Henry Bliss
Henry Hale Bliss (* 13. June 1830 , † 14. September 1899 ) is considered the first victim of a car accident in the road in the United States .
When he got off a tram on the evening of September 13, 1899 at the corner of West 74th Street and Central Park West, New York City , he was hit by an electrically powered vehicle (presumably taxi, car number 43) , making him heavy on his chest and Head hurt. He succumbed to his injuries the morning of the following day.
The taxi driver was initially detained and charged with murder, but was later released on the grounds that there was no intent.
On September 13, 1999, a plaque commemorating the incident was set up on the spot where the accident occurred. The memorial plaque contains the following wording:
- Here at West 74th Street and Central Park West, Henry H. Bliss dismounted from a streetcar and was struck and knocked unconscious by an automobile on the evening of September 13, 1899. When Mr. Bliss, a New York real estate man, died the next morning from his injuries, he became the first recorded motor vehicle fatality in the Western Hemisphere. This sign was erected to remember Mr. Bliss on the centennial of his untimely death and to promote safety on our streets and highways.
("Here on West 74th Street and Central Park West, H. Bliss got off the tram on the evening of September 13, 1899 and was hit by a vehicle and knocked to the ground, where he was passed out. As Mr. Bliss, a New Yorker Real estate agent, succumbed to his injuries the next morning, he became the first (car) accident victim in the western hemisphere. This sign was erected in memory of the centenary of his untimely death and to promote safety on our roads and highways. ")
Henry H. Bliss wasn't the first person to die in a car accident. Bridget Driscoll was a previous victim in a road accident involving an automobile. Probably the first victim, however, was Mary Ward , who died in a car accident in August 1869 in a steam-powered car, but not in traffic.
Web links
- Prominent road death - The end of Henry Hale Bliss , one day - Zeitgeschichten on Spiegel Online , October 18, 2012
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Bliss, Henry |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Bliss, Henry Hale (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American man, first victim in a US road traffic accident |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1831 |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 13, 1899 |