Jack the Ripper Tour Introduction

Tour introduction at Aldgate East Station

Before we start your tour of Jack the Ripper's London, let's review what is known about Jack the Ripper and the East End during Jacks' time.

World history leading to 1888

The 19th century brought dramtic change to the world. The love of treasures from Asia, especially for that most beloved beverage, tea, lead the European countries and the United States to force Japan and China to open their ports and their societies. This trade expansion came naturally from the push for colonies in the 18th century in North and South America. The British Empire would continue to expand until it reached its height in the late 19th century and was the most powerful empire in the world.

London in 1888

At home in England, British monarchs became more symbolic rulers as the Parliament and especially the House of Commons increased in power. The Industrial Revolution had transformed England from primarily agricultural to increasingly urban in the span of only a few decades. Transportation improvements like the railroads and metal ships made global trade and global empires a common fact of life. Queen Victoria, who reign from 1837 to 1901, was to be the longest reigning British monarch to date and her reign saw the British Empire reach its height as it reigned over countries as far flung as Canada, Borneo, and India.

East End in 1888

The benefits of the Industrial Revolution were outweighed the problems for most people. But the East End of London held one of the greatest concentration of those for whom the Industrial Revolution provided little benefit and more misery. There were no social safety nets for people. If you were a hard worker who was injured on the job or lost your job and was unable to find a new one, you could expect no compensation or help from anyone.

Some of the best descriptions of the East End of London came from a foreigner. Jack London, the famous American writer best known for his advernturous novels such as The Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf and White Fang spent less than 2 months in 1902 in the East End living its residents disguised as an American sailor down on his luck. His investigative reporting style of research lead him to call the East End "". As bad as he found the East End, it is generally agreed by all that the East End had actually measurably improved in the 14 years since Jack the Ripper's killings had focused the attention of the world on this overlooked and ignored suffering just blocks from some of the most expenive homes and shops in the world.

Overview of Jack the Ripper and his murders

In the summer of 1888 a series of brutal murders of women shocked the world. Death and murder was not unknown or unexpected in the East End, but these murders had all the hallmarks of a serial killer, mutilation of the body that suggested the murders were strictly for the enjoyment of an unbalanced mind.

Poverty in 1888

The poverty stricken East End of London was only a few miles from the West End with its splendors of Queen Victoria's Court and only a few short blocks from the vast amount of money that flowed daily through the financial heart of London, known then and now as the City. The West End residents at this time found the East End to be like another exotic world, that is, if they ever came here.

Jack the Ripper's horrible crimes brought the world's and London's attention to this small desperate area. In fact, there have been walking tours of Jack the Ripper's crime scenes almost immediately after the crimes.

To prove that you are in good company, one of the first and most famous amateur sleuths of the day to tour Jack's crime scenes was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, best known to the world as the creator of Sherlock Holmes. His walking tour was taken on April 19 in 1905. He was over a decade removed from Jack's killings in the autumn of 1888 and two years behind Jack London's visit. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his wealthy friends had their tour guided by Dr Frederick Gordon Brown, the City of London Police Surgeon who examined the body of victim number 4 (?), Catherine Eddowes, who was found butchered in Mitre Square.

Given Doyle's knowledge of the case from reading the stories in the newspapers, speaking with the doctor involved in the case, and his personal tour of the crime scenes combined with his creative mind, you might be interested in his personal view into Jack the Ripper's identity. Doyle, along with many of the people of the time, believed that Jack was a man working alone. And like many people of the day, he believed that it should be easy to spot a murder of such horrible violence just by looking at him. He did not believe that a person capable of such violence could blend into regular society. So he believed that Jack had disguised himself as a woman so that he could get close to his victims.

Given our current understanding of serial killers, we know that some serial killers can live ordinary lives without raising any suspicions. Also Sir Doyle may not have realized that the women that Jack targeted would have met all sorts of men as their occupation as prostitutes put them into a very dangerous situation, but a situation that all were familiar with.

Victorian ideas on sex

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Prostitution

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Newspaper coverage of murders

Jack the Ripper was not the first serial killer in history, but his murders took place just as literacy rates among the general population was rising rapidly and the price of newspapers were dropping and the numbers of newspaper were increasing. This new medium for quickly distributing information combined with the graphic and horrible violence of the murders and the sexual nature of the prostitutes that were Jack's victums made for a public show that titilated the world. Even today, Jack's achievement of being the so-called "first" serial killer has meant that he still is one of the most famous killers in the world.

Naming of Jack the Ripper

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Police investigative techniques in 1888

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Social reforms after murders to combat poverty

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