Jacques Futrelle

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Jacques Futrelle

Jacques Futrelle (born April 9, 1875 in Pike County as John Heath Futrell , Georgia , † April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic when the Titanic sank ) was an American writer . His best-known works are the short stories about the thinking machine , Professor Augustus SFX van Dusen , which are best known in Germany in the form of Michael Koser's radio plays .

Life

Jacques Futrelle was born on April 9, 1875, the son of college teacher Wiley Harmon Heath Futrell (1847-1918) and his wife Linnie (née Bevill). The family came from immigrant French Huguenots .

Futrelle initially worked as a journalist for the sports section of the Atlanta Journal and later for the New York Herald , the Boston Post and the Boston American . In 1902 he became manager of a small theater in Richmond, Virginia , where he began to write plays and also starred in several performances himself. In 1905 the first case of the thinking machine was published in the Boston American , in the form of the story The Safest Prison in the World (Original: The Problem of Cell 13 ), printed as a sequel . On July 17, 1895 Futrelle married the American writer Lily May Peel (1876-1967). The marriage resulted in two children: Virginia Futrell Raymond (born November 8, 1896; † 1981) and John Peel Futrell (born November 20, 1898; † 1979).

After he was employed by Boston American until 1906 , Futrelle left journalism to concentrate on his work as a writer. Until his untimely death in 1912, he spent most of his time in a house in Scituate, Massachusetts , which he called the Stepping Stones.

On the night of April 9-10, 1912, Futrelle celebrated his 37th birthday with friends in London until 3 o'clock in the morning; The next morning, he and his wife made their way to the landing stage of the RMS Titanic in Southampton , with which the couple wanted to travel to the USA as first class passengers . The couple occupied cabin C-123. Futrelle was killed in the sinking: During the evacuation operation in the middle of the night, he refused to join his wife in a lifeboat . Like some others, he wanted to make an example as a man, although there was still room in the lifeboat. According to what they said, he hoped he had a better chance of survival if he jumped. Futrelle sank on April 15, 1912 with the Titanic in the North Atlantic. On July 29, 1912, Futrelle's mother, Linnie, died; her death is associated with the mourning for the son.

Futrelle's widow May died on October 29, 1967 in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Futrelle appears as the protagonist in the novel The Titanic Murders by Max Allan Collins , which is about two murders on the Titanic . He also appears in the episode "Professor van Dusen and the Seven Detectives" (episode 50, 1988) in Michael Koser's radio play series.

Works

stories

Futrelle has written a total of 50 Van Dusen short stories.

The following stories served as templates for crime radio plays by Michael Koser:

  • The Problem of Cell 13 (1907); Template for the safest prison in the world
  • A Dressing Room (1908); Template for Die Hard with Shakespeare
  • The lost radium ; Template for one ounce of radium
  • The Man Who Was Lost ; Template for The Man Who Lost His Head
  • The Motor Boat ; Template for Van Dusen's first case
  • The Scarlet Thread ; Submission to murder by gas light

Novels

  • The Chase of the Golden Plate (1906)
  • The Simple Case of Susan (1908)
  • The Thinking Machine on the Case (1908)
  • The Diamond Master (1909)
  • Elusive Isabel (1909)
  • The High Hand (1911)
  • My Lady's Garter (1912)
  • Blind Man's Bluff (1914)

literature

Contemporary articles on Futelle's death

  • Futrelle Refused to Enter Lifeboat . In: New York Times . April 19, 1912. p. 6.
  • Futrelle's Mother is Dead . In: New York Times . July 30, 1912. p. 1.
  • Says Ismay Ruled in Titanic's Boats . In: New York Times . June 26, 1915. p. 6.

biography

  • Freddie Seymour and Bettina Kyper, The Thinking Machine: Jacques Futrelle , Dennisport, Massachusetts, 1995, ISBN 0-9645193-0-5

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Futrelle, Jacques
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Futrell, John Heath (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American writer
DATE OF BIRTH April 9, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Pike County, Georgia
DATE OF DEATH April 15, 1912
Place of death North Atlantic when the Titanic sank