Author: Lee Strochine
Saturday, 14 November 1998 - 02:01 pm |        |
| I just finished reading Legends & Lies - Great Mysteries of the American West by Dale L. Walker. In this book the author proposes that Boston Corbett (the killer of John Wilkes Booth) was Jack. His evidence: "Corbett was London-born. He was certifiably insane. He escaped from a Topeka insame asylum in June 1888... He was 'down on whores'. He had killed - men, to be sure- before. He was acquainted with sharp instruments in his hat finishing trade. He had motive, means, and opportunity." (p. 178) |
Author: Jeff Bloomfield
Friday, 09 February 2001 - 09:45 pm | |
He also castrated himself in the summer of 1858,
in Boston, after being approached by two prostitutes. Somehow, Jack the Ripper was not
likely to hurt himself like that - he like to
hurt females in such a way but not himself. |
Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Friday, 23 February 2001 - 02:30 pm | |
| The only record I've seen on Corbett murdering anyone was his shooting of Booth which was under wartime conditions. It is an interesting hypothoses. Certainly Boston Corbett was insane. I would be interested to see if he had travelled to London. Keep in mind he was by no means wealthy and raing enough cash to get to London and commence Jack's spree in a space of two months would have been no mean feat. I'll look for the book but keep me posted as you find out more. Kindest reguards, Neil |
Author: Christopher T George
Friday, 23 February 2001 - 04:02 pm | |
Hi, Neil:
You may know about it, but there is information on Corbett on a Civil War Lincoln site at http://members.aol.com/RVSNorton/Lincoln32.html There, the date of his escape from the Topeka Insane Asylum is given as May 26, 1888, a month earlier than the poster above stated. A site linked to that site at http://ksphototour.8m.com/corbett.htm indicates that although the date and circumstances of Corbett's death are unknown, there is some indication that he may have died in a forest fire in Minnesota. The question then is whether he did make it to London in 1888 or whether (as seems more likely) he spent his last days in the United States or Mexico.
If the information on that site is correct, that Corbett was born in England in 1832, he would have been 56 in 1888, making him one of the older suspects, along with the likes of Dr. Francis Tumblety and Sir William Withey Gull. Although the National Archives photograph of him on the Lincoln site shows a fair-haired man consistent with sitings of a fair-haired man with some of the victims, the image was probably taken in the 1860's about the time he shot Booth, and he would have looked considerably older by 1888 particularly if he was debilitated with mercury poisoning from his work as a hatter not to mention the traumas of being in an insane asylum.
Best regards
Chris George |
Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Tuesday, 10 April 2001 - 10:00 pm | |
Hi Chris: I have to agree with the poster above that JtR wasn't the boy to be whaking off "Offending Appendages". I visited both web sites you steered me to and I rely on my former opinion that Corbett is not our huckleberry to borrow a mid 1800s term.
I'm still formulating my personal theory (Not to be confused with the one I'll be using in the novel.) At this point I'm leaning toward Tumblety. Kindest reguards, Neil |
Author: Neil K. MacMillan
Saturday, 01 February 2003 - 08:41 pm | |
| As an addition to my earlier, I've seen photos of Boston Corbett extant to the 1860s and he appears to have dark hair. Neil |
