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In the fall of 1732, William Cosby, a member of the British aristocracy, became the colonial governor of New York. As an incompetent, tyrannical and self-serving ruler, he quickly alienated the citizens of New York and, as a result, a core group instigated a broad-based popular uprising against him. In November 1733, John Peter Zenger (1697-1746) published his first issue of the New York Weekly Journal, which would soon become a political organ of those who attempted to bring Cosby down. Zenger's Journal contained particularly offensive attacks on Governor Cosby. They included biting personal jabs, which were judged as being quite inappropriate. The governor was described as having "loathsome false teeth and an unclean mouth." Circulating first-hand reports stated that he possessed a chronic case of the most offensive halitosis. In November 1734, Zenger was arrested and jailed for seditious libel. Fortunately for Zenger, he was defended by the colony's most prominent attorney, Andrew Hamilton. One day later, after only ten minutes of jury deliberation, Zenger was found not guilty. This famous first victory, later called the "germ of American freedom", paved the way to First Amendment Rights in America.

W.C. Fields (1880-1946), a gifted writer, director and performer, became one of the greatest comedians, jugglers and pantomimes of all time. This crusty, opinionated curmudgeon, whose multifaceted career spanned most of the 20th century, made his name in burlesque, vaudeville, the legitimate stage, silent pictures, talkies, radio, books and recordings. 1-3 He died before a new media -- television - could have brought him even more success. The following article explores a fascinating incident which occurred in the 1928 New York Vanities production on Broadway. A highly popular dental skit written by Fields and entitled "An Episode at the Dentist's," involved the controversial, on-stage employment of a live canary. Documented here are the findings and out come of a legal hearing in which Fields was accused of "cruelty to a canary."

The search for a modern, humane method of criminal execution was triggered by a freak accident which occurred in Buffalo, New York in 1881. Dr. Alfred P. Southwick (a former steam-boat engineer, noted dentist and dental educator) happened to witness an intoxicated man die after he inadvertently touched a live generator terminal. Southwick's initial reaction was shock. Later, as he pondered this tragic event, he concluded that electrocution was, at least, a quick and seemingly painless way to depart from this earth. As his thoughts turned to common methods of capital punishment, Alfred concluded that death by electrocution could become a more humane alternative, as compared with the more grisly methods (e.g., hanging, beheading by guillotine, garroting, suffocation and flaying). Working through the governor of New York and the state legislature, Southwick originated and successfully promoted the passage of laws which mandated electrical executions in New York and in approximately 20 other states. During 1888-1889, Southwick served on the state's three-person Electrical Death Commission, a group who reported that electrical execution was superior to all other methods. On January 1, 1889, the world's first electrical execution law went into effect. On August 6, 1890, William Francis Kemmler, who had murdered his mistress, was the first person to die in the electric chair. However, this public event became an amateurish spectacle: the initial surge of current did not cause Kemmler's immediate death and a second jolt was needed. Those who witnessed this bungled execution were stunned. Graphic and detailed criticism from both the press and the general public ran high. However, Dr. Southwick vigorously continued to support and finally achieve his goal--to humanize capital punishment through the legal use of electrical execution.