Observations on the phrenological development of Burke, Hare, and other atrocious murderers; measurements of the heads of the most notorious thieves confined in the Edinburgh Jail and Bridewell, and of various individuals, English, Scotch, and Irish, presenting an extensive series of facts subversive of phrenology / Read before the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. By Thomas Stone.

  • Stone, Thomas.
Date:
1829
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on the phrenological development of Burke, Hare, and other atrocious murderers; measurements of the heads of the most notorious thieves confined in the Edinburgh Jail and Bridewell, and of various individuals, English, Scotch, and Irish, presenting an extensive series of facts subversive of phrenology / Read before the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. By Thomas Stone. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    25/88 (page 17)
    The morning I.took the size of the cerebellic ca- ~ vity in Burke; two subjects, one a woman of ¢hirty- eight, the other a female child of eight years of age, happened to be lying on the table, with the crania open. I proceeded, therefore, to compare the size of their cerebellic cavities with Burke’s. Sir William Hamilton was present, who, from his extensive ex- perience and knowledge on this interesting point of controversy, predicted that the child and woman would be found to possess each a larger cerebellum than Burke. I confess I was somewhat sceptical as to the result of the experiment, but found, on mea- suring the dimensions, as follows :— Cireumference. Length. _ ~ Breadth. Total Size. 1 Ne teen gan & 2.8 1.8 i itso Woman, . . 7.1 2.8 2 11.9 Female child, 12 24 at Es Hence both the woman and child proved to have the cerebellic cavities larger than they are found in — the murderer Burke, and this will not fail to make the erroneous Phrenological assumption appear still more ridiculous, when it is considered, that so much of the moral degradation of this atrocious villain was referred to the size and abuse of an organ, which even larger. In addition to the number of facts which have been accumulated by Sir William Hamilton, and which constitute the extensive induction he lately com- munieated to the Royal Society, I cannot help .re- B