William Burke

Irish criminal

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June 22, 2026

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William Burke was an Irish criminal notorious for his involvement in a series of murders for profit in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the late 1820s. Alongside his accomplice, William Hare, Burke killed at least 15 individuals, often by getting them intoxicated and then smothering them. The pair sold the corpses to Robert Knox, a surgeon and anatomist, for scientific dissection. This practice, known as "resurrectionism," was a grim response to the high demand for cadavers in medical schools. Burke and Hare were eventually caught after neighbors discovered their crime. Hare turned informant, testifying against Burke, who was subsequently hanged. The case highlighted the ethical issues surrounding the supply of bodies for anatomical study and led to reforms in the procurement of cadavers.1

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William Burke and William Hare
…lodging house in Edinburgh, where Burke, also Irish-born, arrived in 1827. On November 29 an old pensioner died in the house, and Hare, angry that the deceased still owed 4 pounds in rent, devised a plan to steal the corpse from its coffin and sell it to recover the money…
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…lodging house in Edinburgh, where Burke, also Irish-born, arrived in 1827. On November 29 an old pensioner died in the house, and Hare, angry that the deceased still owed 4 pounds in rent, devised a plan to steal the corpse from its coffin and sell it to recover the money…
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body snatching
Body snatchers and their methods
…to have been “burked,” after William Burke, an Irish cobbler who was hanged and dissected in 1829 for his role in murdering and selling the bodies of at least 16 people in Edinburgh. Burke’s accomplices cooperated with the authorities and avoided punishment. Robert Knox, the anatomist who bought the bodies…
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…to have been “burked,” after William Burke, an Irish cobbler who was hanged and dissected in 1829 for his role in murdering and selling the bodies of at least 16 people in Edinburgh. Burke’s accomplices cooperated with the authorities and avoided punishment. Robert Knox, the anatomist who bought the bodies…
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serial murder
History
…a dozen people; the Irish-born William Burke and William Hare, who killed at least 15 people in Scotland in the 1820s; and an Austrian woman who reportedly fed children to her family. The most famous case of serial murder in the 19th century was that of Jack the Ripper, who…
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…a dozen people; the Irish-born William Burke and William Hare, who killed at least 15 people in Scotland in the 1820s; and an Austrian woman who reportedly fed children to her family. The most famous case of serial murder in the 19th century was that of Jack the Ripper, who…
Read More