Births on October 15

S. S. Van Dine

Born on October 15, 1888

S. S. Van Dine, American author and critic (d. 1939)

S. S. Van Dine (also styled S.S. Van Dine) is the pseudonym used by American art critic Willard Huntington Wright (October 15, 1888 – April 11, 1939) when he wrote detective novels. Wright was an important figure in avant-garde cultural circles in pre-World War I New York, and under the pseudonym (which he originally used to conceal his identity) he created the immensely popular fictional detective Philo Vance, a sleuth and aesthete who first appeared in books in the 1920s, then in films and on the radio.

References

S. S. Van Dine

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Events on 1888

16 May

Electric power transmission
Nikola Tesla delivers a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.
31 Aug

Jack the Ripper
Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.
4 Sep

Kodak
George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
8 Sep

Annie Chapman
In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
30 Sep

Elizabeth Stride
Jack the Ripper kills his third and fourth victims, Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes.

Births on October 15

S. S. Van Dine

Born on October 15, 1888

References

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Events on 1888

Electric power transmission

Jack the Ripper

Kodak

Annie Chapman

Elizabeth Stride