Jack the Ripper is the notorious pseudonym given to a murderer who terrorized the Whitechapel district of London’s East End between August and November 1888. Despite numerous speculations and investigations, the true identity of Jack the Ripper remains one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in English crime history.

While there were around a dozen murders between 1888 and 1892 that have been tentatively linked to Jack the Ripper, only five were conclusively attributed to the same perpetrator by the police. These victims, known as the “canonical five,” were Mary Ann Nichols, Annie Chapman, Elizabeth Stride, Catherine Eddowes, and Mary Jane Kelly. The common assumption at the time was that all the victims were prostitutes, although modern interpretations challenge this belief.

In her book “The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper,” social historian Hallie Rubenhold argues that only one of the victims, Mary Jane Kelly, was a verifiable prostitute. Rubenhold challenges the Victorian-era prejudices that led to the characterization of the victims as prostitutes, suggesting instead that they were ordinary women who fell victim to societal injustices.

Each of the murders bore similarities, with the victims’ throats being slit and their bodies often mutilated, indicating some knowledge of human anatomy by the perpetrator. The police received taunting letters signed by someone claiming to be Jack the Ripper, adding to the mystery and fear surrounding the case.

Despite extensive efforts by the authorities to identify and capture the killer, including the resignation of the home secretary and the London police commissioner due to public outcry, Jack the Ripper was never apprehended. The case has captured the public imagination for over a century, inspiring numerous literary and dramatic works.

Various suspects have been proposed over the years, including Montague Druitt, Michael Ostrog, and Aaron Kosminski, among others. However, conclusive evidence linking any individual to the crimes remains elusive. The murder sites in Whitechapel have become morbid attractions for tourists interested in the macabre history of Jack the Ripper.