Would JTR been famous elsewhere?

[silverstealth]

For me the London location is a big draw.....gas lit streets, cobble (sorry set!) stoned streets....Sherlock Holmes...Jeckyl & Hyde it all adds to the legend for me.

I have to agree, multiple murders by gaslight in Victorian London, the author of the dastardly crimes never brought to book... The perfect recipe to fuel the legend.

[Chadwick]

Infamous Anywhere

I do not think he would have been as famous, because he is a part of the melodrama of London lore and I think that was one of the major factors in how history has recorded him. Perhaps he would have still been famous within Britain in another city, but do a "man on the street" survey in America asking people if they know where Hull is and most will never even have heard of it.

Whether in Hull, in hell or Kalamazoo, it was the brutality of the murders and the fact that it suddenly, inexplicably stopped -- went unsolved, that continues to intrigue people...imho...

Look at Jeffery Dauhmer, OJ, BTK, the Lacy Peterson trial. People had intense interest in them. It didn't make any difference whether they were in Michigan, Kansas or Modesto, CA.

I am far from London, in L.A., and lived through the weeks when the Night Stalker roamed, killing people in their beds during a hot, humid summer. Fear was tangible. Everyone was afraid to leave a window open in case he randomly chose their home. When Richard Ramirez's picture was put on the front pages of the newspaper and shown on TV, someone recognized him on the street. A mob immediately formed and attacked him. The police had to rescue him from being killed.

Nothing's changed. Look at this site! Nothing's changed.

Best to you all,
~Chadwick

[j.r-ahde]

Hello you all!

I've read the following point somewhere;

The JtR case became the most famous one, because the murderer was litterate, the vics were liitterate and the public was litterate!

That is; the modern media had taken its form!

All the best
Jukka

[YankeeSergeant]

Debatable

It is debatable that JACk would have been famous if he killed anywhere else but then the mystique of not getting caught leaves something to say doesn't it? SAy for example JAck ahd killed in Chicago in 1888 instead of London would he have been over shadowed by H.H. Holmes (Harry Mudgett) who allegedly killed over 200 women but was eventually only convicted of I believe six murders? Perhaps. Intersteting to surmise if place affects how history and fame are perceived. neil

[smezenen]

Another example is Elizabeth Short (the black Dahlia) just 59 years after Mary Kelly meet Jack Beth Short was murdered, face mutilated, torso cut in half, then dumped naked in a vacant lot in Los Angeles. Her killer also goes unknown to this day. Ask 100 teenagers who jack the Ripper is and most have at least heard of him. but ask about Black Dahlia Murderer and you will find out that they are a thrash metal band popular on the American west coast.

[sdreid]

I think he would have been about as famous if he'd done his deeds anywhere in the English speaking world at the time. The same is still true it seems.

Jack also got to the head of the line at about the same time as the initiation of mass global communication through the telegraph. If the murders had occurred 20 years earlier, it would have taken 8 days to get the news to America instead of 8 seconds.

[YankeeSergeant]

I think he would have been about as famous if he'd done his deeds anywhere in the English speaking world at the time. The same is still true it seems.

Jack also got to the head of the line at about the same time as the initiation of mass global communication through the telegraph. If the murders had occurred 20 years earlier, it would have taken 8 days to get the news to America instead of 8 seconds.

Actually I believe the 1st transatlantic telegrapgh cable was laid in the 1850s and dispatches were being sent to Washington from Mexico during the Mexican War (1846-1848) but I take your point. Neil

[sdreid]

Yes, but I believe that cable failed rather quickly didn't it? I was thinking it was something like 1869 before a permanent trans-Atlantic communication was established - just my memory that could be wrong. Beyond that, I don't know when Melbourne, Johannesburg, New Deli and Buenos Aires came on line.

[sdreid]

As best as I can tell, all the inhabited continents were connected via telegraph by 1873.

[Zodiac]

As best as I can tell, all the inhabited continents were connected via telegraph by 1873.

Hi Stan,

I think you are correct about that, though I am certainly no expert on the history of telegraphy! What I can tell you though, from British Military History, is that at the time of the Anglo-Zulu War, of 1879, there was still no telegraph link between Britain and South Africa. News of the disastrous British defeat at the Battle of Isandlwana on the 22nd of January 1879 had to be sent by the fastest ship available, a liner of the Castle Shipping Line, to the Island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean! From there it could then be telegraphed to Britain! The news of the disaster finally reaching London on the 12th of February, some three weeks after the event!

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

[sdreid]

Thanks Zodiac. I did see a map that showed a telegraph link to South Africa in 1891 so they must have come on line in the 1880s - the first world wide web. A decade later, it was a moot point with the advancements in radio.

[Zodiac]

Thanks Zodiac. I did see a map that showed a telegraph link to South Africa in 1891 so they must have come on line in the 1880s - the first world wide web. A decade later, it was a moot point with the advancements in radio.

Thanks Stan,

I've done a little more digging and it turns out that there was a proposal put forward for the laying of a submarine cable from Aden to Mauritius and Natal as early as 1873 but they were unable to raise sufficient private capital, nor could they obtain subsidies from the British or French governments. South Africa was finally connected, by some 3900 nautical miles of cable, from Durban to Aden on the 25th December 1879.

Best wishes,
Zodiac.

[YankeeSergeant]

Cable

Stan, I believe you're right about the transatlantic cable. I do believe though by 1888 there was regular telegraph service between the U.K and the U.S. Kindest regards,

[alex_the_droog]

A very good question. There are certain similarities between Edinburgh & London in terms of the level of Poverty in both cities. However London had the disadvantage of having a very influencial tabloid press to add fuel to the case; add to that is that fact that "revolution" seemed to be about to burst, Bloody sunday riots, Pro & Anti-Irish lobby, and the melting pot of foreigners!

I guess what im saying is that London was the perfect location for the Ripper

From hell

Chris