# Edward J. Livernash

Edward James Livernash, subsequently Count Edward James de Nivernais (February 14, 1866 – June 1, 1938), was an American newspaperman and lawyer who served one term as a U.S. Representative representing the fourth congressional district of California from 1903 to 1905.
Late in life Livernash adopted the French form of the family name, de Nivernais, by decree of court.

## Biography

Livernash was born in Lower Calaveritas, a California mining camp near San Andreas, to an Irish mother and a father of French-Canadian descent, and attended the common schools of California. He became a printer at the age of fifteen, and a year later founded a country newspaper at Cloverdale, California. He studied law in preparation for journalism, and in 1887 was admitted to the California bar. In 1891, he joined the staff of the San Francisco Examiner and held various editorial posts there.
In 1897, Livernash was sent to the Klondike region of Canada as part of an Examiner expedition investigating the Gold Rush that had begun a year prior. Before returning, he was chosen by the miners to represent them in Ottawa and share their views regarding new laws.
On the night of February 18, 1898, Livernash's brother J. J. committed suicide by gunshot. Earlier that evening, he went to the offices of The San Francisco Call and "sold the story of his own suicide," selling an enclosed packet that he said contained a story of "public interest." The payment was to be sent to his wife, and the packet opened the next morning. By that time, he had killed himself, and The Call ran the story.

### Attempted murder

On September 26, 1891, Livernash was arrested for public indecency at the San Francisco Ferry Building after a police sergeant discovered him wearing drag and blackface. When he was taken to the police station, officers discovered several toxic chemicals, including chloroform and prussic acid, in his bag. Livernash changed his story several times, but ultimately was only charged with the misdemeanor of wearing women's clothing in public, and charged a fine.
Just one month later, on October 29, Livernash was again arrested in Cloverdale after he shot 71-year-old Darius Ethridge four times in the face with a pair of revolvers. Miraculously, Ethridge survived. Earlier that evening, Livernash had visited Ethridge, an acquaintance, and dropped off a bottle of poisoned wine. Ethridge did not drink it, prompting Livernash to return that night, holding Ethridge at gunpoint and demanding he rewrite his will to include Livernash. When he refused, Livernash opened fire.
Livernash was committed to the Napa State Hospital, where he was held in custody until the murder trial opened a year later. His defense argued that he was a somnambulist, and had not been awake when he tried to kill Ethridge. To prove this point, they hired a doctor to hypnotize Livernash so he could recount the details of the incident. Thus, he became the first person in American history to testify in court under hypnosis. After 30 hours of deliberation, the case resulted in a hung jury, and was sent back for retrial.
Five months later, the second trial began, with Livernash representing himself. He discarded the hypnosis defense and instead claimed he suffered from bouts of insanity inherited from his parents. He called several witnesses to corroborate his story, including Congressman Thomas J. Geary. After a five-hour closing argument, the jury met for just seven minutes and found him not guilty.
While Livernash's motives and the extent of his insanity remain unclear, one theory put forward suggests he was seeking to recoup an earlier loss. Two weeks before the crossdressing incident, the office of the Livermore Herald (a newspaper Livernash had recently acquired) burned down. The property was uninsured, and one paper estimated the cost to Livernash would be over $5,000. Thus, his acquaintance Darius Ethridge, an elderly bachelor of substantial wealth, would have been a logical target.

### Political career

in 1904, Livernash ran for Congress to represent California's 4th congressional district (San Francisco) in the Fifty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1905) on a Democratic and Union Labor ticket. The dual nomination was unusual, and under then-prevailing California law, Livernash was required to choose which nomination would appear on the ballot; however, in October 1902 the California Supreme Court held that the provision limiting the ballot entry to a single nomination was not valid, and allowed both designations to appear.
Livernash's opponents in the election were the incumbent, Republican Julius Kahn; Socialist Party candidate William Costley; and Prohibition Party candidate Joseph Rowell. Livernash received 16,146 (49.17%) of the votes cast, compared to 16,005 (48.74%) cast for Kahn, with Costly and Rowell picking up the remaining 2.09%. Kahn contested the election, charging that many of the votes in Livernash's plurality were illegally cast, but the election was upheld.
Livernash served only one term, losing his reelection bid to Kahn in 1904.

### Later career and death

He became the managing editor of the Rocky Mountain News in 1906, but resigned after only thirteen weeks after coming under criticism from Senator Thomas M. Patterson for an editorial published in December 1906.
Livernash resided in France from 1909 to 1912, when he returned to the United States and settled near Belmont, California. He engaged in study and literary pursuits.
Livernash died in Agnew, California on June 1, 1938. His remains were cremated at Cypress Lawn Cemetery in Colma, California.