First Execution by Lethal Gas

Date: February 8, 1924 • Location: Beijing, China

Gee Jon became the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas.

Gee Jon was a Chinese national who was the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas. Gee was sentenced to death for the 1921 murder of Tom Quong Kee in Mina, Nevada as part of a gang dispute. An unsuccessful attempt to pump poison gas directly into his cell at Nevada State Prison led to the development of the gas chamber.