Most Notorious! A True Crime History Podcast

October 8th, 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the Great Chicago Fire, the legendary disaster that destroyed a third of Chicago and made 90,000 residents homeless. While Mrs. O'Leary and her cow are usually portrayed as the culprits behind the catastrophic blaze, my guest, Carl Smith, doesn't believe history has treated her fairly.Professor Smith is the author of "Chicago’s Great Fire: The Destruction and Resurrection of an Iconic American City", and he shares on this episode of Most Notorious the fascinating details of the fire, including how it might have begun, how mistakes prevented the fire department from getting to it sooner, the devastation it left in its wake, and how the city ultimately overcame the fire's destruction to build anew. More about the author and his work:https://groveatlantic.com/book/chicagos-great-fire-2/https://carlsmith.northwestern.edu/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back again to the Hundred Years War in this episode of Most Notorious - this time in England. Sir William Cantilupe, a battle-hardened knight who had recently been acquitted of murdering his brother Nicholas, was discovered dead in a lonely field in May of 1375, in what appeared to be a staged crime scene. And it was his wife Maude and their household staff whom authorities would soon accuse of committing the horrific deed. My guest is Melissa Julian-Jones, author of "Murder During the Hundred Year War: The Curious Case of William Cantilupe". She talks about the dark and dramatic family tale, and offers some theories on why William Cantilupe might have been targeted for murder. Her blog: https://melissajulianjones.wordpress.com/Her book https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/Murder-During-the-Hundred-Years-War-Hardback/p/18027Her class: Romancing the Gothic: https://romancingthegothic.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On November 1st, 1843, a dejected servant named Amelia Norman followed her former beau Henry Ballard to the steps of the Astor House Hotel in New York City. There she stabbed him with a folding knife, barely missing his heart. The city's newspapers and moral reformers quickly embraced Miss Norman's cause, seeing it as an opportunity to change seduction laws and expand workers' rights. My guest, Julie Miller, is author of "Cry of Murder on Broadway: A Woman's Ruin and Revenge in Old New York". She offers insight into this sensational crime and its impact on the early days of the women's movement in the United States. More information about her book can be found here: https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/https://www.amazon.com/Cry-Murder-Broadway-Womans-Revenge/dp/B08K1PXBDX/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1631880970&sr=8-2https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501751486/cry-of-murder-on-broadway/#bookTabs=1 George Washington's papers: https://www.loc.gov/collections/george-washington-papers/about-this-collection/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In November of 1407, Louis I, The Duke of Orleans and brother of France's "Mad" King Charles VI, is murdered on a street near his home in Medieval Paris. A police investigation ensues, surprisingly as thorough and detailed as any modern day crime investigation. My guest, Eric Jager, is the author of "Blood Royal: A True Tale of Crime and Detection in Medieval Paris". Not only does he share details from his book, but he also talks about the upcoming film "The Last Duel", starring Matt Damon and Adam Driver, based on his book "The Last Duel: A True Story of Crime, Scandal, and Trial by Combat". If the title sounds familiar, it might be because he joined me to talk about the story a couple of years ago. Listen once more to Most Notorious's The Last Duel episode with Eric Jager: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-last-duel-w-eric-jager-a-true-crime-history-podcast/id1055044256?i=1000437735258&l=svWatch "The Last Duel" Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgygUwPJvYkMore about Eric Jager here: https://english.ucla.edu/people-faculty/jager-eric/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On April 24th, 1891, a Bowery prostitute named Carrie Brown (known locally as "Old Shakespeare") was found murdered and mutilated in the seedy East River Hotel. With the Jack the Ripper murders unsolved and still news, many believed that the notorious killer had traveled across the Atlantic to continue his bloody work in the United States - and this was his first victim.My guest is George R. Dekle Sr., former Florida prosecutor and author of the new book "The East River Ripper: The Mysterious 1891 Murder of Old Shakespeare". He talks about this sensational case, including the arrest and trial of the enigmatic Ameer Ben Ali, better known as "Frenchy", and offers his thoughts on who really murdered Carrie Brown.More about the author and his work can be found here: https://www.bobdeklebooks.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On March 25, 1935, little George Weyerhaueser, heir to one of the biggest fortunes in America, was kidnapped on his way home from school in Tacoma, Washington. His abductors would keep him manacled in a pit in the middle of the forest as they negotiated a $200,000 ransom with his frantic family. What soon followed would be the largest manhunt in the history of the Pacific Northwest. My guest is Bryant Johnston, author of "Deep in the Woods: The 1935 Kidnapping of Nine-Year-Old George Weyerhaeuser, Heir to America's Mightiest Timber Dynasty." More information can be found on his website: https://www.bryanrjohnston.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the spring of 1853 the ill-fated William and Mary, an American sailing ship captained by the incompetent Timothy Stinson, departed from England carrying over 200 Dutch, Scotch, Irish and English emigrants, all bound for New Orleans. The voyage was an absolute disaster, replete with illness, bad weather, starvation, a shipwreck, and ultimately the captain's betrayal - in the form of an attempted mass murder. My guest, Gill Hoffs is an expert on Victorian-era shipwrecks, and she shares details from her book, "The Lost Story of the William and Mary: The Cowardice of Captain Stinson".She can be found on Twitter @GillHoffs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do you have a criminal from your family's past that you've always wanted to learn more about, but don't know where to start? On this special episode of Most Notorious, prolific British author Stephen Wade offers helpful tips on how to maneuver through what can be both a daunting and thrilling experience - digging up sordid details of long-lost villainous ancestors. His book is called "Tracing Your Criminal Ancestors: A Guide for Family Historians", and more information about him and his work can be found here: https://stephen-wade.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Of all of the Jack the Ripper suspects, Montague Druitt is the most maligned in modern times, my guests argue, despite the fact that many of his contemporaries believed him to be the murderer of the Canonical Five before drowning himself in the Thames. Jonathan Hainsworth and Christine Ward-Agius are the authors of "The Escape of Jack the Ripper: The Full Truth About the Cover-up and His Flight from Justice", and they make their case, on this week's episode of Most Notorious, that Montague Druitt was indeed Jack the Ripper. More information about their book can be found here: https://hainsworthwardagius.com/buy/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Cherry Mine in Cherry, Illinois was built to be one of the safest in the United States. However on November 13th, 1909, it caught fire, killing 259 boys and men who were trapped inside, hundreds of feet below ground. A few miners eventually escaped - and later told the tale of their experiences battling darkness, thirst, fire and the ominous "Black Damp". My guest, bestselling author Karen Tintori, whose grandfather who escaped death that day, shares details of this heartbreaking tragedy. Her book is called "Trapped: The Story of the Cherry Mine Disaster". Additional information about Karen and all of her books can be found at her website, here: https://karentintori.com/Become a Most Notorious patron: https://www.patreon.com/mostnotoriousMost Notorious website: https://www.mostnotorious.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices