Whitechapel Murders Begin: Jack the Ripper Terror Starts
The Whitechapel murders of 1888 terrorized London's East End between April and February 1891, though the five canonical Jack the Ripper killings occurred in a tight eleven-week window from August to November 1888. The victims were all impoverished women working as prostitutes in one of the most overcrowded slums in Europe. The killer removed internal organs from several victims with surgical precision, suggesting medical knowledge. Over 200 suspects were investigated. The case generated an unprecedented media frenzy, with newspapers publishing alleged letters from the killer and coining the "Jack the Ripper" name. The murders prompted housing reforms, increased police foot patrols, and exposed conditions that respectable Victorians had deliberately ignored.
April 3, 1888
138 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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