A Brief History
On September 13, 1899, New Yorker Henry Bliss, age 69, stepped off a trolley car near Central Park and was promptly struck by an electric automobile, a taxicab in fact, leading to the death of Bliss the following day. Bliss became the first pedestrian traffic fatality in the United States, and of course, the first person killed by an electric automobile.
Digging Deeper
The driver of the cab was acquitted of manslaughter in court. An odd connection to this tragedy is the stepdaughter of Bliss was later tried and acquitted for the murder of Bliss’s ex-wife by means of poisoned chowder!
Some other people that would have preferred not to be “the first” include:
Mary Ward, the first person in the UK or the Western Hemisphere killed by a car in 1869.
Bridget Driscoll, the first pedestrian killed by a car in the UK in 1896.
And Elaine Herzberg, the first pedestrian killed by a self-driving car in 2018.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: When else is being first a bad thing?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Raymond, Anthony. How Autonomous Vehicles Will Change the World: Why Self-Driving Car Technology Will Usher in a New Age of Prosperity and Disruption. Robot Automation, Musk, Bezos & the Electric Revolution of the Future. Anthony Raymond, 2021.
Reinhardt, John. You’re Driving Me Crazy!: 101 Dangerous, Inappropriate, Discourteous, Illegal, and Just Plain Stupid Driving Habits! John Reinhardt Book Design, 2023.
