Re: First Radiation Victim

[maury <maury@WEBTEXAS.COM>]

Thanks, Richard. Guess you were just catching up on current news. <grin> What a neat story! Such is the pithy substance of day to day life and death in the real world. Really amazing sometimes. Thanks for passing it on. I envy your access to some old newspapers.

Cheers,

Maury Siskel    maury@webtexas.com

_______________

The future just isn't what it used to be!

===============================

"Strickert, Rick" wrote:



> In October of last year there was a Radsafe discussion thread on who was the first person to die from radiation.  Michael J. Vala posted the following information on October 25 (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/radsafe/0210/msg00405.html):

>

> >According to The CRC Handbook of Management of Radiation

> >Protection Programs (1986), the Radiation Litigation Chapter

> >edited by Vicent Collins cites the death of James Punzo in 1897.

> >

> >Apparently Punzo was victim of a gunshot to the head.  Three

> >weeks after the injury, when Mr. Punzo was healed and walking

> >around the hospital, a 35 minute xray with a crooks tube attached

> >to a Holtz Static Generator was taken under anesthesia to try to

> >find the bullet.  The bullet was not found.  Mr. Punzo remained

> >semi-comatose until he died 12 days later.

>

> I happened to run across what might be considered "the rest of the story".  From The Wellsboro (PA) Gazette, December 30, 1897 (http://www.rootsweb.com/~patioga/newspapr/tcobt118.htm):

>

> "George A. C. Orme, the old man who shot and killed James Punzo, an Italian, last summer was acquitted last Thursday by a Chemung county [New York] jury at Elmira. Orme's pleas was self defense. He found the Italian alone with his wife. He began remonstrating with the woman, when both attacked him. Drawing a revolver he shot both his wife and Punzo. The former recovered and testified against Orme at the trial."

> The irony is left as an exercise for the reader.

> Rick

> Richard G. Strickert, Ph.D.

> Principal Scientist

> Signature Science LLC

> 8329 North Mopac Blvd.

> Austin, TX 78759

> (512) 533-2009 (Phone)

> (512) 533-9563 (Fax)

> rstrickert@signaturescience.com

> http://www.signaturescience.com



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