Today in History
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First execution by lethal gas The first execution by lethal gas in American history is carried out in Carson City, Nevada. The executed man was Tong Lee, a member of a Chinese gang who was convicted of murdering a rival gang member. Lethal gas was adopted by Nevada in 1921 as a more humane method of carrying out its death sentences, as opposed to the traditional techniques of execution by hanging, firing squad, or electrocution. During a lethal gas execution, the prisoner is sealed in an airtight chamber and either potassium cyanide or sodium cyanide is dropped into a pan of hydrochloric acid. This produces hydrocyanic gas, which destroys a human body's ability to process blood hemoglobin. The prisoner falls unconscious within seconds and chokes to death, unless he or she holds his or her breath, in which case the prisoner often suffers violent convulsions for up to a minute before dying. Lethal gas as a method of carrying out capital punishment was largely replaced by lethal injection in the late 20th century. |
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Welcome, Guest. Please login or register. July 30, 2010, 06:25 PM Forgot your password? |
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Isidor Rabi, US physicist, dies
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Henry Morton Stanley, who had been sent to track down missing explorer David Livingstone, met him at Ujiji, on Lake Taganyika saying ‘Dr Livingstone, I presume?’
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Reginald A Fessenden became 1st to broadcast music over radio (Mass)
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» July 30, 1985 |
Julia Hall Bowman Robinson, US mathematician and the first woman to be elected to the US National Academy of Sciences in 1976, dies Read more... |
» July 30, 1908 |
Around the World Automobile Race ends in Paris Read more... |
» July 30, 1909 |
John A Heyder becomes president of baseballs National League Read more... |