed conferred upon him a unique distinction: he was the first murderer to be executed by electrocution. He also did not expect to play a role in technology history by becoming a pawn in the pivotal battle over whether the modern industrial world should be electrified by direct current or alternating current.
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