On this day... September 30

CEBU, Philippines – In 1888, Jack the Ripper committed double murder in the back streets of London. The first body was found huddled by a wall in "quite two quarts of blood," and since it wasn't mutilated, it looked as if Jack had been disturbed. An hour later a constable found the second victim. This time the Ripper had done his worst: the woman had been disemboweled, and her left kidney, a piece of ear, and some of her entrails were missing. The women were identified as Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes, both well-known prostitutes. Ironically, Catherine had been arrested earlier in the evening for being drunk and disorderly - but the police had released her just 45 minutes before she met Jack.

In 1961, the bill for the Boston Tea Party was paid by the citizens of Jackson County, Oregon. Though nobody else had paid, they still felt they owed something to the merchants Davison and Newman of London, England, who 188 years before had lost their tea. Mayor Snider of Medford carefully worked out that Jackson County represented four 10-thousandths of 1percent of the population of America. Taking everything into account, he consciously sent the company a check for the exact amount due - $1.96!

- from Today's the Day! By Jeremy Beadle

In Christian history

In 1751, Phillip Doodridge, clergyman and author of the influential book "The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul," sailed from Falmouth for a warmer climate, in hopes of recovering from consumption. He died a month later.

- from This Day in Christian History

By William D. Blake

In the Philippines

In 1876, Sofia Reyes de Veyra, educator, social worker and first secretary and co-founder (with Mary E. Coleman) of Asociacion Feminista Filipina, was born in Arevalo, Iloilo. The Asociacion Feminista Filipina was the first women's club in the Philippines. Its establishment in June 1905 marked the start of the Feminist Movement in the country. High infant mortality in the country moved Sofia de Veyra to establish the society La Proteccion de la Infancia. She also organized the Manila Women's Club which later became the nucleus of the National Federation of Women's Clubs. This federation was in the forefront of the campaign to give women the right to vote and other rights. The women of the Philippines won these rights in 1931. A prominent educator, De Veyra was co-author of the pre-war public schools book "Character and Conduct." She was at one time vice president of the Centro Escolar University. Reyes de Veyra was social secretary of four presidents - Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmeña Sr., Manuel Roxas and Elpidio Quirino. In 1907, she married noted journalist Jaime de Veyra, who was then governor of Leyte and later in 1917 appointed Philippine Resident Commissioner to the United States. She died on January 1, 1953.

- www.kahimyang.info

In Cebu

In1568, a Portuguese fleet under the command of Gonzalo de Fereira appeared off Cebu and offered the abandonment of Cebu by the Spaniards. Legazpi refused, which led to a Portuguese blockade of the Cebu harbor.

- from Cebuano Studies Center, University of San Carlos