Diary of Jack the Ripper

James Maybrick (25 October 1838 – 11 May 1889) was a Liverpool cotton merchant. After his death, his wife, Florence Maybrick, was convicted of his murder by poisoning in a sensational trial. The "Aigburth Poisoning" case was widely reported in the press on both sides of the Atlantic.

More than a century after his death, Maybrick was accused of being the notorious serial killer Jack the Ripper, but critics countered that the evidence offered for this, a diary said to have been written by him, was a hoax. Forensic tests were inconclusive.

Maybrick was born in Liverpool, Merseyside, the son of William Maybrick, an engineer, and his wife, Susanna. He was christened on 12 November 1838, at St Peter's Church in the city. He was named after a brother who had died the year before and was the Maybricks' third of seven sons.

Maybrick's cotton trading business required him to travel regularly to the United States and in 1871 he settled in Norfolk, Virginia, to establish a branch office of his company. While there in 1874 he contracted malaria, which was then treated with a medication containing arsenic and the result was that he became addicted to the drug for the rest of his life. In 1880, Maybrick returned to the company's offices in Britain. Sailing from New York on 12 March 1880, he arrived in Liverpool six days later. During the journey he was introduced to Florence (Florie) Elizabeth Chandler, the daughter of a banker from Mobile, Alabama, and their relationship quickly blossomed. Despite the difference in their ages – he was 42 to her 18 – they began to plan their wedding immediately.

The wedding was delayed until 27 July 1881, when it took place at St James' Church, Piccadilly, London. The couple returned to Liverpool to live at Maybrick's home, "Battlecrease House" in Aigburth, a suburb in the south of the city.

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