In 1902, American author Jack London, looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis's seminal book How the Other Half Lives, donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss.
Riis had recently documented the astoundingly bad conditions in large swaths of the leading city of the United States.

The Siege of Sidney Street in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces and Latvian revolutionaries.
Then Home Secretary Winston Churchill took over the operation where his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time.
His biographers disagreed and said he gave no operational commands to the police, but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions".

The Freedom Press, a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in the leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism.
He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety.
The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitive work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw, whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Lenin, led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia.
The area is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by Charlotte Wilson.

In Sunday 4 October 1936, the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley clashed in the East End including a part of southern Whitechapel on Cable Street with various anti-fascist demonstrators, including local Jewish, Irish, socialist, anarchist and communist groups during the Battle of Cable Street where Mosley planned to send thousands of marchers dressed in uniforms styled on those of Blackshirts through the East End, which then had a large Jewish population.

Whitechapel remained poor (and colourful) through the first half of the 20th century, though somewhat less desperately so.
It suffered great damage in the Blitz and from the German V-weapon attacks of World War II.
Since then, Whitechapel has lost most of its notoriety.

Altab Ali was murdered by three teenagers on 4 May 1978 in a racist attack at St Mary's Gardens by St Mary's Churchyard as he walked home after work.
The reaction to his murder provoked the mass mobilisation of the Bengali community locally and came to represent the self-organisation of the community.
The gardens of the churchyard were later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory.
In 1902, American author Jack London, looking to write a counterpart to Jacob Riis's seminal book How the Other Half Lives, donned ragged clothes and boarded in Whitechapel, detailing his experiences in The People of the Abyss. Riis had recently documented the astoundingly bad conditions in large swaths of the leading city of the United States.
The Siege of Sidney Street in January 1911 was a gunfight between police and military forces and Latvian revolutionaries. Then Home Secretary Winston Churchill took over the operation where his presence caused a political row over the level of his involvement during the time. His biographers disagreed and said he gave no operational commands to the police, but a Metropolitan Police account states that the events of Sidney Street were "a very rare case of a Home Secretary taking police operational command decisions".
The Freedom Press, a socialist publishing house, thought it worthwhile to explore conditions in the leading city of the nation that had invented modern capitalism. He concluded that English poverty was far rougher than the American variety. The juxtaposition of the poverty, homelessness, exploitive work conditions, prostitution, and infant mortality of Whitechapel and other East End locales with some of the greatest personal wealth the world has ever seen made it a focal point for leftist reformers and revolutionaries of all kinds, from George Bernard Shaw, whose Fabian Society met regularly in Whitechapel, to Vladimir Lenin, led rallies in Whitechapel during his exile from Russia. The area is still home to Freedom Press, the anarchist publishing house founded by Charlotte Wilson.
In Sunday 4 October 1936, the British Union of Fascists led by Oswald Mosley clashed in the East End including a part of southern Whitechapel on Cable Street with various anti-fascist demonstrators, including local Jewish, Irish, socialist, anarchist and communist groups during the Battle of Cable Street where Mosley planned to send thousands of marchers dressed in uniforms styled on those of Blackshirts through the East End, which then had a large Jewish population.
Whitechapel remained poor (and colourful) through the first half of the 20th century, though somewhat less desperately so. It suffered great damage in the Blitz and from the German V-weapon attacks of World War II. Since then, Whitechapel has lost most of its notoriety.
Altab Ali was murdered by three teenagers on 4 May 1978 in a racist attack at St Mary's Gardens by St Mary's Churchyard as he walked home after work. The reaction to his murder provoked the mass mobilisation of the Bengali community locally and came to represent the self-organisation of the community. The gardens of the churchyard were later renamed Altab Ali Park in his memory.
Whitechapel