Acromegalic gigantism physicians and body snatchi

Authors: Wouter W de Herder

Publish Date: 2012/04/06

Volume: 15, Issue: 3, Pages: 312-318

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Abstract

The skeletons of 2 famous acromegalic giants Charles Byrne 1761–1783 and Henri Cot = Joseph Dusorc 1883–1912 and the embalmed body of the famous acromegalic giant Édouard Beaupré 1881–1904 all ended up in the medical collections of museums despite the fact that these patients had never donated or even refused to donate their corpses nor had their relatives given permission The corpse of the acromegalic giant John Aasen 1890–1938 was voluntarily donated to a physician annex collector of trivia from acromegalic giants The autopsy on the acromegalic giant John Turner 1874–1911 was performed during his funeral ceremony without the relatives being informed Only recently the acromegalic giant Alexander Sizonenko 1959–2012 was made a financial offer during his life in exchange for his body after his death The casehistories of these 6 patients and also the circumstances that led to the in voluntary donation of their bodies are reviewedIn a recent article in the British Medical Journal by Len Doyal emeritus professor of medical ethics and Thomas Muinzer lawyer the authors make the case for the removal of the skeleton of Charles Byrne from the Hunterian Museum in the Royal College of Surgeons in London UK where it is on display Subsequently it should be buried at sea according to Charles Byrne’s original wish 1 The article has raised a very lively discussion 2 3 4Charles Byrne 1761–1783 and the “giant” Knipe brothers together with Andrew Bell Baillie Kid James Burnett – Lord Monboddo and William Richardson Etching aquatint by John Kay 1784 Original in National Portrait Gallery London UK Picture from the collection of Wouter W de HerderRumours of Byrne’s financial success also inspired other giants to try their luck in London The “Gigantic Twin Brothers” Knipe were from a village in Ireland just a few miles from Charles Byrne’s birthplace They once even claimed to be cousins of Charles Byrne Surprisingly this might have been true as well see below Another Irish giant Patrick Cotter was born 1760 in Kinsale County Cork Ireland He also chose “O’Brien” as his stage name and was also exhibited at side shows in nearby towns He was known as the “Bristol Giant” and the “Irish Giant” He died at Hotwells Bristol on 8 September 1806 5 In December 1972 his bones were retrieved from his grave and it was determined that while alive he measured approximately 246 m 8 ft 1 in 5Around 1783 the public became fedup with Charles Byrne–O’Brien and began to frequent other entertainments Overtaken by his fame and wealth Charles Byrne had started drinking huge quantities of alcohol He possessed 2 banknotes one £700 note and a £70 note Charles Byrne foolishly chose to carry these banknotes on him According to newspaper reports he was out drinking when he was robbed of his £700 banknote In less than 1 year after his arrival in London Charles Byrne had lost almost everything It is also known that at this point he had contracted “consumption” tuberculosis The combination of his alcoholism and tuberculosis weakened him As a result by May 1783 Charles Byrne realized that he was a dying manDeath itself was not Charles Byrne’s greatest fear but rather it was the physicians A number of them were eager to obtain his body after his death for dissection One of them was the surgeon Dr John Hunter 1728–1793 6 who is presently also known as the “Godfather of Modern Surgery” 7 8 9Determined to stay out of the physicians’ hands and especially those of Dr John Hunter Charles Byrne started making precautions After his death his body was to be sealed in a lead coffin and to be watched day and night by his loyal friends until it could be sunk deep in the sea Using the remains of his saving money Charles Byrne prepaid the undertaker to ensure that his will would be carried out Meanwhile Dr John Hunter had employed a detective to keep a close watch on Byrne’s whereabouts as well as on his deteriorating conditionOn 1 June 1783 Charles Byrne died at the age of 22 10 After obtaining an oversized coffin Charles Byrne’s friends kept watch over the corpse for 4 days First they exhibited the enormous casket for money to the public Finally on 6 June 1783 they began their 75 miles voyage to transport the coffin with the corpse of Charles Byrne to the seaside town of Margate England Once they arrived a boat was chartered and the massive coffin was plunged into the sea Soon after rumours speculating on what actually happened to Charles Byrne’s body began to circulate

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