Thomas Horrocks Openshaw
Thomas Horrocks Openshaw
Early life and medical career
Openshaw was born in
Having successfully completed his medical studies, Openshaw was awarded an
Following his Fellowship, he was appointed Assistant Demonstrator of Anatomy at the London Hospital Medical College in 1886, and, after his subsequent appointment as Curator of the Pathology Museum in 1887, he extended and catalogued the Museum's collection of
Jack the Ripper
Jack the Ripper letters |
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When a kidney, purportedly from Jack the Ripper victim Catherine Eddowes, was posted to George Lusk, Chairman of the Whitechapel Vigilance Committee, together with the From Hell letter, Lusk was persuaded by his fellow Committee members to take them to Dr Frederick Wiles, who had a surgery nearby on the Mile End Road.
Wiles was out, so his assistant, F. S. Reed, examined the contents of the box and took the kidney to Openshaw at the nearby London Hospital. Openshaw believed that the kidney was from the left side of a human body.
As Openshaw was frequently mentioned in press reports at the time in connection with the kidney and From Hell letter, his name became known widely among the general public. On 29 October 1888 he received a letter through the post addressed to 'Dr Openshaw, Pathological curator, London Hospital, Whitechapel' and was postmarked 'LONDON E', 'OC29 88'. The text of the letter reads as follows:
Old boss you was rite it was the left kidny i was goin to hoperate agin close to your ospitle just as i was going to dror mi nife along of er bloomin throte them cusses of coppers spoilt the game but i guess i wil be on the job soon and will send you another bit of innerds
Jack the Ripper
O have you seen the devle
with his mikerscope and scalpul
a-lookin at a kidney
with a slide cocked up.
This letter has become known as the "Openshaw Letter".[3] A copy of the letter is on display with other Ripper items in the Royal London Hospital's museum in Whitechapel.[1]
The letter was also used by author Patricia Cornwell to try to substantiate her claim that Walter Sickert was the Ripper.[4] She claims that the paper used for the Openshaw Letter came from the same manufacturers as paper used by Sickert. However, it was a brand of stationery that was widely available at the time.[5][6] Also according to Cornwell, mitochondrial DNA extracted from the stamp on the envelope could not be ruled out as being the same as that found on other Sickert letters. Mitochondrial DNA, however, is not a definitive test of identity and the sequence found by Cornwell's team of experts could be from one of over 400,000 individuals.[7]
Military service
As a youth Openshaw became a member of the
As Openshaw was 58 years old when the
He was elected surgeon to the King Edward VII Hospital, and later, as an acknowledged expert in
Interests
Openshaw had numerous interests outside of medicine. For example, he was the Master of four
Later years
Although he wrote no books or medical treatises, Openshaw was the joint editor of the Catalogue of the Pathological Collection at the London Hospital. From 1916 to 1924 he served on the Council of the Royal College of Surgeons. In addition, he was consulting surgeon to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, the Poplar Hospital for Accidents, and the Cottage Hospitals of Tilbury, Sidcup and Woolwich. He was surgeon to the Royal Surgical Aid Society.[2]
Openshaw had a son and daughter with his wife, Selina Gertrude Pratt, the daughter of William Pratt of Buern Abbey in
A few months after his wife's death in 1929 Openshaw developed diabetes and died of pneumonia in a nursing home, aged 73.[citation needed]
Openshaw Archive
Openshaw's photographs from the Second Boer War, his medals and certificates were donated to the Royal London Hospital Archives and Museum in 2004 by John Jenner, his grandson. A selection of Openshaw's medals and decorations are now on display at the Museum.
The Museum holds Openshaw's campaign medal for the Second Boer War with bars for
References
- ^ a b c d : Master surgeon, photographer, cyclist and angler Archived 18 March 2005 at archive.today at www.bartsandthelondon.nhs.uk
- ^ a b c Obituary, The Lancet, 23 November 1929, pg. 1117
- ^ Casebook: Jack the Ripper - Ripper Letters at www.casebook.org
- ^ Portrait of a Killer: Jack the Ripper - Case Closed; Patricia Cornwell (Little, Brown 2002)
- ^ "Jack the Ripper - The Art of Murder". Casebook. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ "Jack the Ripper - Patricia Cornwell and Walter Sickert: A Primer". Casebook. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ^ The Complete Jack the Ripper; Donald Rumbelow (Penguin 2004).
- ^ Bournemouth, Early Airfields, Ensbury Park. Archived 27 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine at daveg4otu.tripod.com
External links
- Openshaw on the Barts and the London Hospital website Archived 18 March 2005 at archive.today
- "Jack the Ripper 'letter' made public". BBC News. 19 April 2001. Retrieved 9 August 2008.
- The ‘Openshaw Letter’ on the Casebook: Jack the Ripper website
- 'Note from 'the Ripper' released after 112 years' The Independent 20 April 2001