James Edwin Wide was indeed the owner and handler of a baboon named Jack, who was employed by the South African Railways in the late 19th century. This unusual and fascinating story gained some notoriety during that time. James Edwin Wide, a signalman for the South African Railways, discovered an orphaned baby baboon in 1881. He decided to take him in and named him Jack. … Continue reading Jack the Signalman: The Extraordinary Tale of a Baboon on the Railways