William Broadbent

Sir William Henry Broadbent, 1st Baronet KCVO FRS FRCP (23 January 1835 – 10 July 1907[1]) was an English neurologist who was a leading British authority in the field of cardiology and neurology.

He was the eldest of seven children born to John Broadbent, a wool manufacturer and prominent Wesleyan, and Esther (née Butterworth).

[6][2] The months of November 1891 to October 1892 were critically important to Broadbent and his career, and gave him a narrow involvement in a notorious series of crimes.

At about the same time that he was involved in this he was sent a mysterious letter accusing him of murdering a prostitute named Matilda Clover the previous October with poison.

In January 1892, he was sent for by the Royal Family in an attempt to save Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale, the older son of the Prince and Princess of Wales and "heir presumptive" to the throne of England.

[citation needed] Then, in the late spring, Broadbent was informed of a police investigation into the deaths of a series of prostitutes in the Stepney and Lambeth areas of London that began in October 1891 and continued until April 1892.

One of the victims was Matilda Clover, who had been classified as having died of natural causes, but the letter from the blackmailer to Broadbent gave details showing the woman had been poisoned.

[citation needed] An arrest was made in June 1892 of Dr Thomas Neill Cream for blackmailing another physician named Harper.