Acid Queen Stalkers: Women Who Throw Acid on Their Stalking Victims - 1879

NOTE: This form of domestic violence by women was so common in the United States by 1879 that the crime inspired the following satire. Note that this form of violence by women is practiced not just on men, but on women as well.

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FULL TEXT: Vitriol throwing is becoming one of the fine arts. It is generally practiced by maidens who have been discarded by their lovers, and the victim is always either the aforesaid lover or the girl who ultimately succeeded in winning his affections. It will be the proper thing to establish in every female boarding school a chair of vitriol practice, and proficiency in the art will entitle the miss to the highest honors of graduation.

[Untitled, St. Paul Sunday Globe (Mn.), May 18, 1879, p. 4; illustration: French lithograph; Eugène-Samuel Grasset (1841 - 1917), “The Vitriol Thrower,” 1894; detail]

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For 1879 cases in the United States, SEE:

1879 – 3 cases: “Ellen,” Mary Chinnerny, Kate MacDonald –New York, New York

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SEE: “Acid Queens: Women Who Throw Acid” for a collection of synopses of similar cases.

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