Summary for Jack the Ripper
Allison Armstrong
History 111
Professor Bruce Dickerson
March 28, 2013
“The Hunt for Jack the Ripper” Jack the Ripper was said to be the first serial killer in the modern sense. In the article “The Hunt for Jack the Ripper,” William D. Rubinstein’s main idea is to explain and examined some of the murder victims, and possible suspects for Jack the Ripper. Rubinstein goes into great detail to try and define who the ripper actually was, but this is still an unsolved mystery in history. Rubinstein’s main ideas are the different possibilities for Jack the Ripper; however there was one person in particular that people believed was the Ripper for over twenty years. Another main part of this article was discussing victims of Jack the Ripper, and the diary of Jack the Ripper. There were about fifteen different leading candidates for Jack the Ripper, however none of which were wholly satisfactory, although one suspect in particular is highly convincing. For twenty years or more, Montague Druitt (1857-88) was probably the number one suspect. In this article is stated, “There appeared to be a good deal of evidence linking him with the Ripper. In 1913, MacNaghten told the Daily Mail that he had `a very clear idea' who the Ripper was, but had `destroyed all the documents and there is now no record of the secret information which came into my possession at one time or another'.” If Druitt was not the Ripper, what would have been his purpose for getting rid of this important information? This is what led people to believe he in fact, was the Ripper. Druitt committed suicide in the Thames around November 30th, 1888, shortly after being let go as a schoolteacher in Blackheath, and three weeks after the last Ripper murder. Rubinstein finishes his discussion about Druitt by saying, “Given the general air of mystery surrounding his life, it is not surprising that Druitt was the preferred candidate of many Ripperologists. During the past two decades, however, his star has
History 111
Professor Bruce Dickerson
March 28, 2013
“The Hunt for Jack the Ripper” Jack the Ripper was said to be the first serial killer in the modern sense. In the article “The Hunt for Jack the Ripper,” William D. Rubinstein’s main idea is to explain and examined some of the murder victims, and possible suspects for Jack the Ripper. Rubinstein goes into great detail to try and define who the ripper actually was, but this is still an unsolved mystery in history. Rubinstein’s main ideas are the different possibilities for Jack the Ripper; however there was one person in particular that people believed was the Ripper for over twenty years. Another main part of this article was discussing victims of Jack the Ripper, and the diary of Jack the Ripper. There were about fifteen different leading candidates for Jack the Ripper, however none of which were wholly satisfactory, although one suspect in particular is highly convincing. For twenty years or more, Montague Druitt (1857-88) was probably the number one suspect. In this article is stated, “There appeared to be a good deal of evidence linking him with the Ripper. In 1913, MacNaghten told the Daily Mail that he had `a very clear idea' who the Ripper was, but had `destroyed all the documents and there is now no record of the secret information which came into my possession at one time or another'.” If Druitt was not the Ripper, what would have been his purpose for getting rid of this important information? This is what led people to believe he in fact, was the Ripper. Druitt committed suicide in the Thames around November 30th, 1888, shortly after being let go as a schoolteacher in Blackheath, and three weeks after the last Ripper murder. Rubinstein finishes his discussion about Druitt by saying, “Given the general air of mystery surrounding his life, it is not surprising that Druitt was the preferred candidate of many Ripperologists. During the past two decades, however, his star has