Anti-alternating current demonstration by activist Harold P. Brown demonstrating the killing power of AC to the New York Medico-Legal Society by electrocuting a horse at Thomas Edison's West Orange laboratory. Illustration was originally from "Experiments on Death by Electricity", Scientific American 59 - December 22, 1888. In order to more conclusively prove to the Society that alternating current would be suitable for the electric chair Brown set up an experiment with members of the press, members of the Medico-Legal Society, the chairman of the death penalty commission, and Thomas Edison
nti-alternating current demonstration by activist Harold P. Brown demonstrating the killing power of AC to the New York Medico-Legal Society by electrocuting a horse at Thomas Edison's West Orange laboratory. Illustration was originally from "Experiments on Death by Electricity", Scientific American 59 - December 22, 1888. In order to more conclusively prove to the Society that alternating current would be suitable for the electric chair Brown set up an experiment with members of the press, members of the Medico-Legal Society, the chairman of the death penalty commission, and Thomas Edison looking on. The image depicts Brown in an unsuccessful attempt using a hammer and a metal plate to make contact. Brown eventually dispatched the horse with 750 volts of AC. Based on these results the Medico-Legal Society recommended the use of 1000-1500 volts of alternating current for executions.
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