Phrenological Museum

 History of Science  5 Responses »
Mar 082016
 

Crown Office, 25 Chambers Street, Edinburgh EH1 1LA

phrenology museumUntil 1886 this was the site of Edinburgh’s phrenological museum, founded by the president of the Edinburgh Phrenological Society, George Combes. Phrenologists believed that people’s characters were determined by the development of the ‘organs’ of the brain, which could by read by examining the shapes of their skulls. It represented an early attempt to explain the human mind in terms of the physical structure of the brain. The carved stone heads on the exterior of the building reflected its occupants interest in the shapes of people’s craniums.

No public access.

V0001202 George Combe. Stipple engraving by C. H. Jeens, 1878, after Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org George Combe. Stipple engraving by C. H. Jeens, 1878, after Sir D. Macnee. 1878 By: Daniel MacNeeafter: Charles Henry JeensPublished: - Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

George Combe (1788–1848).

L0022893 George Combe, names of phrenological organs, 1836 Credit: Wellcome Library, London. Wellcome Images images@wellcome.ac.uk http://wellcomeimages.org Names of the phrenological organs Outlines of phrenology George A. Combe Published: 1836 Copyrighted work available under Creative Commons Attribution only licence CC BY 4.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The phrenological organs, from George Combe, Outlines of Phrenology (1836).

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Robert Knox’s anatomy school

 History of Medicine, History of Science  Comments Off on Robert Knox’s anatomy school
Mar 042016
 

10 Surgeon’s Square, Edinburgh EH1 1LZ

surgeon's square

At number 10 Surgeon’s Square Robert Knox ran his extra-mural anatomy school from the death of its original proprietor, John Barclay, in 1826 until 1844. Knox bought the bodies of many of the victims of Burke and Hare. He was a flamboyant character, whose controversial views made him popular with his students. Although he was found innocent of any involvement in the murders, the scandal ruined his career. Robert Grant, who taught invertebrate zoology in the same school, was an early evolutionary thinker and friend of Charles Darwin while a student in Edinburgh in 1825-27.

No public access.

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