Mr. Tupper's survival of a high-voltage electrical accident
Published October 6, 2026 at 2:42 AM
Contributed by
Millennial Star Research
Mr. Tupper, the superintendent of electric light works in Salt Lake City, accidentally touched a wire charged with forty lights while machinery was running at full speed. A strong current passed through his body, rendering him unconscious for two hours. He suffered extreme pain and contortions as the electricity left his body, but survived.
Fuller account of this event (the complete account as preserved in The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 48, No. 7, 15 February 1886, p. 111):
Mr. Tupper, the superintendent of the electric light works in Salt Lake City, while engaged in his duties, accidentally touched a wire charged with forty lights, while the machinery was running at full speed. A strong current passed through his body, rendering him unconscious for two hours. He suffered extreme pain and contortions as the electricity left his body, but he is now recovering.
In Their Own Words
“Mr. Tupper, superintendent of electric light works in Salt Lake City, had a narrow escape from death on the 23rd ult. While the machinery was running at full speed he attempted to connect a wire from one machine to another, when he accidentally touched a wire that was charged with forty lights, causing a strong current of electricity to pass through his body. He was unconscious for two hours, and when he regained his senses, and as the electricity escaped from his body, his suffering was extreme and his contortions painful to witness. — Millennial Star 48:7”
Sources & References
The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star (Manchester, later Liverpool, England, May 1840–1970), 15 February 1886 (Vol. 48, No. 7). https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1886-02-15_48_7 (account extracted verbatim from the issue's Internet Archive OCR text; research confidence: high) Complete account: The Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star, Vol. 48, No. 7, 15 February 1886, p. 111 https://archive.org/details/per_utah-and-the-mormons_the-latter-day-saints-millennial-star_1886-02-15_48_7
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