Topsy

January 4, 1903 - A tormented circus elephant named Topsy was electrocuted on this day, and the grisly act was captured on film by the Edison Company.

Topsy was born in Southeast Asia and brought to the United States when she was young. She was falsely touted as the first elephant born in America during her 25-year stint with the Forebaugh Circus. Through the years she was tortured by a variety of incompetent and abusive trainers.

One year before her death, a drunk spectator tried to give Topsy a puff of his cigar. The sensitive tip of her trunk was badly burned and she crushed the man to death.

There were other incidents, including one where Topsy hoisted and tossed a spectator who was tickling her with a stick. That guy survived, but Topsy’s days were numbered.

Claiming that the elephant was too hot to handle, her owners at Luna Park in Coney Island decided to execute Topsy and charge admission to the spectacle.

When the day came, Topsy was marched from her pen at Coney Island toward the special structure that had been built for the execution, but the elephant refused to cross the final bridge. Plans were hastily changed and the equipment was moved to the spot where she stood. Electricians attached copper-lined sandals to her right fore foot and left hind foot, so the deadly current could run through her diagonally. When the switch was finally thrown, 6600 volts of electricity passed through Topsy for 10 seconds. Smoke rose from her stiffened body as she collapsed. To ensure she was dead, a steam-powered winch tightened two nooses round her neck for 10 minutes.

Some people falsely believe that the electrocution of Topsy was a pivotal moment in the “War of the Currents,” and that Edison was using the event to demonstrate the dangers of alternating current, but in reality - Topsy’s death occurred over 10 years after that debate had quieted down.

Thomas Edison did not attend Topsy’s execution.