America's First Serial Killer on This Day in History

This day in history: H.H. Holmes was executed on this day in 1896. Perhaps one of America's first serial killers, Holmes (Herman Webster Mudgett) confessed to 27 murders. He is said to have killed as many as 200. During the 1890's world fair in Chicago, he built what came to be known as a murder castle, a building that had rooms with hinged walls, false partitions, secret passageways, and even airtight rooms that were connected to pipelines filled with gas which Holmes used as gas chambers. Chutes were used to deliver bodies to the basement where they were dissected. His story is featured in the excellent book by Erik Larson "The Devil in the White City".

On May 7, 1896, Holmes was hanged at Moyamensing Prison, also known as the Philadelphia County Prison, for the murder of Pitezel. Until the moment of his death, Holmes remained calm and amiable, showing very few signs of fear, anxiety, or depression. Despite this, he asked for his coffin to be contained in cement and buried 10 feet deep, because he was concerned grave robbers would steal his body and use it for dissection. Holmes's neck did not break; he instead strangled to death slowly, twitching for over 15 minutes before being pronounced dead 20 minutes after the trap had been sprung.

In 2017, amid allegations Holmes had in fact escaped execution, Holmes's body was exhumed for testing led by Janet Monge of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Due to his coffin being contained in cement, his body was found not to have decomposed normally. His clothes were almost perfectly preserved and his mustache was found to be intact. The body was positively identified by his teeth as being that of Holmes. Holmes was then reburied.

Download "The Devil in the White City" here

Read The Master of the Murder Castle: A classic of Chicago crime
https://harpers.org/archive/1943/12/the-master-of-the-murder-castle/

Watch Holmes' great great grandson Jeff Mudgett talk about Holmes being Jack the Ripper

See also Paranormal History with Jeff Mudgett
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcOxmctjd54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VBtAztfTWA

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The 300 Oldest Murder Mystery and Crime Books & Stories to Download

A Pioneer of Detective Fiction on This Day in History

 

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Today in History: Émile Gaboriau was born on this day in 1832. Gaboriau was a pioneer in detective fiction with his famous sleuth, Monsieur Lecoq. In fact, France seems to be the birthplace of the Detective genre. Voltaire, the great French philosopher had a work of philosophical fiction called Zadig, and Zadig, an ancient philosopher, had powers of marvelous deduction. Edgar Allan Poe based his three detective stories in France with his detective Auguste Dupin, and it is said that he may have been inspired by Zadig. These french detectives laid the groundwork for Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes." In fact, Holmes liked to lash out at his predecessors. He once called Poe's Detective Dupin "a very inferior fellow." Holmes also criticized Emile Gaboriau's detective Lecoq. Dr. Watson describes Holmes's reaction:

"Have you read Gaboriau's works?" I asked. "Does Lecoq come up to your idea of a detective?" Sherlock Holmes sniffed sardonically. "Lecoq was a miserable bungler," he said, in an angry voice; "he had only one thing to recommend him, and that was his energy. That book made me positively ill. The question was how to identify an unknown prisoner. I could have done it in twenty-four hours. Lecoq took six months or so. It might be made a text-book for detectives to teach them what to avoid."~A Study in Scarlet

See also: Detective Fiction in France, article in The Saturday Review 1886

The Detectives of Poe, Doyle, and Gaboriau by Carolyn Wells 1913

See also True Crime + Mystery Fiction - 500 Books on 2 DVDroms

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Sherlock Holmes Actor Jeremy Brett on This Day in History

 

This Day in History: Peter Jeremy William Huggins, aka, Jeremy Brett was born on this day in 1933. 

Although Brett appeared in many different roles during his 40-year career, he is best remembered for his performance as Sherlock Holmes in The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, a series of Granada Television films made between 1984 and 1994. Even though he reportedly feared being typecast, Brett appeared in 41 episodes of the Granada series, alongside David Burke and, latterly, Edward Hardwicke as Doctor Watson. 

After taking on the demanding role ("Holmes is the hardest part I have ever played—harder than Hamlet or Macbeth") Brett made few other acting appearances, and he is now widely considered to be the definitive Holmes of his era.

Brett had been approached in February 1982 by Granada Television to play Holmes. The idea was to make a totally authentic and faithful adaptation of the character's best cases. Eventually Brett accepted the role. He wanted to be the best Sherlock Holmes the world had ever seen. He conducted extensive research on the great detective and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle himself, and was very attentive to discrepancies between the scripts he had been given and Conan Doyle's original stories. One of Brett's dearest possessions on the set was his 77-page "Baker Street File" on everything from Holmes' mannerisms to his eating and drinking habits. Brett once explained that "some actors are becomers—they try to become their characters. When it works, the actor is like a sponge, squeezing himself dry to remove his own personality, then absorbing the character's like a liquid".

Brett was obsessed with bringing more passion to the role of Holmes. He introduced Holmes's rather eccentric hand gestures and short violent laughter. He would hurl himself on the ground just to look for a footprint, "he would leap over the furniture or jump onto the parapet of a bridge with no regard for his personal safety."

While the other actors disappeared to the canteen for lunch, Brett would sit alone on the set reading the script, looking at every nuance, reading Holmes in the weekends and on his holidays.

"Some actors fear if they play Sherlock Holmes for a very long run the character will steal their soul, leave no corner for the original inhabitant", he once said, but: "Holmes has become the dark side of the moon for me. He is moody and solitary and underneath I am really sociable and gregarious. It has all got too dangerous".

Brett's performance is regarded by many critics to have been their favorite rendition of Sherlock Holmes.

Six years ago Jeremy Brett was denied a Blue Plaque because he was too white. A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. "The actor failed to make the shortlist of those being considered for a plaque – at a meeting which called for greater racial diversity of those who are honoured." Source

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Contents:

Psychology and Crime by Thomas Holmes 1912

Murder Most Mysterious by Hargrave Lee Adam 1900

Poison Mysteries in History by C.J.S. Thompson 1923

Poison romance and Poison Mysteries by C.J.S. Thompson 1904

A Book of Scoundrels by Charles Whibley 1921

The Borden Murder Trial (Lizzie Borden), article in The Illustrated American 1893

The Greatest Detective Agency in the World (Pinkertons), article in The Strand 1905

The Greatest Criminal of the Past Century...Adam Worth, by By Pinkerton National Detective Agency 1903 (Scotland Yard detective Robert Anderson nicknamed him "the Napoleon of the criminal world", and he is commonly referred to as "the Napoleon of Crime.")

Remarkable Rogues - the careers of some notable Criminals of Europe and America by Charles Kingston 1921

The Holmes-Pitezel case -  a history of the greatest crime of the century and of the search for the missing Pitezel children by Frank P Geyer 1896 (H.H. Holmes was America's first serial killer)

American Criminal Trials, Volume 1 by Peleg Chandler 1844 (Anne Hutchinson. The Quakers. Salem witchcraft. Thomas Maule. John Peter Zenger. New York Negro Plot etc)

American Criminal Trials, Volume 2 by Peleg Chandler 1844

Why Some Men Kill (Murder mysteries revealed) by George A Thacher 1919

The truth about the Frank case by CP Connolly 1915 (famous murder mystery in the deep South)

Famous Mysteries by John Watkins 1919 (Lizzie Borden)

Brigham's Destroying Angel - being the life, confession, and startling disclosures of the notorious Bill Hickman, the Danite (Mormon) chief of Utah 1904

The History of Pirates, free-booters or buccaneers of America by JW Archenholz 1907

Life, trial and execution of Edward H. Ruloff: the perpetrator of eight Murder & Other Crimes 1871

Jesse James and his band of Notorious Outlaws by W Gordon 1891

A Book of Remarkable Criminals by Henry Irving 1918

History of Billy the Kid by Charles Siringo 1920

Train and bank robbers of the West, by A Appler 1889

The Crime of the Century - The assassination of Dr. Patrick Henry Cronin by Henry M Hunt 1889

Celebrated Criminal Cases of America by Thomas Duke 1910

Woman and Crime by Hargrave Lee Adam 1912 (Poisoners, Baby Farmers, Financial Defrauders etc)

The Female Offender by Cesare Lombroso 1904

Chronicles of Crime and Criminals - Full and authentic account of the murder by Henry Wainwright of his mistress, Harriet Lane, and an extended account of the Whitechapel murders by the infamous Jack the Ripper 1895

Madame de Brinvilliers and her Times by Hugh Stokes 1911 (Wholesale Poisoner)

Trial of C. B. Reynolds for Blasphemy by Ingersoll 1888

Science and the Criminal by CA Mitchell 1911

Crimes of Preachers in the United States and Canada by ME Billings 1914

Beasts in Cassocks - the Crimes of the Heads of the Russian Greek Catholic Orthodox Church in America by John F Dudikoff

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 1 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 2 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 3 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 4 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 5 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 6 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 7 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 8 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 9 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 10 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The History and Romance of Crime from the Earliest Time to the Present Day, Volume 11 by Arthur Griffiths 1900

The Crowd, A Study of the Popular Mind by Gustave LeBon (One of the greatest and most influential books of social psychology ever written, brilliantly instructive on the general characteristics and mental unity of a crowd, its sentiments and morality, ideas, reasoning power, imagination, opinions and much more. A must-read volume  for students of history, sociology, law and psychology. Featured liberally in Ann Coulter's new book _Demonic_)

Professional criminals of America by Thomas Byrnes 1886 (Methods of Professional Criminals of America, Bank Burglars, Bank Sneak Thieves, Forgers, Hotel and Boarding-House Thieves, Sneak and House Thieves, Store and Safe Burglars, Shoplifters and Pickpockets, Confidence and Banco Men, Recelvers of Stolen Goods, Tricks of Sawdust Men, Frauds in Horse Sales, Why Thieves are Photographed, Descriptions and Records of Professional Criminals, Several Notable Forgers, International Forgers - Secret History of the Wilkes, Hamilton, Becker, Engles Gang of Forgers - Their Chief's Confession, Other Noted Criminals, Bank Robberies, Miscellaneous Robberies, Mysterious Murders, Executions in the Tombs Prison)

Professional thieves and the detective by Allen Pinkerton 1883

Studies of French criminals of the Nineteenth Century by HB Irving 1901

The Monks of Monk Hall by George Lippard 1876 (Murder - Seduction- Corruption- Insanity- Secret societies- Graverobbing- Loosely based on the real-life trial of Singleton Mercer, who murdered Mahlon Heberton. Lippard's novel is classic 19th-century sensational fiction.)

Unfinished Man - a Scientific Analysis of the Psychopath or Human Degenerate by Albert Wilson 1910

Lives of Twelve Bad Men - original studies of Eminent Scoundrels by Thomas Seccombe 1894

Mysteries of Police and Crime, Volume 1 by Arthur Griffiths 1899

Mysteries of Police and Crime, Volume 2 by Arthur Griffiths 1899

Trial of Franz Muller 1911 (Franz Müller (31 October 1840 - 14 November 1864), was a German tailor who hanged for the murder of Thomas Briggs, the first killing on a British train)

Famous Irish trials by M.M. Bodkin 1918

Studies in Forensic Psychiatry by Bernard Glueck 1916

Memories of Famous Trials by Evelyn Henry Villebois Burnaby 1907

Famous Trials of the Century by James Beresford Atlay 1899

Famous Kentucky Tragedies and Trials by Lewis F Johnson 1916

Some Distinguished Victims of the Scaffold by Horace Bleackley 1905

The Chronicles of Newgate (Chronicles of Crime), Volume 1 by Arthur Griffith 1884

The Chronicles of Newgate (Chronicles of Crime), Volume 2 by Arthur Griffith 1884

Clever Criminals by John Lang 1871

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Survivors' tales of famous crimes by Walter Wood 1916

Celebrated Crimes, Volume 1 by Alexandre Dumas 1896

Celebrated Crimes, Volume 2 by Alexandre Dumas 1896

Celebrated Crimes, Volume 3 by Alexandre Dumas 1896

Famous Cases of Circumstantial Evidence by S.M. Phillipps 1879

Warped in the Making - Crimes of Love and Hate by Harry Ashton-Wolfe 1920

Criminal Sociology by Enrico Ferri 1900

History of a crime by Victor Hugo 1920

A History of Crime in England, Volume 1 by Luke Owen Pike 1873

A History of Crime in England, Volume 2 by Luke Owen Pike 1873

London's Underworld by Thomas Holmes 1912

Criminology, crimes and criminals by JW Slayton 1910

Criminology by Maurice Parmelee 1918

Life and bloody career of the executed criminal, James Copeland, the great Southern land pirate by J.R.S. Pitts 1874

From Cain to Capone by John McConaughy

Frauds of America - Beware of shams, how they are worked and how to foil them - the tricks and methods of all kinds of frauds and swindlers, from the petty sneak-theif to the cleverest schemes of the expert bank robber, fully exposed for the protection of the American public by EG Redmond 1902

Last studies in Criminology by Henry Irving 1921

List of Works Relating to Criminology 1911

Notes on duels and duelling by L Sabine 1855

The History of Duelling, Volume 1 by JG Millingen 1841

The History of Duelling, Volume 2 by JG Millingen 1841

Lives and Exploits of English highwaymen, pirates, and robbers by Charles Whitehead 1883

Lives and exploits of the most noted highwaymen, robbers and murderers by Charles Whitehead 1847

The Story of Crime from the cradle to the grave by HL Adam 1907

Ames on Forgery: Its Detection and Illustration by Daniel T. Ames 1900

A Famous Forgery - being the story of "the unfortunate" Doctor Dodd by Percy H Fitzgerald 1865

The Gentle Art of Faking - a history of the methods of producing imitations & spurious works of art from the earliest times up to the present day by Riccardo Nobili 1922

Forging his chains. The Autobiography of George Bidwell with the story of his connection with the so-called 1,000,000 forgery on the Bank of England, and a complete account of his arrest, trial, conviction, and confinement for fourteen years in English prisons. With numerous illustrations 1888

The Outlaws - a story of the building of the West by Le Roy Armstrong 1902

The Border Bandits - an authentic and thrilling history of the noted outlaws, Jesse and Frank James, and their bands of highwaymen compiled from reliable sources only and containing the latest facts in regard to these desperate freebooters by James W Buel 1881

The Cash Family of South Carolina - a Truthful Account of the many crimes committed by the Carolina cavalier outlaws by SW Henley 1884

Stories from Scotland Yard by Maurice Moser 1890

Cleek of Scotland Yard (Detective Stories) by Thomas W. Hanshew 1914

The Brighton Murder: An Authentic & Faithful History of the Atrocious Murder of Celia Holloway by Charles Hindley 1875

Life, Crimes, and Confession of Bridget Durgan, The Fiendish Murderess of Mrs. Coriel Whom she Butchered 1867

Fall River - an authentic narrative by CR Williams 1834 (An account of the circumstances leading to the trial of the Rev. Ephraim Avery for the murder of Sarah Cornell in Fall River in December 1832)

Life and confession of Stephen Dee Richards, the murderer of nine persons 1879

The most extraordinary trial of William Palmer 1857 (William Palmer (6 August 1824 – 14 June 1856), also known as the Rugeley Poisoner or the Prince of Poisoners, was an English doctor found guilty of murder in one of the most notorious cases of the 19th century. He was convicted for the 1855 murder of his friend John Cook, and was executed in public by hanging the following year. He had poisoned Cook with strychnine, and was suspected of poisoning several other people including his brother and his mother-in-law, as well as four of his children who died of "convulsions" before their first birthdays. Palmer made large sums of money from the deaths of his wife and brother after collecting on life insurance, and by defrauding his wealthy mother out of thousands of pounds, all of which he lost through gambling on horses.)

The Greatest Burglary on Record: Robbery of the Northampton National Bank 1876

The Original Sherlock Holmes, article in Colliers magazine 1904 (about Dr Joseph Bell, Arthur Conan Doyle's mentor)

A Day with Dr Conan Doyle, article in the Strand Magazine 1892

Murder as a Fine Art by Thomas de Quincy

Criminal Investigation, a practical handbook for magistrates, police officers and lawyers by Hans Gross 1906 (Hans Gross was an Austrian criminal jurist and an examining magistrate. He is believed to be the creator of the field of criminalistics and is to this day seen as the father of Criminal Investigation)

Criminal Psychology by Hans Gross 1911

Modern Theories of Criminality by Constancio Bernaldo de Quiros 1911

Anatomical Studies upon brains of criminals by Moriz Benedikt 1881

The Criminal - a Scientific Study by August Drahms 1900

The Criminal by Havelock Ellis 1890

The Psychology of the Criminal by M.H. Smith 1922

The Criminal Mind by Maurice de Fleury 1900

On the Witness Stand - essays on psychology and crime by Munsterberg Hugo 1909 (Illusions. The memory of the witness. The detection of crime. The traces of emotions. Untrue confessions. Suggestions in court. Hypnotism and crime)

The Origin of Finger-printing by William James Herschel 1916

The Technique of the Mystery Story by Carolyn Wells 1913

Finger Prints by Francis Galton 1892

Famous Detective Stories by Joseph Walker McSpadden 1920

The History of the Last Trial by Jury for Atheism in England by George Jacob Holyoake 1850

History of Trial by Jury by William Forsyth 1850

A brief on the modes of proving the facts most frequently in issue or collaterally in question on the trial of civil or criminal cases by Austin Abbott 1912

Celebrated Trials by Henry Lauren Clinton - 1897

The Criminal Imbecile - an analysis of three remarkable murder cases by Henry H Goddard 1915

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