The Resume

(circa 1894-September 13, 1916)
Also known as 'Mighty Mary'
Five ton Asian elephant
Part of 'Sparks World Famous Shows,' a traveling circus
Crushed to death Walter 'Red' Eldridge, a circus employee, on September 11, 1916 in Kingsport, Tennessee
Hanged two days later with a chain and industrial crane in Erwin, Tennessee

Why she might be annoying:

She killed Eldridge in a parade before dozens of onlookers.
She may have killed other circus workers before.
The infamous photograph of her hanging may be fake.
Many Tennesseans resented the sensationalized press coverage.
The exact details of the entire affair remain unclear thanks to decades of rumor and exaggeration.
Her botched death led Erwin to become known as 'the town that hung the elephant.'

Why she might not be annoying:

She was allegedly even bigger than Jumbo.
Eldridge, an inexperienced assistant, may have jabbed her too hard with a bull hook.
Her owner Charlie Sparks only reluctantly agreed to kill her because of the public outcry.
Contrary to rumor, she was never tried and convicted in an actual court.
Her death was horrific--the first attempt to hang her failed as the chain snapped, causing her to fall and break her hip.
Her story may have made people start to reconsider the treatment of circus animals.

Credit: Georgina

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Elephants
• Georgina/Devil Doll's Profiles [Series 2]
• Hey! They Doctored My Photo
• I Died Before My 30th Birthday (Ranked: 22)
• I Died for My Sins
• I Died in 1916 (Ranked: 22)
• I Joined the Circus
• Killer Animals
• Known By a Single Name
• Look at Me and My Pet
• Look at Me, I'm Dead
• Look at Me, I'm Driving
• Look at Me, I'm in Agony
• Menagerie of Animals
• People with John or Mary in their Names
• Profiles 20251-20500 (Ranked: 20417)
• Short Fuses
• When Bad Things Happen to Good Animals

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 62 Votes: 46.77% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 21 Votes: 52.38% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 19 Votes: 36.84% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 89 Votes: 50.56% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 16 Votes: 56.25% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 68 Votes: 51.47% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 107 Votes: 57.01% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 30 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 79 Votes: 40.51% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 52 Votes: 32.69% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 2062 Votes: 37.92% Annoying