Hunterian Museum Takes Charles Byrne Off Display

In what is a positive move, that hopefully signals a wider move towards greater respect for human skeletons, it was reported today that the Hunterian Museum has decided to no longer display the skeleton of Charles Byrne.

Charles Byrne lived in the 18th century and was affected by a form of giantism in part due to a thyroid condition. He was the subject of attention during his lifetime due to his great stature at 7ft 7in. Despite his expressly stated wish that his body should not be used by anatomists, he was acquired by John Hunter (after whom the museum is named) who had the bones defleshed and put on display during the last 250 years.

HAD welcomes this long overdue move. The treatment of a person’s body as a resource without consent is becoming more widely seen as unacceptable, however long ago they died.

However, as Charles Byrne expressly stated his wish that his body not be used by anatomists, the retention of his bones for further study has to be seen as a disregard for his wishes. We hope that the museum will reconsider its position on this to fully recognise the wishes of the person as they expressed them in their lifetime.