Search This Blog

Wednesday 2 September 2015

Jack the Ripper

On April 3, 1888, the first of 11 murders took place in the Whitechapel area of London, many of which were thought to have been committed by a man known only as 'Jack the Ripper'. The April 3rd victim was Emma Elizabeth Smith, who died of her injuries after robbery and assault.

Only five of the 11 cases are generally agreed to have been done by the same man. Emma Smith's murder is not among them. Prostitute Mary Ann Nichols was the first of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims. Her mutilated and slayed body was found on the ground in front of a gated stable entrance in Buck's Row, London on August 31, 1888.

Mortuary photograph of Mary Ann Nichols

Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes and Mary Jane Kelly, who were all murdered between August 31 and November 9, 1888, are known as the "canonical five" and their murders are often considered the most likely to be linked to Jack The Ripper.

The name 'Jack the Ripper' originated in a letter purportedly from the killer written in 1888. It has never been established whether this letter was genuine or a hoax.


All of Jack the Ripper's murders took place at weekends or in the early morning, which suggests he had a normal job.

The prostitute Mary Jane Kelly was murdered at her home at 13 Miller's Court, a furnished single room at the back of 26 Dorset Street, Spitalfields, London, on November 9, 1888. She is widely believed to be the fifth and last victim of Jack the Ripper. He was never caught.

Mary Jane Kelly Wikipedia

An investigation into a series of brutal killings in Whitechapel up to 1891 was unable to connect all the killings conclusively to the murders of 1888, but the legend of Jack the Ripper solidified.

Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll) showed some interest in the Jack the Ripper case; however, this is hardly unusual, given the profound publicity surrounding the crimes. A passage in his diary dated August 26, 1891, reports that he spoke that day with an acquaintance of his about his "very ingenious theory about 'Jack the Ripper'". No other information about this theory has been found.

Tinted monochrome 3/4-length photo portrait of seated Dodgson holding a book

Queen Victoria is reported to have thought that the murderer was a butcher or cattle drover.

Source Daily Express

No comments:

Post a Comment