Medicine in the Nineteenth Century

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Slide 24

Body Snatching

'Bodysnatching started to happen all over the place. Anatomists . spawned a new profession: resurrection men.' These grave robbers became the scourge of the bereaved. Watchtowers were built within cemeteries so that people could keep an eye out for body snatchers. Some rich people were buried within mort-safes, fortress graves complete with walls and gates to keep the grave robbers out. Gangs of resurrection men competed for business as anatomists competed to find the best suppliers of fresh corpses. As demand grew, the quest for bodies became ever more desperate.

Slide 25

Body snatchers tried to sell corpses to King's anatomy classes, 1831.

Slide 26

Burke and Hare

Hard working Irish immigrants by day, scheming murderers by night - William Burke and William Hare were a unique pair of criminals who made a profit from providing dead bodies to the anatomy students of 19th century Edinburgh.

Slide 27

Edinburgh's population of university students and practicing anatomists created a unique market for fresh corpses that prompted Burke and Hare to enter into an illegal trade.

Slide 28

Murder for money is not an original concept by any means, but Burke and Hare had a new perspective on killing for financial gain. Unusually, they had little interest in the wealth of their victims, all they needed was a fresh corpse to sell.

Slide 29

In 1827, one of Hare's lodgers, an old man named Donald, fell ill and died. His death was of no real concern to Hare except that Donald owed him £4 in rent. Such was Hare's anger that he began to consider how the dead man could pay off his debt. Aware of the demand for corpses by anatomists, Hare hatched a plan.

Slide 30

On the day of the funeral, Burke and Hare took Donald's body from the coffin and replaced it with a sack of bark. Later in the day they removed the body from the house and took it to the anatomy offices of Professor Robert Knox. They were asked to return after nightfall and on doing so, they were paid 7 pounds 10 shillings for their efforts.

Slide 31

This ready cash made the pair contemplate a risky, but ultimately effortless, moneymaking scheme. Grave robbing was labour intensive and the quality or freshness of a corpse was not guaranteed. However, committing the murder themselves would be an easy way to ensure the supply of fresh quality corpses for sale.