5 First Deaths| Demise

According to history, there is always a first time to everything. The first Demise of a person, the first demise or death of some group of people. Apeiron is bringing you the list of the first demise of some people. This is just for educational purpose. There are some things that you should really know.

1. First Man to Die by an Electric Chair

1.       William Kemmler, The first man to die through an Electric chair was sentenced to death after hacking his wife to death with an ax. On Aug 6, 1890, Kimmler put on a suit and tie and calmly strode into the electrocution chamber and allowed himself to be strapped in. “Well, I wish everybody good luck,” he said.

Warden Charles F. Durston ordered the switch thrown, and 1,000 volts coursed through Kemmler's body for 17 seconds. Although there was the stench of burned flesh, the doctors in attendance quickly realized Kemmler wasn't dead, and the switch was thrown a second time at double the voltage. Kemmler's eyes began to bleed, and his body caught fire. He was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

22. First Person to die by Airplane

1.       Orville and Wilbur Wright, aka the Wright Brothers, are forever associated with the first airplane flights in modern times. However, a lesser known fact is that Orville was responsible for the first passenger death. Thomas Selfridge was an officer in the US Army Signal Corps assigned to its new Aeronautical Division, which was investigating air travel for military use. On September 17, 1908, Selfridge was the passenger in an airplane piloted by Orville Wright as part of a test. The propeller split and the plane went into a nosedive and crashed. Orville was severely injured but recovered; Selfridge fractured his skull in the accident and died several hours later and he became the first person to die in an aircraft.

33.First Person to Die by Automobile

1.       Mary Ward was the first automobile passenger to die on a ride on August 31, 1869.
Mary was a true pioneer in an era when women were not considered intelligent enough for the sciences. She wrote many books on astronomy and microscopes, but her promising life was cut short when she went for a ride on a steam-powered car built by a family friend. She was thrown from the vehicle when it rounded a curve and crushed by one of its wheels. In 1869, Bridget Driscoll of London became the first pedestrian fatality. As she was crossing the street, she froze at the sight of an automobile (it was giving demonstration rides) and was unable to move out of the way in time before tragedy struck.

44. First Person to Die by Legal Euthanasia

1.       Euthanasia, or assisted suicide, has long been controversial and is still illegal in many places. The first legally sanctioned euthanasia was in the Northern Territory of Australia, due to the passage of the Rights of the Terminally Ill Act of 1995. The first person to use it was Bob Dent, who suffered from prostate cancer and took his life on September 22, 1996, with the help of Dr. Philip Nitschke. Three other people followed, but public outrage was so strong, the central government nullified the law a year later.

55. First People to Die in Outer Space

The Russians beat the U.S. with not only the first satellite but also with the first and only deaths in space. Soyuz 11 was the first successful trip to the first space station, Salyut 1, launched by the Soviets in 1971. The three-person crew, Georgy Dobrovolsky, Vladislav Volkov, and Viktor Patsayev were able to spend 22 days on board, a record for the time. However, upon re-entry, their cabin had accidentally depressurized, killing all three instantly. They were discovered lifeless with blood coming out of their noses when the capsule splashed down on June 30, 1971. (On April 24, 1967, Cosmonaut Vladimir Komarov was killed during re-entry on the Soyuz 1, one of the earliest rockets, but he died on impact with the Earth.)

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