Burke and Hare – murderers!

Doctors haven’t always known what is inside the human body. In the past,
they didn’t know about the skeleton and the organs of the body. They didn’t
know how blood travels around the body. They needed dead bodies to help
them find out. They used to practise on the dead bodies of criminals who
th
had been hanged. However, in the 19 century, the supply dried up because
not so many people were being executed. Doctors turned to ‘grave robbers’ or
‘body snatchers’.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1828, two men took this a step further! William
Burke and William Hare murdered sixteen people and sold the bodies to Dr
Robert Knox. He dissected the bodies to improve his knowledge of anatomy.

Finally, Burke and Hare were caught. Hare made a deal and testified against
Burke, who was hanged for his crimes. Hare was sent to prison. Burke’s
skeleton is still on display at the medical school in Edinburgh.

There are FIVE examples of the passive voice in the text.

A) Highlight them. B) Make the following sentences passive.

1) Burke and Hare took a step further.

2) Doctors needed dead bodies.

3) Doctors used the services of body snatchers.

4) Burke and Hare murdered sixteen people.

5) They display Burke’s body at the med school in Edinburgh.

Answer the following questions.

A) In the past, why did doctors need dead bodies?

B) Where did they get their supply of corpses from?

C) What changed to make things difficult for doctors who wanted to study anatomy?

D) Doctors turned to grave robbers or body snatchers. Can you describe what these terms mean?

E) Where did Burke and Hare come from?  How do you think Dr Robert Knox

F) How did they acquire bodies? felt when he heard that Burke
and Hare were murderers? He was
G) Who did they sell the bodies to? a good doctor, who only wanted to
extend his knowledge so that he
H) Why did Robert Knox want bodies?
could help.
I) Did Hare claim that Burke was innocent?
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Key:
Doctors haven’t always known what is inside the human body. In the past, they
didn’t know about the skeleton and the organs of the body. They didn’t know
how blood travels around the body. They needed dead bodies to help them find
out. They used to practise on the dead bodies of criminals who had been hanged.
th
However, in the 19 century, the supply dried up because not so many people
were being executed. Doctors turned to ‘grave robbers’ or ‘body snatchers’.

In Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1828, two men took this a step further! William
Burke and William Hare murdered sixteen people and sold the bodies to Dr
Robert Knox. He dissected the bodies to improve his knowledge of anatomy.

Finally, Burke and Hare were caught. Hare made a deal and testified against
Burke, who was hanged for his crimes. Hare was sent to prison. Burke’s skeleton
is still on display at the medical school in Edinburgh.

1) A further step was taken by Burke and Hare

2) Dead bodies were needed by doctors
3) The services of body snatchers were used by doctors
4) Sixteen people were murdered by Burke and Hare
5) Burke’s body is displayed at the med school in Edinburgh

A) They needed them to find out about how the human body works/anatomy
B) They got a supply of corpses because many people in those days were hanged, so there was
a good supply of bodies.
C) Not so many (fewer) people were being hanged. This is because they had been hanging
people for all sorts of minor offences. Terrible!
D) They were men who went to cemeteries in the dead of night (excuse the pun!), dug the
newly buried bodies up and then sold them. Yuck!
E) They came from Edinburgh, (the capital city of Scotland, UK.)
F) They murdered people!
G) They sold them to Dr Robert Knox
H) No! He testified against him. He struck a deal and so he got sent to prison, whereas Burke
was hanged.

The Burke and Hare murders were a series of 16 murders committed over a period of about ten
months in 1828 in Edinburgh, Scotland. They are notorious murderers and films have been made
about them.

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