HUMAN DISSECTION IN SCOTLAND-A.D. 1500 TO 1958 167 



publicity movements in the history of Great Britain: via news- 

 papers, magazines and books (Guttmacher, '35). 



An important figure, in the murders, always standing mys- 

 teriously in the background, was Dr. Robert Knox. Most of the 

 following is taken from Lonsdale's (1870) biography of him. He 

 is described as the greatest anatomist of his time; he was a lineal 

 descendant of the famous John Knox, the Reformer, the promis- 

 ing son of a farmer, who was sent to Edinburgh to obtain the best 

 education offered in the country. After serving five years as a 

 military surgeon, he was offered a co-partnership with Dr. John 

 Barclay, owner of the most respected anatomical establishment in 

 Edinburgh, who was nearing the end of his allotted years. This 

 was in March, 1825. Knox came into possession of the class and 

 whatever profits he could accumulate from it, after just eighteen 

 months service, as Barclay died on August 24, 1826. 



Knox immediately showed that as a lecturer, he was a man 

 of marked individuality in style, that he treated anatomy as a 

 pastime of the hour, emphasizing the practical as well as the 

 philosophical side of the subject. He soon was to be called "the 

 incomparable Knox," by many of his students. There is a place 

 for drama and attire in the teaching profession and Knox could 

 be classified as unusual on both counts. He was, on the basis of 

 physique alone, bound to attract attention and stimulate interest. 

 In height, he was slightly above middle stature, very muscu- 

 lar and possessive of a nervo-sanguineous temperament. He was 

 more like a Frenchman than Scot in disposition. In build, he 

 looked something like a wrestler, having a wide chest, powerful 

 shoulders and long arms. This appearance, however, was neutral- 

 ized both by his gentlemanly manners and intellectuality. His 

 military experience may have accounted for the fact that his car- 

 riage was upright, his walk firm and his movements free and 

 lithesome. Besides having a large nose, full mouth, strong lines, 

 coarse features, caused by a severe attack of smallpox, and a bald 

 head, he possessed an atrophied left eye. The muscles of his face 

 seemed to be stimulated most when his brain was at work although 

 ^■unpleasant involuntary twitchings occurred otherwise. 

 ^B It was in the sphere of personality that Knox stood out, where 

 ^Biis courtesy and conversation atoned for his physical defects. 



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