The Somerton Man
A well-dressed stranger found on an Adelaide beach carried no identification, only a scrap of paper reading 'Tamám Shud'.
What was reported
On the morning of 1 December 1948, a man was found dead on Somerton beach, south of Adelaide, resting against the sea wall. He was neatly dressed, but the labels had been removed from his clothes and he carried no identification. The cause of his death was never established.
Months later a tiny rolled-up paper was found in a hidden pocket, printed with the words 'Tamám Shud', 'it is ended', torn from a copy of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. The matching book turned up with a phone number and a short sequence of letters that looked like a code.
Explanations offered
In 2022 researchers led by Derek Abbott used DNA from the man's hair to identify him as Carl 'Charles' Webb, an electrical engineer from Melbourne. Why he came to Adelaide, how he died and what the letters mean are still unknown. The 'code' has never been cracked, and may not be a code at all.
- When
- 1 December 1948
- Where
- Somerton Park, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Witnesses
- People on the beach, and Adelaide police
- Status
- Partly solved
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