Naming Electrocution
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20 May 1889
A newspaper asks Edison to coin a word that means death by electricity, and Edison's secretary, Alfred Ord Tate, writes to lawyer Sherburne Blake Eaton, asking him to check the derivation of Edison's suggestions—"none of us here," he says, "remember enough latin." (If this document proves too hard to read, come back to this page for a
copy with a transcription
.)
1 June 1889
Eugene H. Lewis, Eaton's law partner, writes to Eaton critiquing Edison's words and suggesting several novel ones.
6 June 1889
Eaton writes to Tate to discuss the matter further
3 August 1889
Their ideas are printed in a
Buffalo Courier
article, "'Electricide': Two Words Suggested for Execution by Electricity"
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