In his piece on legal humour in The Critic, Yuan Yi Zhu mentions A P Herbert’s fictitious bridge jumper, who claimed he had jumped off Hammersmith Bridge.
In fact, in the 1880s bridge jumping was a fashionable sport in both England and America. It was viewed with disdain by the judiciary on both sides of the water.
The Brooklyn Bridge, which opened in 1883, was the prime challenge. First up, in May 1885, was swimming instructor Bob Odlum – who drowned. In May the following year lifeguard and bootblack Steve Brodie tried. The attempt had been well publicised and the bridge guards were on the alert. As he was chased by police, Brodie lost his balance and fell into the water but was eventually rescued. By the end of the afternoon, he was charged with attempted suicide.
That was soon dismissed. Since indictments at the time had to be correct in all particulars, William Howe, the Englishman who became the doyen of the New York criminal bar, ran the ingenious and successful defence that since his client’s feet had not touched the railings, he had committed no offence relating to the bridge.
Next up was Lawrence Donovan, sponsored by Richard Fox, editor of the Police Gazette. He jumped off the Brooklyn Bridge for a $500 bet. The magistrate took a dim view, saying that all he could do was fine him $10 for obstructing traffic. Fox paid the fine, but other attempted jumps resulted in arrests and sentences. Donovan came to England, arriving on 5 June 1887, and promptly celebrated by jumping off London Bridge.
‘You may jump if you don’t cause disorder or disturbance in the streets,’ said the Bow Street magistrate. From there on Donovan’s life was downstream, so to speak.
By August 1888 he was scraping a living and drinking heavily when he accepted a £2 challenge to jump from Hungerford Bridge over the Thames. Sticking in the mud and exhausted, he could not make the shore.
His funeral was paid for by Fox. ‘I told him jumping off bridges was a poor way of making a living,’ said his mother.
James Morton is a writer and former criminal defence solicitor
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