Chief Inspector Donald Sutherland Swanson (12 August 1848 - 24 November 1924) was born at Geise, where his father operated a distillery, before the family moved in 1851 to

Thurso Thurso (pronounced ; sco, Thursa, gd, Inbhir Theòrsa ) is a town and former burgh on the north coast of the Highland council area of Scotland. Situated in the historical County of Caithness, it is the northernmost town on the island of Great ...

, and was a senior police officer in the

Metropolitan Police The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

during the notorious

Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper was an unidentified serial killer active in and around the impoverished Whitechapel district of London, England, in the autumn of 1888. In both criminal case files and the contemporaneous journalistic accounts, the killer wa ...

murders of 1888.

Early life

The son of John Swanson, a

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

, Swanson was a good scholar and on leaving school he worked for a period as a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

, but realising that that career offered him few prospects, he decided instead to move to London, where two of his sisters had settled after marriage, and in 1867 found work as a City clerk. When his employer decided to retire from business early the following year Swanson spotted an advertisement in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' by the

appealing for new applicants.

Police career

Swanson joined the Metropolitan Police on 27 April 1868, and was given the warrant number 50282. He married his wife Julia Ann Nevill (born in Hoxton in 1854 to a

licensed victualler A landlord is the owner of a house, apartment, condominium, land, or real estate which is rented or leased to an individual or business, who is called a tenant (also a ''lessee'' or ''renter''). When a juristic person is in this position, the te ...

) on 23 May 1878 at

All Saints Church, West Ham All Saints Church is a parish church in West Ham, an area in east London. It has been a Grade I listed building since 1984. History Medieval and Tudor In the medieval era the church's parish included all of West Ham, with the one exception of th ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. By November 1887 Swanson was

Chief Inspector Chief inspector (Ch Insp) is a rank used in police forces which follow the British model. In countries outside Britain, it is sometimes referred to as chief inspector of police (CIP). Usage by country Australia The rank of chief inspector is use ...

of the

CID CID may refer to: Film * ''C.I.D.'' (1955 film), an Indian Malayalam film * ''C.I.D.'' (1956 film), an Indian Hindi film * ''C. I. D.'' (1965 film), an Indian Telugu film * ''C.I.D.'' (1990 film), an Indian Hindi film Television * ''CID'' ( ...

in the Commissioner's Office at

Scotland Yard Scotland Yard (officially New Scotland Yard) is the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, the territorial police force responsible for policing Greater London's 32 boroughs, but not the City of London, the square mile that forms London's ...

. He was promoted to

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

in 1896. Swanson was involved in preventing

Fenian The word ''Fenian'' () served as an umbrella term for the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB) and their affiliate in the United States, the Fenian Brotherhood, secret political organisations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries dedicated ...

terrorist attacks in London during the 1880s. Other cases he was involved in include recovering the stolen jewels of the

Earl of Bective Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

's wife and the stolen ''

Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire ''Portrait of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire'' is a portrait painting by the English painter Thomas Gainsborough of the political hostess Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire. It was painted between 1785 and 1787. Background During he ...

'' by

Thomas Gainsborough Thomas Gainsborough (14 May 1727 (baptised) – 2 August 1788) was an English portrait and landscape painter, draughtsman, and printmaker. Along with his rival Sir Joshua Reynolds, he is considered one of the most important British artists of ...

, as well as acting against '

rent boys Male prostitution is the act or practice of men providing sexual services in return for payment. It is a form of sex work. Although clients can be of any gender, the vast majority are older males looking to fulfill their sexual needs. Male pro ...

blackmail Blackmail is an act of coercion using the threat of revealing or publicizing either substantially true or false information about a person or people unless certain demands are met. It is often damaging information, and it may be revealed to fa ...

ing

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

s in 1897, and in preventing the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched Raid (military), raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the emplo ...

from starting a war in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. He arrested

Percy Lefroy Mapleton Percy Lefroy Mapleton (also known as Percy Mapleton Lefroy; 23 February 1860 – 29 November 1881) was a British journalist and murderer. He was the British "railway murderer" of 1881. He is important in the history of forensics and policing a ...

, the

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

murderer, in 1881. He retired in 1903. Swanson died on 24 November 1924 at 3 Presburg Road,

New Malden New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

, where his wife also died eleven years later. They were both buried at Kingston Cemetery.

Jack the Ripper

On 15 September 1888 Commissioner

Sir Charles Warren General Sir Charles Warren, (7 February 1840 – 21 January 1927) was an officer in the British Royal Engineers. He was one of the earliest European archaeologists of the Biblical Holy Land, and particularly of the Temple Mount. Much of his mi ...

issued a memorandum to Dr. Robert Anderson, Assistant Commissioner of the

and Chief of the

Criminal Investigation Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

(CID), placing Swanson in overall charge of the investigation into the murder of

Annie Chapman Annie Chapman (born Eliza Ann Smith; 25 September 1840 – 8 September 1888) was the second Jack the Ripper#Canonical five, canonical victim of the notorious unidentified serial killer Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilation, mutilated a min ...

Hanbury Street Hanbury Street is a street running from Spitalfields to Whitechapel, London Borough of Tower Hamlets, in the East End of London. It runs east from Commercial Street to the junction of Old Montague Street and Vallance Road at the east end. The e ...

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

. Swanson was freed from all other duties and given his own office at Scotland Yard from which to co-ordinate inquiries. He was given permission to see "every paper, every document, every report ndevery telegram" concerning the investigation. As subsequent murders were committed in the Whitechapel Murders series Swanson remained ‘in situ’ - gaining a mass of knowledge and information about the killings.

The 'Swanson Marginalia'

Although he declined to write his own memoirs following his retirement, Swanson did collect a small number of published reminiscences by his contemporaries. Among these were two books by his former superior, Dr. Robert Anderson, the Assistant Commissioner of Police - ''Criminals and Crime'' (1906) and ''The Lighter Side of My Official Life (''1910). In the latter Swanson wrote pencilled notes, or annotations, which were discovered by his grandson, James Swanson, in 1981. In these notes Swanson names a "Kosminski" (widely thought to be

Aaron Kosminski Aaron Kosminski (born Aron Mordke Kozmiński; 11 September 1865 – 24 March 1919) was a Polish barber and hairdresser, and suspect in the Jack the Ripper case. Kosminski was a Polish Jew who emigrated from Congress Poland to England in the 18 ...

) as the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

that Anderson had hinted at in his book as being a suspect. Anderson wrote that the only person to get a close look at Jack the Ripper identified him "the moment he was confronted with him" but refused to testify. Swanson clarified this by writing -

"...because the suspect was also a Jew and also because his evidence would convict the suspect, and witness would be the means of murderer being hanged which he did not wish to be left on his mind...And after this identification which suspect knew, no other murder of this kind took place in London...after the suspect had been identified at the Seaside Home where he had been sent by us with difficulty in order to subject him to identification, and he knew he was identified. On suspect's return to his brother's house in Whitechapel he was watched by police (City CID) by day & night. In a very short time the suspect with his hands tied behind his back, he was sent to
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

Workhouse In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
and then to
Colney Hatch Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern ...
and died shortly afterwards - Kosminski was the suspect - DSS"

While it is true that Aaron Kosminski lived with his brother in Whitechapel, and that he was an inmate at

Colney Hatch Colney Hatch () is the historical name for a small district within the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Colney Hatch refers to a loosely defined area centred on the northern end of Colney Hatch Lane (B550), which connects Friern ...

, he in fact did not die shortly after being transferred there, as Swanson states; in fact, Kosminski died in 1919, and therefore was still alive when Swanson probably wrote his annotations. Nor is it likely that an identified and homicidal criminal would have been simply and quietly released into his brother's care. Also, by stating that after Kosminski's identification as the Whitechapel Murderer "no other murder of this kind took place in London" Swanson overlooks the series of Ripper-like killings that took place after Kosminski's incarceration, including that of

Frances Coles The Whitechapel murders were committed in or near the largely Poverty, impoverished Whitechapel District (Metropolis), Whitechapel district in the East End of London between 3 April 1888 and 13 February 1891. At various points some or all of th ...

in February 1891, only six days after Kosminski had been admitted to Colney Hatch, possibly inferring that he did not accept those murders as being by the same hand. The identity of the Jewish witness is in doubt. As far as is known, there were two,

Israel Schwartz Israel Schwartz was a man who, in 1888, claimed to have witnessed an assault on a London woman that is believed to be tied to the Jack the Ripper slayings and one of the few people who might have had a good look at the murderer. Though he was des ...

and

Joseph Lawende Joseph Lawende (9 February 1847 – 9 January 1925) was a Polish-born British cigarette salesman, who is, with Israel Schwartz, among the most discussed of witnesses in the series of murders committed by Jack the Ripper in and around the Whitecha ...

. Schwartz saw the third victim

Elizabeth Stride Elizabeth "Long Liz" Stride ( Gustafsdotter; 27 November 1843 – 30 September 1888) is believed to have been the third victim of the unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who killed and mutilated at least five women in the Whitecha ...

being attacked at the place where fifteen minutes later her body was found, but he ran off when the attacker called out "Lipski", an

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

taunt of the time.

Israel Lipski Israel Lipski (born Israel Lobulsk; 1865 – 22 August 1887) was a convicted murderer of Polish-Jewish descent living in the East End of London. Lipski worked as an umbrella stick salesman, employing Harry Schmuss and Henry Rosenbloom. The serie ...

was a Jewish murderer who had been hanged in 1887 and some

Gentile Gentile () is a word that usually means "someone who is not a Jew". Other groups that claim Israelite heritage, notably Mormons, sometimes use the term ''gentile'' to describe outsiders. More rarely, the term is generally used as a synonym for ...

s had taken to insulting Jews by shouting his name at them. The implication, perhaps erroneous, is that Stride's attacker was an antisemitic Gentile and therefore not Kosminski. Lawende saw a man and woman together near Mitre Square, Aldgate, a few minutes before the fourth victim

Catherine Eddowes Catherine Eddowes (14 April 1842 – 30 September 1888) was the fourth of the canonical five victims of the notorious unidentified serial killer known as Jack the Ripper, who is believed to have killed and mutilated a minimum of five women in ...

was found there but told Swanson that he was doubtful he would recognise the man if he saw him again. "Kosminski" is also mentioned in Sir Melville Macnaghten's

Memoranda A memorandum ( : memoranda; abbr: memo; from the Latin ''memorandum'', "(that) which is to be remembered") is a written message that is typically used in a professional setting. Commonly abbreviated "memo," these messages are usually brief and ...

in a list of three individuals who were suspected of being the Ripper. Macnaghten, however, thought that

Montague Druitt Montague John Druitt (15 August 1857 – early December 1888)His body was discovered on 31 December 1888 about a month after his death. A train ticket dated 1 December was found in his pocket. His gravestone reads 4 December 1888; his death ...

was more likely to be the killer, and he did not mention anything about any alleged identification of Kosminski that had been withdrawn by a witness. That was strange because Macnaghten was an Assistant Chief Constable in the

and Anderson was in charge of that department. Aaron Kosminski was sent to

Colney Hatch Asylum Friern Hospital (formerly Colney Hatch Lunatic Asylum) was a psychiatric hospital in the parish of Friern Barnet close to a crossroads which had a hamlet (place), hamlet known as Colney Hatch. In 1965, it became part of the London Borough of B ...

, via the Mile End Old Town asylum, in February 1891, and we may suppose that the identification at the "seaside home" took place a little earlier, perhaps in January of that year. Macnaghten went to

in 1889 and so would have been there when the identification took place, if it did indeed involve Aaron Kosminski. Quite obviously he was not told about it and, if Anderson was confident that Kosminski had been the Ripper, he would have thought that there was no reason for Macnaghten to compile his memorandum, speculating about the Ripper's identity. Of the three men suspected at the time of the murders, Macnaghten thought Druitt was the most likely but in 1972, two years before she died, Macnaghten's daughter Christabel, Lady Aberconway, told her friend Michael Thornton that in nominating Druitt her father was "only following the official line. The truth could make the throne totter." Thornton reported this in the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'' in 1992.'Jack the Ripper - The Theories and the Facts - by Colin Kendell. Pub. by Amberley Publishing (2010)

References

External links