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alex weir
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Saturday, June 11, 2005 - 7:41 pm: | 
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Has any research been done into the origin of the word 'Ripper' as applied to murder?
We all know what 'rip' means, but it still sounds odd as a synonym for mutilate these days. Was it common to call a mutilation a 'ripping' in 1888? Were there ever any previous murderers called Rippers? Was it really an English expression? Was it an upper-class expression? I don't know that much about this case but assuming one of the letters is genuine, perhaps there is something to be gleaned from this.
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Rob Bennet
Unregistered guest
| | Posted on Friday, December 02, 2005 - 5:39 pm: |
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hi Alex,
Don't know the exact origin of the ripper name, however a quick consultation of the online census from 1901 shows that there were 256 people living in the UK with the surname 'Ripper', 36 of which were living in London. Only one James Ripper, a 26 year old milk salesman from Northumberland.
perhaps this is not exactly what you were looking for, but interesting nevertheless. |
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