Burke and Hare murders Burke and Hare murders 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 and William Hare, who sold the corpses to 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 led to a shortfall in legal supply. Scottish law required that corpses used for medical research should only come from those who had died in prison, suicide victims,
West Port, Edinburgh the main street through the western part of the burgh of Portsburgh - a burgh of barony from 1649 to 1856. The name "West Port" originally referred only to the gate itself, but was used for the entire length of the street leading away from the gate in maps from around 1837 onwards. "Wester Portsburgh" still appeared as the name of the street on maps as late as 1831. "Portsburgh" can also be seen as the name for the same street in a map from 1836. However, this does not serve to distinguish it from the eastern part of Portsburgh