On this day 123 years ago, the body of a prostitute named Mary Nichols was discovered in the Whitechapel district of London. By the end of the year, she would be known as the first victim of history's most notorious serial killer: Jack the Ripper.
By November, four more bodies were found, all prostitutes. Each victim was found with their throat slit and their abdomens mutilated, often with several organs missing. This led police to conclude that the killer possessed some kind of surgical education (although it was probably very little, given the gruesome way the victims were dismembered).
And aggressive police investigation lasted until 1891. More than 2000 people were interviewed and 80 detained. Hundreds of letters poured into the mailboxes of the authorities, some claiming to be the killer. An infamous letter received on October 16, 1888 was authored by a man who claimed to be writing "from Hell" and said that he was cannibalizing the victim's organs. Some journalists later confessed to fabricating some of the most widely known letters to help heighten the story.
After the first five victims, it is widely believed the killer stopped, for what reason is unknown. People continued to come forward and present similar wounds, but no other attacks could be successfully linked. Despite causing a media sensation unrivaled in history and gaining international attention, Jack the Ripper was never identified.
The murders brought outcry over the horrid conditions of the slums in Whitechapel and sparked a large-scale renovation. Today there are over 100 theories hypothesizing who Jack may have been. He has since passed into legend and continues to live in countless works of fiction.
