Bones of Contention: the Medico-Legal Issues Relating to Charles
Byrne, ‘the Irish Giant’.
Thomas L. Muinzer1
This article engages with the medico-legal issues pertaining to the life and legacy of Charles Byrne, a celebrity Irish ‘giant’ who made a name for himself in Georgian
Britain and whose remains are currently the subject of a
highly controversial display in the Hunterian Museum,
London. The article addresses Byrne’s historical life and
times, then proceeds to consider both the contribution
that his remains have made to medical research and a variety of legal issues relevant to his posthumous treatment.
In the latter stages of the discussion it is observed that
the Byrne exhibit at the Hunterian Museum raises issues
that are directly pertinent to contemporary viewers of the
display, most notably with respect to the issue of burial
instruction; Byrne’s skeleton partially symbolises the onlooker’s own circumstances.
Introduction
Charles Byrne (1761-1783) was an eighteenth century celebrity Irish ‘giant’ from County Londonderry/Derry who achieved renown in Georgian
Britain by exhibiting himself as a human curiosity. In the immediate
wake of his death his corpse was procured surreptitiously by persons
in the pay of eminent surgeon John Hunter (1728-1793) whilst being
1 Thomas
Muinzer is a 3rd year PhD Candidate in the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast