Jack Black (rat catcher)

Drawing of Jack Black from a photograph, in Henry Mayhew's 1851 book London Labour and the London Poor

Jack Black was a rat-catcher and mole destroyer from Battersea, England during the middle of the 19th century.[1][2] At the time, England was ravaged by a massive population of rats that disrupted crops and spread disease, and Black's rat killing abilities made him a minor celebrity and Queen Victoria's official rat-catcher. Though he has been called the rat's "most notorious enemy," he did not kill all rats.[3][2] Black bred unusually colored rats and sold them as pets, playing a large role in domesticating the animal. He had a flamboyant appearance, typically donning a self-made "uniform" of a green topcoat, scarlet waistcoat, and breeches, with a huge leather sash inset with cast-iron rats.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Mayhew was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b McCullough, Marie (May 10, 2015). "Sniffing out the dirty history of the common rat". Philadelphia Inquirer. p. B2.
  3. ^ Braun, Adee (2013-05-27). "Her Majesty's Rat-Catcher". Roundtable. Retrieved 2024-08-21.