
Why Was Benjamin Franklin’s Basement Filled with Skeletons? (2013) - lihaciudaniel
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/why-was-benjamin-franklins-basement-filled-with-skeletons-524521/
======
bredren
“The most plausible explanation is not mass murder, but an anatomy school run
by Benjamin Franklin’s young friend and protege, William Hewson”

~~~
INTPenis
And of course a complete disregard for human remains at the time. Nothing
surprising.

~~~
echelon
If we hadn't broken the rules to study anatomy, we wouldn't have modern
medicine.

Scientific advances are often made by pushing past the qualms of present
cultural mores.

~~~
leoc
No kidding.

[https://www.thelocal.de/20170503/german-scientists-to-
identi...](https://www.thelocal.de/20170503/german-scientists-to-identify-
nazi-disabled-victim-remains)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Hare_murders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burke_and_Hare_murders)

[http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/02/guatemala.html](http://blogs.nature.com/news/2011/02/guatemala.html)

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjDEsGZLbio)

~~~
ajhurliman
The difference here, which I think is a major one, is that the examples you've
listed disregard the wellbeing of humans who are alive. Benjamin Franklin may
have disrespected the remains of humans (or maybe he didn't, there's no
conclusive evidence here on the dying wishes of those folks in his backyard),
but those remains are objects and not humans.

------
cpr
Yeah, or maybe his Hellfire Club membership was more than just pagan
rituals...

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Club](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Club)

~~~
iamben
Sort of on topic, the Hellfire Caves are really quite something, if you get a
chance to visit them.
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Caves](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hellfire_Caves)

400m deep, dug by hand, to use the chalk for the road between Wycombe and West
Wycombe. Quite the feat of engineering. Wonderfully creepy inside as well.

------
dmix
Just to be clear this was his house in London, UK. Not one in Philadelphia.

[https://www.google.com/maps/place/36+Craven+St,+Charing+Cros...](https://www.google.com/maps/place/36+Craven+St,+Charing+Cross,+London+WC2N+5NF,+UK/@51.5076423,-0.1270809,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x487604cee7c6e4b3:0x66452e2e55d6fb80!8m2!3d51.5076423!4d-0.1248869)

William Hewson was a British anatomist:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hewson_(surgeon)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Hewson_\(surgeon\))

------
oblib
Because his closet was full.

(I'm sorry. I just couldn't help it :)

------
gitpusher
Ah, the life of an early adopter!

