Donald Bell (1937–2003) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

journalist, who won the

Stephen Leacock Award The Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, also known as the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour or just the Leacock Medal, is an annual literary award presented for the best book of humour written in English by a Canadians, Canadian writer, publis ...

in 1973 for his book ''Saturday Night at the Bagel Factory''."Bell Receives Award for Most Humorous Book". '' Brandon Sun'', June 25, 1973. The book has also been credited with helping to make the

bagel A bagel ( yi, בײגל, translit=beygl; pl, bajgiel; also spelled beigel) is a bread roll originating in the Jewish communities of Poland. It is traditionally shaped by hand into a roughly hand-sized ring from yeasted wheat dough that is first ...

a staple of Montreal's food culture beyond the city's Jewish community alone. Based in Montreal, Bell was a columnist for ''

Books in Canada ''Books in Canada'' was a monthly magazine that reviewed Canadian literature, published in print form between 1971 and 2008. In its heyday it was the most influential literary magazine in Canada. Foundation One of the co-founders of ''Books in Ca ...

'' and a contributor to various newspapers and magazines. He was an early popularizer of the theory that

Thomas Neill Cream Thomas Neill Cream (27 May 1850 – 15 November 1892), also known as the Lambeth Poisoner, was a Scottish-Canadian medical doctor and serial killer who poisoned his victims with strychnine. Over the course of his career, he murdered up to ...

, a Canadian medical doctor, was the real Jack the Ripper, through pieces published in both '' The Criminologist'' and the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

''."Gruesome twosome: Jack The Ripper: The Bloody Truth by Melvin Harris and Jack: A Novel About Jack The Ripper by Chris Scott". ''

'', October 1, 1988.

References

1937 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian newspaper journalists Canadian male journalists Historians of Jack the Ripper Writers from Montreal Canadian humorists Stephen Leacock Award winners {{Canada-writer-stub