The Burke and Hare murders were a series of 16 killings committed over a period of about ten months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They were undertaken by William Burke (pictured, left) and William Hare (pictured, right), who sold the corpses to Doctor Robert Knox for dissection at his anatomy lectures. Edinburgh was a leading European centre of anatomical study in the early 19th century, in a time when the demand for cadavers exceeded the legal supply. When a lodger in Hare's house died, he turned to his friend Burke for advice and they sold the body to Knox. They then began their murder spree, which was uncovered after other lodgers discovered their last victim, Margaret Docherty, and called the police. Hare provided the details of Docherty's murder and confessed to all 16 deaths. Burke was found guilty of one murder, sentenced to death and hanged. His corpse was dissected and his skeleton displayed at the Anatomical Museum of Edinburgh Medical School, where it remains.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Hare_murders
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1893:
On the opening day of the first Parliament of the World's Religions in Chicago, Swami Vivekananda introduced Hinduism to the United States. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swami_Vivekananda
1914:
During the First World War, the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force invaded German New Guinea, winning the Battle of Bita Paka. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bita_Paka
1978:
Janet Parker, a British medical photographer, became the last recorded person to die from smallpox, leading to a debate on whether the virus should be preserved. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1978_smallpox_outbreak_in_the_United_Kingdom
2001:
Al-Qaeda used four hijacked passenger airliners to carry out a series of suicide attacks against targets in New York City and the Washington, D.C., area. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
ostrichism: 1. The act of hiding, often unsuccessfully, by ducking one's head out of view. 2. (derogatory) A policy of burying one's head in the sand, that is, ignoring the reality of a situation. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ostrichism
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
Since September 11, an entire generation of young Americans has gained new understanding of the value of freedom and its cost and duty and its sacrifice. The battle is now joined on many fronts. We will not waiver, we will not tire, we will not falter, and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail. Thank you. May God continue to bless America. --George W. Bush https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_W._Bush