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>
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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>
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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>
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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>
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