The doctor who created the 'industry' of grave theft in the UK

In the early 1700s, the sale and purchase of dead bodies for use in medical research was one of the most controversial topics in British medical circles. It has even become a sensitive topic that is tacitly agreed that it should not be mentioned. Sources of bodies for research are scarce, often coming from grave robbers .

At that time, grave theft was not common, only a few poor people or thugs needed money to dig and steal other people's graves.

The man who completely changed that situation was John Hunter (1728 - 1793) , Scottish, one of the leading anatomists and surgeons of the previous era. He was revered for his medical discoveries, but also feared by his colleagues and people in England for his unusual passion for dissecting the human body. Hunter's doctor who had turned grave theft activity in the UK becoming a 'industry' big with his own contribution and the huge number of bodies which he bought from a multitude of tape theft.

Dr. John Hunter is revered for his discoveries in medicine, but also feared for his unusual passion for dissecting the human body.

Dr. Hunter's activism and a boom in enrollment in medical schools have exacerbated the shortage of bodies and pushed up the price of corpses. From about 2 pounds in the 1780s to 16 pounds (equivalent to almost $1,000 today) in the 1810s. This price was equal to the average income of an unskilled worker in England for many years. .

The higher the price of the body, the more flourishing the grave theft industry, along with which countless people were deprived of the right to rest on family graves.

The higher the price of the body, the more flourishing the grave robber industry.

When the grave-stealing industry took the throne

Grave robbers often work in groups. Inexperienced gangs often hunt corpses from mass graves - large graves waiting to be filled with dead bodies. More sophisticated groups have more tricks to target individual graves. Many groups also hire female spies to scrub near hospitals to wait for the dead, then record burial locations and probe grave protection measures. If the cemetery has a custodian, they will bribe or intoxicate this person when acting.

At night, professional thieves will calculate the most suitable moonrise time, neutralize the protective traps set up by the bereaved family and dig with light wooden shovels. Thieves rarely destroy coffins, instead, they only partially dig and then use a crowbar to open the lid. After retrieving the body, they often cut the face of the 'victim' so as not to be identified. The shroud and any accompanying jewelry will be left behind because, if caught, theft would make the crime more serious. Professional gangs can 'clean up' a grave in 15 minutes and restore the grave's exterior to its original state. Therefore, it is not uncommon for empty-handed missions to dig up graves that have been visited by other groups first.

After the successful theft is the valuation stage. Adult bodies share the same price bracket, which fluctuates from time to time. Children's bodies are priced per inch . For rare specimens such as pregnant women, prices can go up to £20 (equivalent to about $2,500 today). A productive grave thief can make up to £100 overnight.

Despite the huge income, grave theft is also a dangerous business. If caught, the thief could go to jail or be exiled to the British colonies. Not only that, they will be humiliated by the crowd, beaten, whipped with metal wire, even buried alive in the grave they have just dug.

There is also competition between gangs. If patrons - usually anatomists - buy corpses from a rival group, they can break into the client's lab and destroy the bodies.

Despite the huge income, grave theft is also a dangerous business.

The doctor obsessed with the body

John Hunter is the youngest of 10 siblings in Scotland. He pursued a medical career in part because his six siblings all died young from illness. In 1748, 20-year-old Hunter moved to London to work as an assistant surgeon to his brother William, a prominent obstetrician. The contact with many bodies in the process of working has ignited his passion and obsession.

Dr. Hunter's obsession stems from two causes. First , he simply loved anatomy. Not only dissecting humans, he has also dissected thousands of animals, including complex cases on a microscopic organ such as a sparrow's testicle or monkey placenta.

Second, he saw surgery as the path to medical reform. Medicine in that era was still sketchy, he aspired to modernize medicine, and considered surgery the foundation of reform, because in order to cure diseases, doctors needed in-depth knowledge of the human body. . He needed many, many more bodies to realize his ideals. His house even has a back door dedicated to receiving grave robbers, the next room always reeking of corpses.

Using 'unorthodox' methods, Dr. Hunter has discovered dozens of new knowledge about anatomy. He oversaw the first human artificial insemination and pioneered the use of electricity to stimulate the heart. He was also the creator of the chart of infant development in utero and divided the modern classification of teeth. Thanks to those achievements, John Hunter was elected to the Royal Society of England in 1767.

But his reputation was always accompanied by notoriety, especially regarding his dealings with grave robbers. At one point he even stole the body himself - an act despised by most anatomists of the day, who considered grave robbers 'vile thugs'.

Stealing 'giant' body

During his more than ten years working for his brother, Dr. John Hunter dissected 2,000 bodies, nearly all of which had been stolen by grave robbers, sometimes by himself. Among them, the most embarrassing incident was about the Irish 'giant' Charles Byrne .

According to records, Charles Byrne was nearly 2.5m tall.

According to records, Byrne was nearly 2.5m tall. To earn a living, he exhibits himself at fairs across Ireland and England. The moment Doctor John Hunter saw Byrne, he was immediately obsessed with the idea of ​​dissecting the giant.

Doctor Hunter approached Byrne and offered to buy back the giant's body after his death. He considers it an honor to be operated on by himself, the world's leading surgeon. But Byrne was furious and refused with great ferocity. The giant even made an appointment with his friends and asked them to swear to God that they would help dispose of his body after death so that John Hunter would never reach his goal.

In June 1783, Charles Byrne committed suicide by drinking alcohol because he could not stand the tormenting arthritis.

Byrne's friends displayed his body for money. After four days, they began the 75-mile journey through Canterbury to the sea to fulfill the giant's last wish, unaware that their friend's body had been swapped.

Upon learning of Byrne's death, Dr. Hunter bribed a member of the funeral team for £500 (equivalent to $50,000 today) to help him steal the body. Byrne's friends brought a coffin stuffed with stones, and the poor giant's body was taken to John Hunter's laboratory in London.

The passionate surgeon did not dissect Byrne, but boiled his body in a large copper barrel, removing all the separated fat and keeping the skeleton.

Today, the skeleton of Charles Byrne is still on display in London, England.

Charles Byrne, who would rather die in the sea than be dissected, ends up as a skeleton on display in Dr. Hunter's museum in London. The museum is called 'Hunter's collection of human suffering' . To this day, the skeleton is still being displayed against the owner's wishes.