Charlie Sparks, the owner of a small-time circus called Sparks World Famous Shows, was touring the southern United States. Along for the trip was Mary, a 30-year-old pachyderm that Sparks claimed was the largest animal on Earth, could play the horn, had a .400 batting average, and could kill a man. It turns out only one of those was true.
The many witnesses of the following events offer various accounts of what happened on September 12, 1916, that fateful day when Sparks World Famous Shows came to Kingsport, Tennessee. For whatever reason, whether by mistake or malicious intent, Mary the elephant killed novice elephant handler, Red Eldridge. For her crimes, “Murderous Mary” was sentenced to be executed the next day.
After deciding that there was no way to produce enough electricity to electrocute Mary, Sparks decided instead to execute her with a public hanging. 2,500 people showed up to watch the elephant be hanged at the Clinchfield Railyards. She was so heavy that the chain around her neck snapped shortly after she died. They then buried her in a grave dug by a steam shovel.
Source: http://www.blueridgecountry.com/archive/mary-the-elephant.html
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