The United States' credit rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard & Poor's credit rating agency. The downgrade was made by the agency after citing that problems with budget deficits have created a negative outlook for the USA's economy. The company also stated that the recently approved budget deal did not go far enough to reduce the deficit.

The electric chair was used for the first time. William Kemmler was executed with 1,300 volts of alternating current in Auburn, N.Y. for murdering a woman with an axe. The state had legalized death by electricity on 4 Jun 1888, which was upheld despite a legal challenge. The Medico-Legal Society was appointed to manage the technical details. Thomas Edison wished the public to associate AC with danger and death, and promoted the electric chair to discredit Tesla's AC system of electricity which competed with his own DC system. The execution was botched. The first shock lasted only 17 seconds. As the body appeared to move, a much longer second jolt was given until it produced a smell of burning flesh.