Jack the Ripper Map

1888 Map of Whitechapel & Spitalfields

Severyn Antoniovich Klosowski

Jack the Ripper Suspect – Severyn Klosowski

a.k.a. George Chapman.

Is this the same Severyn Klosowski who is listed in the 1891 London Census as living at 2 Tewkesbury Buildings, Whitechapel?

According to the census, he is aged 26, a hairdresser, born Russian, in Poland and living with his 21 year old wife Luey, who is German, born in Posen.

Severyn Klosowski, in the 1891 London Census

There are several variations of the spelling of Klosowski’s name: Seweryn, Severin, or Severyn Antoniovich, or Antonowicz, Klosowski

Klosowski was born in Poland, but emigrated to the United Kingdom sometime between 1887 and 1888, shortly before the start of the murders. Between 1893 and 1894 he assumed the name of Chapman.

He poisoned three of his wives, and was hanged for his crimes in 1903.

At the time of the Whitechapel murders, he lived in Whitechapel, London, where he had been working as a barber.

According to H. L. Adam, who wrote a book on the poisonings in 1930, Chapman was Inspector Frederick Abberline’s favoured suspect, and the Pall Mall Gazette reported that Abberline suspected Chapman after his conviction.

However, many Ripperologists disagree that Chapman is a likely suspect, as he murdered his wives with poison, and it is uncommon (though not unheard of) for a serial killer to change his modus operandi in this way.

Conclusion: It is highly unlikely that Seweryn Antonowicz Klosowski a.k.a. George Chapman, was Jack the Ripper.

By Geoff Cooper

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