Surgeons' Hall demand for bodies for anatomical dissection exceeded supply. Two Irishmen living in Edinburgh, William Burke and William Hare, resorted to murdering victims to supply Knox's anatomy school. Hare turned King's evidence and Burke was tried, found guilty of murder and hanged. His body was dissected by Alexander Monro tertius, the University professor of anatomy, and the museum has on display two items from that notorious episode – Burke's death mask and a pocket book made from his skin. Joseph Bell (1837–1911) was an Edinburgh surgeon who was president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh between 1887–89. He was
Charles Knowlton electricity. Knowlton married Stuart’s daughter, Tabitha, and his condition was instantly cured. Knowlton studied medicine with several area doctors, and attended two terms of 14-week “medical lectures” at Dartmouth. He supplemented his education by digging up and dissecting corpses. Knowlton was awarded his M.D. in 1824, moved to Hawley, Massachusetts to begin his practice, and then served two months in the Worcester County jail for illegal dissection. While in jail, Knowlton formulated ideas that he eventually published as "Elements of Modern Materialism" in 1829. The book challenges the religious dualism of body and spirit, and Knowlton presents a psychological theory