Dr John William Sanders

[Wade Aznable]

Hello, everyone.
Just as for Joseph Hyam Levy in the "Witness" section (and just as there I may be wrong, since I didn't check all of Casebook), I was quite surprised to find that here, and in Ripperology in general, very few words have been spent about Dr Sanders (not the insane medical student, the medical man who died under anesthetics in january 1889, A-Z 2010 page 454).

The A-Z (best source EVER) claims he's been "tentatively proposed": but I can't seem to find when and by whom and on what basis (except maybe the most obvious ones: he was a doctor, he worked in Whitechapel, he died soon after MJK).
Has someone in here researched him? With which results? I admit I'm completely fascinated by him - maybe because I have so little info available!
(BTW, if not for his untimely death, well before Elizabeth Jackson's, IMHO he would be a nice candidate to be the Torso Murderer...)

Thanks in advance for your attention and best regards,
W

[Wolf Vanderlinden]

Hi Wade.

Jon Ogan wrote a brief article concerning Sanders titled "John William Smith Sanders - A Problem Of Identity?" that appeared in Ripperana No.5, July, 1993, pps 5 - 7. In it Ogan suggests that it is possible that the police might have confused insane medical student John William Smith Saunders "with a qualified practitioner, of very similar name, John Sanders..." (although he offers no evidence that they actually did so).

He ends his brief look at Sanders' history by stating "While there is no direct link to the murders there are several circumstantial issues worthy of consideration.":

Geographical knowledge of Bethnal Green and St. Georges-in-the-East.
An interest in public health making him aware of the social conditions and circumstances of the victims.
He described female patients who were prostitutes as "prostitutes" rather than use euphemisms.
Was a doctor and member of the British Gynaecological Society.
The right age to be the Ripper.
Died at the end of the crimes.

The article doesn't mean to convince but, rather, to offer food for thought.

Wolf.

[Scott Nelson]

This guy isn't the same as Dr. Jon William Sanders of the St. Georges-in-the-East Infirmary, is he? Paul Begg suggests that he could have been considered a suspect. On October 1st, he accompanied a reporter for the Eastern Post & City Chronicle around the Infirmary to interview women about Leather Apron.

[Bridewell]

Hi Wade,

Interesting thoughts. The first question which springs to my mind is:

Was he ill and incapacitated for a period of time before he died or did he die suddenly having been, apparently, in good health prior to that?

I hasten to add that don't know the answer. Does anyone know the cause of death, I wonder?

Regards, Bridewell.

[Wade Aznable]

Good evening, everyone.

Wolf:
thank You very much for the info. I'll try to find that article, even if I guess it will be difficult to get such a back issue of Ripperana. Too bad, because such magazines often provide very interesting insight and research.
I consider myself lucky to have been able to grab some back issues of Ripper Notes on Amazon (BTW, around the time You were assistant editor, Wolf), which have been my favourite reading last June on the shores of Southern Italy!

Scott:
yes, as far as I know he's the same man. The passage of "The Facts" You quote is the only other source I remember which told something about him. The episode in itself is interesting: in case he was our man, it shows to us that in the "community" of his unfortunate patients he was known and trusted, making things easier for him. Key word being "in case", of course!
Even more interesting is the fact that as far as October 1st, Leather Apron was still a sensation, even if DS Thick had found him three weeks before, and he was already cleared of suspicion.

Bridewell:
as Scott reminded me, Paul Begg says that as late as October 1st Dr Sanders was healthy and functional enough to be still working at the infirmary and to accompany a reporter around. After that, who knows? I do not have access to the BMD certificates, maybe someone can help in retrieving Dr Sanders' death certificate?

Best regards,
W

[Craig H]

I stumbled across this thread from 2012. I thought if Paul Begg considered Dr John William Sanders as someone worthy of further attention, then it may be worthwhile looking at him again.

The above posts introduce some of the reasons why Sanders could fit the profile of JTR.

As I researched Sanders, I found more things that were interesting.

An existing summary describes him :

“Dr Sanders was born in 1859 and was a surgeon and gynaecologist at the Croydon fever hospital, the Bethnal Green infirmary and the St Georges in the east infirmary. He died from heart failure, while under anaesthetic, in January 1889 at the age of thirty.
Apart from having the requisite medical skills, there is no real reason to suspect him, other than his death occurring shortly after the murder of Mary Kelly, which fitted some theorists explanation for the sudden cessation of the murders.
Geographical knowledge of Bethnal Green and St. Georges-in-the-East.
An interest in public health making him aware of the social conditions and circumstances of the victims.
He described female patients who were prostitutes as "prostitutes" rather than use euphemisms.
Was a doctor and member of the British Gynaecological Society.
The right age to be the Ripper.
Died at the end of the crimes.”

John William Sanders was born in July 1858 in Lewes, Sussex. His father, William, was the Governor of Sussex Prison (as was his grandfather, John) and his mother Sarah Jane Kernot came from a family of doctors.

John had two brothers Charles (born 1866, who was a draper’s assistant, never married) and Frederic (born 1868, who became a sub-lieutenant in UK Navy, never married, died 1942).

John’s parents may have seen education potential in him and sent him to boarding school at Trent College in Derbyshire.

John’s academic and career history is impressive.

“Qualifications : MRCS Nov 17th 1879; FRCS June 12th 1884; LRCP Lond 1880; LSA 1879; DPH 1887; MD Brussels 1880.

Educated at Guy's Hospital, where he was House Surgeon, First Prizeman in Medicine, Surgery, etc (1879), and Prizeman in Anatomy, etc (1877). He was for a time Medical Officer of the Croydon Fever Hospital, and then became Resident Medical Officer of the Bethnal Green Infirmary. At the time of his early death he was Medical Superintendent of the St George-in-the East Infirmary, Princes Street, E, as well as Surgeon to the St John Ambulance Brigade. He was also a Fellow of the British Gynaecological Society and a Member of the British Medical Association”

[Craig H]

There was some mystery around his death.

John died on 7 January, 1889 (so only 30 years old) under surgery. His death certificate states cause of death as “Violent - failure of heart while under an anaesthetic given to perform a necessary operation”

The East London Observer (23 February, 1889) raise questions on his death :

“The sudden death of the late Dr Saunders, the medical officer of the St George’s East Infirmary, was hushed up for some unknown reason, and his place filled by the quiet appointment of Dr. Harris.

Dr Saunders, who was afflicted with a disease of the knee, was for many years the assistant medical officer at Bethnal Green, where his services were much respected and valued. His family have made application to the Board for some allowance”.

Interestingly, Wynne Edwin Baxter was the coroner at his inquest. Baxter was also coroner on Ripper inquests. Baxter also came from Lewes, Sussex; so may have known John’s father who was the Governor of the local Prison.

Also, why was he called Dr Saunders, and not Dr Sanders ?

This is not a one-off situation. The Eastern Evening News of 11 October 1888 includes an interview with “Jenny”, an inmate at St George’s-in-the-East Infirmary who claimed the Ripper was a known street bully who she could identify.

Again, this article also mentioned Dr Saunders (not Sanders) as the medical superintendent.

Maybe John Sanders was estranged from his family and had slightly changed his name.

This seems likely as John’s marriage certificate has John (26 years old, surgeon) marrying Emily Baker (22 year old) on 5^th July 1884 at Gravesend, London at a register office, not a church. The witness was J.E. Davis (not a family member).

The other unusual factor was the class difference. The marriage certificate lists John’s father William as a “gentleman” while Emily’s father was a “tobacconist”. I thought people were unlikely to marry back then to a different class.

The marriage certificate does not list Emily’s occupation, but her address was The Hospital, Bath Street, Gravesend so maybe Emily was a nurse.

So, in summary, no direct link to JtR murders.

However, Sanders could fit the profile :
Right age
Surgical skills (including Gynaecological)
Possible psychological fit – estranged from parents,
Ripper murders stopped as he died in January
Was a local

Alternatively, it may just be an interesting life story.

[Craig H]

Attached : Sanders marriage certificate and death certificate