Topsy the Elephant Electrocuted: Edison's Darkest PR Stunt
Topsy the elephant was electrocuted at Coney Island's Luna Park on January 4, 1903. The owners said she was dangerous — she'd killed three men in three years, the last one after he fed her a lit cigarette. The Edison company filmed the execution. Ten seconds of direct current, 6,600 volts. Topsy died almost instantly. The film, Electrocuting an Elephant, was shown in penny arcades across the country. It was used for years as evidence in Edison's war against alternating current, the technology he was trying to discredit. The film still exists. Luna Park burned down in 1944.
January 4, 1903
123 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 4
Julius Caesar suffered his first tactical defeat at the Battle of Ruspina, narrowly escaping total annihilation after Titus Labienus’s cavalry surrounded his ou…
en Roma, Eutiquiano sucede a Félix I como papa.
Ethelred of Wessex clashed with a Danish army at Reading, suffering a defeat that foreshadowed the Viking's growing power. This loss, though a setback, didn't b…
Alphonse III prend le titre de roi de Portugal.
In Spandau bei Berlin unterzeichnet Markgraf Johann I. von Brandenburg die Gründungsurkunde der Stadt Neubrandenburg.
Der flämische Forschungsreisende Wilhelm von Rubruk und seine Begleiter erhalten eine Audienz beim mongolischen Großkhan Möngke Khan, an dessen Hof sie sich sei…
Talk to History
Have a conversation with historical figures who witnessed this era. Ask questions, explore perspectives, and bring history to life.