On January 4, 1903, Topsy, an elephant, was electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island.
On January 4, 1903, Topsy, an elephant, was electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. She was an Asian elephant brought to the United States and added to the Forepaugh Circus trope of performing Elephants. However, she gained a bad reputation after a spectator was killed in 1902 after a drunk wandering into the elephant tent to tease and throw sand into their faces. Topsy crushed the man after he burnt her trunk with a lit cigar. She was sold to the Sea Lion Park of Coney Island but ended up in further trouble resulting from an often-drunk handler failing at his job. The owners of the park decided to stage a media event for the execution of Topsy. At first, it was going to be a public hanging but that was stopped by The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. For a more humane method of killing the elephant, they settled on a combination of strangulation, cyanide and electrocution. An estimated 1500 spectators came out to see the event as well as the Ed...