The Dark Side of the Light Bulb

Unraveling the Shocking Story of the "Electric Wire Panic" of 1889

In the late 19th century, New York City was undergoing a rapid transformation into a modern metropolis. The invention of electric lighting promised to illuminate the streets and buildings with a bright and clean energy source. However, not everyone was thrilled by this new technology. Some people feared that the overhead electric wires that crisscrossed the city were a menace to public safety and health.

The myriad of telephone, telegraph, and power lines over the streets of New York City in a photo of the Great Blizzard of 1888. An AC charged broken wire from the storm led to the electrocution of a boy that spring. ~ Source

The “An Unrestrained Demon” cover of Judge Magazine depicts the New York City “Electric Wire Panic” of 1889 - a surge of public fear and outrage over the dangers of overhead electric wires, especially those that carried high-voltage alternating current (AC) for arc lighting.

The panic was triggered by a series of fatal accidents caused by faulty or damaged wires that came into contact with people or objects. One of the most shocking incidents occurred on March 20, 1889, when a Western Union lineman named John Feeks was electrocuted while trying to repair a broken telegraph wire.

The death of Western Union lineman John Feeks ~ Physique Populaire by Emile Desbeaux

A telegraph lineman named John Feeks met a horrible death on Chambers street, New York city, last Friday afternoon from contact with an electric-light wire. He presented a terrible sight, as he died on the network of wires in mid-air, .... The accident, occurring in one of the busiest parts of the city, was witnessed by a large number of people.

The man's body lay limp and motionless over the mass of wires attached to the cross-trees of the pole. ... The body lay where it was until firemen went to the factory and had the current turned off. ... Hundreds of people stood shivering as they looked at the awful sight. No one dared to go near. Even the firemen's faces blanched with horror. The body of the lineman could not be taken down from the wires for half an hour. ~ From John Feeks obituary

The public blamed the AC-based lighting companies for putting profit over safety and demanded that the city bury the wires underground.

Editorial cartoon arguing NYC Mayor Grant should mandate that electric lines be buried underground ~ The Evening World. (New York, N.Y.), 12 Oct. 1889. Chronicling America: Lib. of Congress.

The Edison Electric Light Company, which used low-voltage direct current (DC) for its indoor incandescent lighting system, also joined the campaign against AC, claiming that it was more dangerous and infringed on its patents.

The Edison company and its allies tried to prove their point by publicly killing animals with AC, and even helped design the first electric chair powered by a Westinghouse AC generator.

The war of the currents between Edison and Westinghouse eventually ended in the early 1890s, when both companies merged with other competitors and adopted AC as the standard for power transmission. The “electric wire panic” also subsided as the NYC passed laws to regulate the installation and maintenance of overhead wires, and gradually moved them underground.

Workmen burying Edison DC power lines under the streets in NYC in 1882 ~ Harper's Weekly

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More trouble in old New York?

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Title: An Unrestrained Demon

Artist: Unknown

Publisher: Judge Magazine, vol.17, no.419

Date: October 26, 1889

Archive: Ohio State University Digital Library ID: d_6669