| Edinburgh Town Guide |
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One of Edinburgh's more gruesome, and infamous, past events involves the dubious characters of William Burke and William Hare. |
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In the 18th and 19th centuries, Edinburgh was renowned for its pioneering medical research, particularly in the field of human anatomy. However, in order to study human anatomy you of course need human bodies.... This led to the grisly trade of "body snatching" whereby grave robbers would take bodies from fresh graves, selling them for medical research. The lasting legacy of the trade is the numerous watchtowers which were hastily put up in Edinburgh's churchyards, some of which can still be seen today - for example in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The body-snatching trade was encouraged by the "turn-a-blind-eye" attitude of the hospitals. But it was taken to its extreme by the notorious Burke and Hare, who killed at least 16 people in order to sell the bodies to medical researcher Robert Knox. The duo were eventually captured and tried for murder and, reputation tarnished, Knox's medical career was ruined - and Edinburgh is still remembered for the gruesome events. The part of Edinburgh where the pair's terrible crimes were committed is the Grassmarket area of the Old Town. |
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