Much like the murders of the Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. Two of the three were White and from well off families. Their mass grave had been used by racists for decades to hide bodies of Black people they had killed. It took the two White men’s deaths to make the gravesite known to the nation.
I cannot imagine how horrified the poor guy was when he saw his father lying there. It would be shocking to discover even if you knew full well your parent had volunteered their body for this.
I remember a few years back researching the Harrisons. The great grandfather signed the Declaration. The grandfather was president. So was the grandson. Then I realized I knew nothing about the father. Man, did I learn something. GREAT subject for one of your vids!
Ryan Reiter Change of subject: My mother was born a Reiter. I don’t have enough information about the ancestral Reiters in my own genealogy as my grandfather Reiter died young. If you have any genealogy of the family name I would very much like to know more about it. If so, please respond to bigredgrego at yahoo dot com with Reiter included in the subject line. I would hate for a response to be lost among junk mail! Thanks! Greg O
Great-grandfather: I signed the Constitution Grandfather: I was a president Grandson: As was I Father: My grave was robbed and I was found hanging by a rope naked in a hidden room in a medical college.
Thank You History Guy. I am a docent at the Benjamin Harrison home in Indianapolis. I often tell the story of the "Harrison Horror" but you filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. Now I can help you a little. Benjamin was a leading Republican in Indiana, not Illinois. He ran for governor but was defeated. He later served as senator from 1881-1887 before becoming president in 1889. I tell my guests the Harrisons were the Kennedys of the 18/19th centuries, only bigger! Love your stories. Thanks again
I'm 68 and grew up with the great horror movies about the 'mad scientist' who paid grave robbers to supply him with cadavers on which he did all kinds of 'mad experiments'. Of course, the classic "Frankenstein" movie with Karloff is undoubtedly the most famous of these movies. I love those old movies set during the time before electric lighting and when candles had to be used. The flickering shadows cast by the candles on the interior of the castles and laboratories, and the horse drawn carriages clip-clopping through the fog enveloped countryside; carrying the fresh dug up cadaver with a wolf howling in the dark, and of course the requisite beautiful young woman on her way to visit her 'mad scientist' Father or Uncle or Grandfather...and all of it scary...was always fun to go watch at the local movie theatre. But I remember one particular time when I saw one of these spooky & grisly horror movies. I had ridden my bicycle to the movie theatre and it was almost dark when I left to ride back home maybe 1 1/2 miles away in my neighborhood. I was so scared that I got in the middle of the road and peddled with all my might all the way home, scared that some boogie man would jump out of the ditch and grab me...!! But...I kept riding my bike to the movies to watch these horror movies anyway..LOL..!! How could I not do it... with Karloff and Vincent Price and Peter Lorre and Peter Cushing and Lon Chaney, Jr. and Lugosi , Christopher Lee and others...all doing their very best to scare the daylights out of us kids..!!
I have been watching your videos for sometime now. You are a great teacher. I'm 63 and thought my knowledge of history was above average. I now know I was kidding myself. Great job! I continue to be amazed by your stories. I'm sorry I'm not wealthy enough to financially supposed your channel. All I can offer is my gratitude and thanks. Thank you!
Thanks for repeating this bit of History, I was pleased to give my own rendition of this story while working as a historical tour guide in Cincinnati OH.
My wife and I love the channel. We watch every video when it comes out and are still digging through the hours of quality archives! We'd love to see one about the "Tri-State Tornado." My Great Grandpa was a hero of that event in West Frankfurt in southern Illinois. The family story is that he ran into a school house and alerted the children of the coming tornado before it was destroyed - providing the notice necessary to get the children to safety while the town itself was nearly obliterated. It was out of the vast destruction of this event that there came a push for more early warning systems for storms in communities. Schools began practicing tornado drills. Etc. The Tri-State Tornado was an incredible event, both historically and meteorologically. It's certainly a story that deserves to be remembered. Keep up the great content!
Nun Ya more like 24 DAYS. I can remember when the history channel first started it was very good and enlightening with shows about history. Today it’s like the other channels surrendering to the lowest common denominator, whatever sales to make a buck.
I live right up the road from Harrison's tomb in North Bend and I appreciate your doing a video of this very unfortunate bit of history. We are also known for the very first train robbery in the U.S. and that's a good story to tell, too. Keep up the great work you do!
Reminded me of something heard lately: In moving Beethoven's remains to a new crypt, the bottom of the rotted casket gave way, dumping poor Ludwig on the ground. But there was also a previously unknown symphony score in the casket showing some signs of erasure. Music experts were flummoxed, until one suggested that Beethoven was merely decomposing...
I love your channel! As a historian myself, I find these stories fascinating because they are some that you don't get in a classroom or even with a lot of reading. I applaud your selection of different topics and I'll keep going through them as long as you put them up! Here's a subject for you: The Texas Hero and the Wanted Pirate (Jim Bowie and Jean Lafitte). It's a very obscure but fun story. :)
Unfortunately, this is not only a historical problem. You may be familiar with the case of Biomedical Tissue Services, shut down by the US Food and Drug Administration after the discovery of illegally harvested human bones, tissue, organs and other human cadaver parts including the bones of the well known BBC correspondent Alistair Cooke. Dr. Michael Mastromarino and two co-workers were convicted of illegally harvesting human remains as recently as 2005. Thank you THG.
They're still snatching body parts today. Especially when it comes to places like planned parenthood. Which were caught on camera numerous times selling parts. Some people like to claim it was debunked but no such debunking exists. They absolutely do sell parts.
@@scythelord That didn't happen. The fraudulent, highly edited "exposé" videos of the political ideologue James O'Keefe have been totally discredited. The attempt to frame Planned Parenthood with one of his videos backfired on O'Keefe when he was charged and convicted with attempting to illegally obtain human body. parts. His plan to entrap officials from Planned Parenthood selling fetal tissue was a fraud from the outset. No one was ever engaged in that practice there. It didn't happen.
I was in middle school when I first learned of "resurrectionists" via a 1945 film, The Body Snatcher. An article in a film fan magazine told of the movie's production. Set in the early 1800s, the film's entire focus was about the macabre and illegal business of providing doctor's with bodies to study for all the reasons your video relates. The stars of this vintage horror film were Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
That was a great movie! Directed by Robert Wise and produced by Val Lewton. They each have quite a resume! Certainly worth a watch if you're into classic B&W films.
A 1972 episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery called :Deliveries in the Rear" dealt with this very subject. Turns out the grave robbers are also murdering people to meet the need. It has a very, VERY Rod Serling twist at the end.
@Straight Razor Daddy "useful", huh? "The elites pay for the organs" I mean, if you consider the elites having access to black market organs to keep them healthy so the worldwide elitist cabal of bankers & corporatists can retain control over every aspect of our lives "useful", then yeah. Useful. Sure. Those wealthy elites would really appreciate your support and well wishes, I'm sure. I bet you were as giddy as a schoolgirl when Fatboy gave them that lifetime tax cut! Just kidding, bro. I know you were just making a lame attempt at a "Black Athlete Bad" joke, because fuck them for having opinions and exercising their first amendment rights! Am I right? They're gettin' too uppity. Thinking their lives matter and that they have a right to voice their opinions & beliefs in public like anybody else. That's not what America is about!
I live in North Bend, Ohio minutes from the Harrison tomb. Why would they snatch a body for a medical school 200 miles away? Regarding the importance of cadavers for medical schools - I personally had the honor to learn extremely valuable information during my dissection of two bodies that were donated to my medical school. What I learned helped me immeasurably in my career as an anesthesiologist. I am grateful for those who donate their bodies so others can learn and serve their fellow man in healthcare professions.
@@john_smith_john Well, since when I was in school in Ohio we actually studied Ohio history, and especially when it comes to the members of our state that were or became United States Presidents. Seeing that this story concerned the son of one US President, and the father of a second US President (who was from Ohio) then it is surprising that this story was left out.
@@francesrude3007 My HS history teacher always said, "if you were in college, I'd be telling you all a different story". Turns out College leaves out a lot of important stuff, too!
This is why everyone needs to study history. Your conclusions at the end were on point and need to be taken to heart by everyone in this current climate. History always repeats itself and if we were all students of history maybe humanity could get in front of the curve and do some good instead of panicking all the time.
I've actually been aware of this story for about 30 years after reading about it in one of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" books. It was a compilation of his stories, the book was called Destiny. I recently ordered it again after losing it some years ago, it has some of the most amazing stories in it you'll ever read. And they're all only two or three pages long each. And every single one has been verified true.
While the story is disturbingly compelling on its own, the last part is what for me is the most interesting. Your comments on how the moral dilemma of dealing with a changing society then is relevant in so many ways to this time. A true demonstration of your sites slogan , “History that deserves to be remembered.” Thank you.
As usual, another great video on a subject that I have never heard of before! I hated history in school but have become a history buff thanks to your channel. I thoroughly enjoy every video and eagerly await your next video. Thank you for bringing history down to my level!
I assume you've heard of Burke and Hare? Started off stealing bodies for medical research, and then when bodies were buried with more defences, and even guards hired to protect fresh graves, they moved onto producing their own corpses...
The well known writer Alistair Cooke's body was desecrated in more recent times. This was actually a criminal act where body parts were illegally traded.
he was nearly a 100 ! so age is no bar to these bastards,im from the u.k but wasnt harrison the president who got in due to a clever slogan that caught the public mood tippencanue and harrison too. i do know he refused to wear an overcoat at his inaugeration in arctic weather caught a chill and never recovered.fascinating story about his son though.
@@mikekemp9877 Yes, W.H. Harrison's campaign was the first in the US to use public hoopla and hype. Slogan's included: "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" {Tippecanoe= nickname from an anti-Indian battle Harrison lead) . And slogan: "Born In A Log Cabin." (He wasn't). Big wooden spheres with slogans & model log cabins were rolled/carried thru towns. Trying to live upo to his image Harrisin refused a warm coat at his Innauguration. He also gave the longest Address ever. Yes, he caught pneumonia and died a month later.
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 thanks it was one of those things that rattle round your head.bit like jp morgan was the first guy to buy things notably u.s steel without having the money but using the thing he bought to finance the loan! carnegie said after being bought out by morgan for 250million and a million a month pension on morgans death if i d known he had no money i would never have sold to him. man was a crook.thanks for the info on harrison.
@@HenryLebensbaumLaw Well, technically, he built rockets. I think he was rather ambivalent about what you stuck in the top. Having said that, he was a real peach. After taking membership in the Nazi party, he developed the U2 rocket before escaping to the US (and still a member of the SS!), where he was the lead developer of rockets for the early space programs. He was self-serving, amoral and arrogant. He was also frickin' brilliant. As stories go, his is pretty interesting despite his being a bastard: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
You should do a video on Johnston Island or Atoll. It is south west of the Hawaiian islands. It was mined for guano unfer the Guano islands Act in 1856. It was privately owned for 15 years and then the US government made it a federal bird refuge with the Johnston Island reservation. It was used as a refueling station for aircraft and ships during WW 2 and to conduct nuclear missile tests under Operation Hardtack. The island was used to test the safety devices on nuclear weapons by purposely having faulty part used which led to 4 launch failures that released plutonium and americium into the island and water. from the 1970's to 2001 it was used to store and incinerate chemical weapons such as sarin, VX, and mustard gas. It also store Agent Orange and other defoliants after the Vietnam war. There is a lot more history to the island that I didn't mention and I think it would make a great History Guy video. Thank you very much for your time and preserving history.
He should do the story on the ageless undertaker who would snatch bodies, and compress them down into midgets, and then send them thru a dimensional portal to work as slaves on another planet...
I knew of all 3 Harrison’s as a student of History myself. This remarkable tale however had eluded me! Thank You History Guy! I do not know how you deliver things unknown to a very long time fellow follower!
You mentioned around 5:08 that Benjamin Harrison was a politician in Illinois instead of Indiana, oops :) I've heard some of this story before and even been to the Harrison graves in North Bend. You made this much more informative than what I already knew about it, thanks!
This story does make me ask a question; If While Harrison was investigating if his friends body was stolen, didn’t see his father under that sheet, would he have pressed the matter at all? Meaning, if he saw someone else’s loved one hanging like a dog, would he have just shrugged it off?
Well now at times the History Guy even delves into the macabre all in the name of education. I find this last episode very interesting especially since it deals with medical education, the law and mortuary work. Keep digging, pardon the pun, and providing us with these great videos.
You aught to do an episode on Burke and Hare, who decided that the whole "digging" thing was to much like hard work, so it was much easier just to bump someone off and take the body to the anatomy class.....
Very good one! As a professor at Tulane medical school in New Orleans, I was somewhat familiar with this story and the era of body-snatching, but didn’t know about the many details you shared here. Tulane and Charity Hospital in New Orleans have some fascinating experiences with that issue from the 19th century. (Tulane Medical School was founded in 1834)
This being one of the primary reasons that I chose to donate my body to the UW Medical School. Having been the benefit of medical training as well as the victim of poor medical training throughout my life I prefer the former. To insure future doctors have the anatomical experience that’s necessary for obtaining this experience it made sense for me to let them gain it on something I was no longer using. If it keeps them out of the graveyard all that much better!
Excellent video as usual. I have already signed up to donate my cold cut to the local medical school, after which they will ship the bones to another university. ("At long last he fulfilled his lifelong dream of being admitted to Baylor School of Medicine."
I would absolutely demand that someone pull out a sharpie to pen that brilliant line on my corpse after my death. 😆 Can you imagine how hilarious that would be for the folks who wind up working with your body?
That line, via the efforts of a skilled tattoo artist, would be priceless. I can envision a discrete photo of the tattoo in the possession of all whose course of study led them to the discovery of said tattoo.
You are correct. They said if the body doesn't meet their standards (imagine: at 23 applying as a student, rejected. At 68 applying as a cadaver, rejected) they will sell it for parts, some of them for military testing, crash test dummy (last job he had he was still a dummy). I told them to then ship the blob to the body farm so they keep the bones in their collection.
My Dad, a community college history prof, always yearned to teach at a 4 year college. In death, he got his wish: He taught at Harvard! --He willed his brain to Harvard Medical School.
Wow. Can't imagine. But totally unrelated to the video: I just realized how much I appreciate the consistent and easily recognizable way you title your videos. RUclips tries to 'trick' me into viewing videos it thinks I might like, but because you are so consistent and easily recognizable at Titles, I can easily pick ones I haven't yet viewed!! Thank you!
I did think about current practices, and find I am MUCH less disturbed by the idea of medical research using cadavers than I am by medical and cosmetic firms keeping living animals caged for life and subjecting them to experiments that cause actual suffering. If we can live with the second one, the first one should be no problemo - whoever's body it was doesn't need it anymore, they don't suffer, and if it had been buried the body would ultimately have been dissected by bugs and bacteria anyway - it just seems a complete non-issue to me. If they want my corpse after I've popped my clogs, they're welcome to it!
@@K1lostream :- I am glad that you feel that way, and the answer to that particular dilemma is to donate your body to science and medical research...you can sign the papers today. But my problem was the underhanded, illegal and disrespectful attitude to the dead & FAMILY who paid good money to bury their relative and hoped that the body would stay buried as contracted for, and not end up making money for grave robbers.
Dear Camping, I retired from the funeral industry only a few years ago. Here in California, the death industry is quite over-regulated by the State. So, WHICH current practices are you referring to? I worked for a large funeral company in Southern California. (NOT SCI!) Also for a small out of state chain with one office in California. Both were honest, honorable companies. Law abiding and considerate of feelings and bereavement. Don't make generalizations that are not universal, and are in all liklihood unsupportable.
Love your in-depth analysis of history things I would've never know I love history fascinating how everyone lived back then. Makes any challenges facing us now a days pail in comparison
I just LOVE these episodes!! This one particularly hits home as I am (very distantly) related to this family. My one suggestion is just that. Perhaps mention at the beginning of the video whether the subject matter was viewer requested; I think it would be fun to hear.
@martin corderoy Many do. Although I would imagine since adequate refrigeration was probably not commonly available the shelf life so to speak was somewhat shorter in the 1800s
Yeah, but think how much worse it would be with religious fanatics. "God made you sick, so making you better is interfering with the will of god." Or, "Galenos taught us everything we need to know about medicine."
martin corderoy My dad and my grandmother have both gone to Wake Forest University. Mom will go there when her time comes. I plan to also set up the paperwork for when my time comes. Dad hoped to be assigned to some buxom young thing. ;)
@martin corderoy Because you cant "donate" someone elses body, even that of a relative. Just your own. You can dissect one legally, and there is no mention of buying a body, but robbing a grave is illegal. Had they done what you suggested, they would have broken the law. Breaking the law is bad, ok?
Going back in time to re-watch THG Greats of mine I was reminded in this episode that we now are experimenting on ourselves through the many medicinal drugs being given us. Are they needed or not? Only History will tell us. History That DDeserves To Be Remembered. Thanks to THG we're being kept informed!
I would love to see a vlog where you talk about Western State Hospotal, specifically the one in Staunton, Virginia. There's a lot of history about that place that people have forgotten and probably want to forget as time passes.
ln my line of work at one time...I had to go to the Body farm at the...University of Tennessee it was to say the least one l will never forget......Anyway....Thanks very much..!
@@jeanettewaverly2590 The smell will make you very sick....An puke many times...l am 75 years old now.....l can still get sick just thinking about it sometimes...!
@@steveshoemaker6347 I bet it would! I loved the forensic anthro class I took in college, but we worked with "well-skeletized" specimens. I would like to see that famous facility -- provided I could hold my breath long enough, lol.
A couple of weeks prior to me seeing this video, I changed my mind from being buried to being cremated, then my ashes interred on my family plot. Mainly due to giving my son & his family a larger inheritance, rather than worries about being "resurrected". I made the right choice!
I find myself torn. It seems equally immoral to put the pursuit of medical knowledge on hold because you don't have access to corpses that your students need to learn basic anatomy, physiology etc. What would you have them do?
This is probably a little late for this video, but I've been enjoying your true crime videos. Any chance that you could do one on H. H. Holmes, and especially how he built a precursor to his murder hotel in Fort Worth, Texas?
A very illustrative example of 'just wait til it happens to someone important'
History always rhyming
Then things start changing
My first thoughts exactly. Nothing has changed. Everyone in power has plausible deniability and is protected from any prosecution.
Much like the murders of the Civil Rights workers in Mississippi in 1964. Two of the three were White and from well off families. Their mass grave had been used by racists for decades to hide bodies of Black people they had killed. It took the two White men’s deaths to make the gravesite known to the nation.
@@brianarbenz7206 What did the black people do to get killed?
I cannot imagine how horrified the poor guy was when he saw his father lying there. It would be shocking to discover even if you knew full well your parent had volunteered their body for this.
Hanging there . . . 😬
I remember a few years back researching the Harrisons. The great grandfather signed the Declaration. The grandfather was president. So was the grandson. Then I realized I knew nothing about the father. Man, did I learn something. GREAT subject for one of your vids!
Ryan Reiter
Change of subject: My mother was born a Reiter. I don’t have enough information about the ancestral Reiters in my own genealogy as my grandfather Reiter died young. If you have any genealogy of the family name I would very much like to know more about it. If so, please respond to bigredgrego at yahoo dot com with Reiter included in the subject line. I would hate for a response to be lost among junk mail!
Thanks!
Greg O
Great-grandfather: I signed the Constitution
Grandfather: I was a president
Grandson: As was I
Father: My grave was robbed and I was found hanging by a rope naked in a hidden room in a medical college.
and i'm related.............................................far down the family tree.
Thank You History Guy.
I am a docent at the Benjamin Harrison home in Indianapolis. I often tell the story of the "Harrison Horror" but you filled in a lot of gaps in my knowledge. Now I can help you a little. Benjamin was a leading Republican in Indiana, not Illinois. He ran for governor but was defeated. He later served as senator from 1881-1887 before becoming president in 1889. I tell my guests the Harrisons were the Kennedys of the 18/19th centuries, only bigger! Love your stories. Thanks again
The first 90 seconds already were an extremely wild ride.
*click*
Oh no! What have I gotten myself into!!
But still buckles up!*
I'm 68 and grew up with the great horror movies about the 'mad scientist' who paid grave robbers to supply him with cadavers on which he did all kinds of 'mad experiments'. Of course, the classic "Frankenstein" movie with Karloff is undoubtedly the most famous of these movies. I love those old movies set during the time before electric lighting and when candles had to be used. The flickering shadows cast by the candles on the interior of the castles and laboratories, and the horse drawn carriages clip-clopping through the fog enveloped countryside; carrying the fresh dug up cadaver with a wolf howling in the dark, and of course the requisite beautiful young woman on her way to visit her 'mad scientist' Father or Uncle or Grandfather...and all of it scary...was always fun to go watch at the local movie theatre. But I remember one particular time when I saw one of these spooky & grisly horror movies. I had ridden my bicycle to the movie theatre and it was almost dark when I left to ride back home maybe 1 1/2 miles away in my neighborhood. I was so scared that I got in the middle of the road and peddled with all my might all the way home, scared that some boogie man would jump out of the ditch and grab me...!! But...I kept riding my bike to the movies to watch these horror movies anyway..LOL..!! How could I not do it... with Karloff and Vincent Price and Peter Lorre and Peter Cushing and Lon Chaney, Jr. and Lugosi , Christopher Lee and others...all doing their very best to scare the daylights out of us kids..!!
I have been watching your videos for sometime now. You are a great teacher. I'm 63 and thought my knowledge of history was above average. I now know I was kidding myself. Great job! I continue to be amazed by your stories. I'm sorry I'm not wealthy enough to financially supposed your channel. All I can offer is my gratitude and thanks. Thank you!
Body snatching is a grave situation. Thanks for unearthing this history for us!
good stuff
What apundant tact.
It was a dirty job but someone had to do it.
In any case, it's all been put to rest.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers. People who get caught face stiff fines 😃😅😂
Thanks for repeating this bit of History, I was pleased to give my own rendition of this story while working as a historical tour guide in Cincinnati OH.
My wife and I love the channel. We watch every video when it comes out and are still digging through the hours of quality archives! We'd love to see one about the "Tri-State Tornado." My Great Grandpa was a hero of that event in West Frankfurt in southern Illinois. The family story is that he ran into a school house and alerted the children of the coming tornado before it was destroyed - providing the notice necessary to get the children to safety while the town itself was nearly obliterated. It was out of the vast destruction of this event that there came a push for more early warning systems for storms in communities. Schools began practicing tornado drills. Etc. The Tri-State Tornado was an incredible event, both historically and meteorologically. It's certainly a story that deserves to be remembered. Keep up the great content!
There is more history in this 13 minute video than 24 hours of the History Channel!
Nun Ya more like 24 DAYS. I can remember when the history channel first started it was very good and enlightening with shows about history. Today it’s like the other channels surrendering to the lowest common denominator, whatever sales to make a buck.
can you guys shut up about the history channel already? we get it.
John Smith
Looks like we’ve found the president of the “Ancient Aliens” fan club...
@@NunYa953 nah fam, both you and the history channel are dumb.
Junk buying channel.
I live right up the road from Harrison's tomb in North Bend and I appreciate your doing a video of this very unfortunate bit of history. We are also known for the very first train robbery in the U.S. and that's a good story to tell, too. Keep up the great work you do!
Reminded me of something heard lately: In moving Beethoven's remains to a new crypt, the bottom of the rotted casket gave way, dumping poor Ludwig on the ground. But there was also a previously unknown symphony score in the casket showing some signs of erasure. Music experts were flummoxed, until one suggested that Beethoven was merely decomposing...
I see what you did. LOL.
Aw man that's bad😝
You had me...
Todd Looper ,
I do believe that you meant to say; “ That stinks”.
Pffft! 😁
I love your channel! As a historian myself, I find these stories fascinating because they are some that you don't get in a classroom or even with a lot of reading. I applaud your selection of different topics and I'll keep going through them as long as you put them up! Here's a subject for you: The Texas Hero and the Wanted Pirate (Jim Bowie and Jean Lafitte). It's a very obscure but fun story. :)
Unfortunately, this is not only a historical problem. You may be familiar with the case of Biomedical Tissue Services, shut down by the US Food and Drug Administration after the discovery of illegally harvested human bones, tissue, organs and other human cadaver parts including the bones of the well known BBC correspondent Alistair Cooke.
Dr. Michael Mastromarino and two co-workers were convicted of illegally harvesting human remains as recently as 2005. Thank you THG.
2005, I bet they’re all out by now. If I remember that case right they were using pvc pipe to replace the bones they removed!
Be wary of people who say..."i can get you WHATEVER you want.
They're still snatching body parts today.
Especially when it comes to places like planned parenthood. Which were caught on camera numerous times selling parts. Some people like to claim it was debunked but no such debunking exists. They absolutely do sell parts.
@@shanek6582 Mastromarino actually died of cancer in 2013
@@scythelord
That didn't happen. The fraudulent, highly edited "exposé" videos of the political ideologue James O'Keefe have been totally discredited. The attempt to frame Planned Parenthood with one of his videos backfired on O'Keefe when he was charged and convicted with attempting to illegally obtain human body. parts. His plan to entrap officials from Planned Parenthood selling fetal tissue was a fraud from the outset. No one was ever engaged in that practice there. It didn't happen.
Thank you for this video. My Great Grandmother was a Harrison and relative of the 2 presidents.
I was in middle school when I first learned of "resurrectionists" via a 1945 film, The Body Snatcher. An article in a film fan magazine told of the movie's production. Set in the early 1800s, the film's entire focus was about the macabre and illegal business of providing doctor's with bodies to study for all the reasons your video relates. The stars of this vintage horror film were Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi.
And that movie was based on fact!
They Burked them, Toddy.
Thanks. I was trying to remember the name of this movie.
That was a great movie! Directed by Robert Wise and produced by Val Lewton. They each have quite a resume! Certainly worth a watch if you're into classic B&W films.
Always a pleasure and honor partaking in the wealth of knowledge that you possess...
A 1972 episode of Rod Serling's Night Gallery called :Deliveries in the Rear" dealt with this very subject. Turns out the grave robbers are also murdering people to meet the need. It has a very, VERY Rod Serling twist at the end.
Sounds like gay porn.
Like the real life Burke and Hare! 😣
They say that still happens to black athletes. The elites pay for the organs.
I am sure that I saw that when I was about 8 years old.
@Straight Razor Daddy "useful", huh?
"The elites pay for the organs"
I mean, if you consider the elites having access to black market organs to keep them healthy so the worldwide elitist cabal of bankers & corporatists can retain control over every aspect of our lives "useful", then yeah. Useful. Sure.
Those wealthy elites would really appreciate your support and well wishes, I'm sure. I bet you were as giddy as a schoolgirl when Fatboy gave them that lifetime tax cut!
Just kidding, bro. I know you were just making a lame attempt at a "Black Athlete Bad" joke, because fuck them for having opinions and exercising their first amendment rights! Am I right? They're gettin' too uppity. Thinking their lives matter and that they have a right to voice their opinions & beliefs in public like anybody else. That's not what America is about!
I live in North Bend, Ohio minutes from the Harrison tomb. Why would they snatch a body for a medical school 200 miles away?
Regarding the importance of cadavers for medical schools - I personally had the honor to learn extremely valuable information during my dissection of two bodies that were donated to my medical school. What I learned helped me immeasurably in my career as an anesthesiologist. I am grateful for those who donate their bodies so others can learn and serve their fellow man in healthcare professions.
I love all your stories. You cant make any of this stuff up, this one is just perfect.
Thanks for providing some history they didn't teach me in school ... in Ohio!!!
This was never mentioned in my Ohio history class.
why would this be mentioned in school?
@@john_smith_john Well, since when I was in school in Ohio we actually studied Ohio history, and especially when it comes to the members of our state that were or became United States Presidents. Seeing that this story concerned the son of one US President, and the father of a second US President (who was from Ohio) then it is surprising that this story was left out.
JRSofty I am 76 yrs old. They don't/didn't teach a ton of TRUE HISTORY in schools.
@@francesrude3007 My HS history teacher always said, "if you were in college, I'd be telling you all a different story".
Turns out College leaves out a lot of important stuff, too!
This is why everyone needs to study history. Your conclusions at the end were on point and need to be taken to heart by everyone in this current climate. History always repeats itself and if we were all students of history maybe humanity could get in front of the curve and do some good instead of panicking all the time.
💯
Amazing work bringing these snippets to life for a generation that needs to consider the past when contemplating the future, thank you both!
Your compelling narration "digs down to the heart of the matter."
Excellent. Fascinating stuff. You all deserve a bigger audience.
I've actually been aware of this story for about 30 years after reading about it in one of Paul Harvey's "The Rest of the Story" books. It was a compilation of his stories, the book was called Destiny. I recently ordered it again after losing it some years ago, it has some of the most amazing stories in it you'll ever read. And they're all only two or three pages long each. And every single one has been verified true.
Fascinating topic to choose. I had heard of grave robbing but didn't realize how prevalent it had become for medical schools.
Wow! So interesting and amazing! The stories of “how we got to now” in so many aspects of life gives so much richer meaning!
While the story is disturbingly compelling on its own, the last part is what for me is the most interesting. Your comments on how the moral dilemma of dealing with a changing society then is relevant in so many ways to this time. A true demonstration of your sites slogan , “History that deserves to be remembered.” Thank you.
This was an amazing video! I'm a Harrison, AND a history lover and had no idea!
You’re such a great storyteller.
Morbid as hell, and still listened
Well, this gives a whole new perspective to "midnight gardening."
...and night fishing.
I thought fishing in the dark was a sexual thing. Now im not so sure!
All I know is what my parents taught me, That midnight gardening was "hiding your metals in the dark.@@commodoresixfour7478
🤣😂
As usual, another great video on a subject that I have never heard of before! I hated history in school but have become a history buff thanks to your channel. I thoroughly enjoy every video and eagerly await your next video. Thank you for bringing history down to my level!
I assume you've heard of Burke and Hare?
Started off stealing bodies for medical research, and then when bodies were buried with more defences, and even guards hired to protect fresh graves, they moved onto producing their own corpses...
I love the History Guy, he makes history so much more interesting. Thank you sir
The well known writer Alistair Cooke's body was desecrated in more recent times. This was actually a criminal act where body parts were illegally traded.
ruclips.net/video/wz6hmGiOn2I/видео.html
Tintin Hickey Poor Alistair!
he was nearly a 100 ! so age is no bar to these bastards,im from the u.k but wasnt harrison the president who got in due to a clever slogan that caught the public mood tippencanue and harrison too. i do know he refused to wear an overcoat at his inaugeration in arctic weather caught a chill and never recovered.fascinating story about his son though.
@@mikekemp9877 Yes, W.H. Harrison's campaign was the first in the US to use public hoopla and hype. Slogan's included: "Tippecanoe and Tyler Too" {Tippecanoe= nickname from an anti-Indian battle Harrison lead) . And slogan: "Born In A Log Cabin." (He wasn't). Big wooden spheres with slogans & model log cabins were rolled/carried thru towns. Trying to live upo to his image Harrisin refused a warm coat at his Innauguration. He also gave the longest Address ever. Yes, he caught pneumonia and died a month later.
@@carlcushmanhybels8159 thanks it was one of those things that rattle round your head.bit like jp morgan was the first guy to buy things notably u.s steel without having the money but using the thing he bought to finance the loan! carnegie said after being bought out by morgan for 250million and a million a month pension on morgans death if i d known he had no money i would never have sold to him. man was a crook.thanks for the info on harrison.
History is truly stranger than fiction. Thank you Doctor.
And usually (at least) as disgusting.....
W. Van Braun said it well: the earth is the insane asylum of the universe.
Is that the Nazi that helped to kill people
George Carlin - ‘When you're born into this world, you're given a ticket to the freak show. If you're born in America you get a front row seat.’
@Greg Moonen Omg. Top notch, sir.
@@HenryLebensbaumLaw Well, technically, he built rockets. I think he was rather ambivalent about what you stuck in the top. Having said that, he was a real peach. After taking membership in the Nazi party, he developed the U2 rocket before escaping to the US (and still a member of the SS!), where he was the lead developer of rockets for the early space programs. He was self-serving, amoral and arrogant. He was also frickin' brilliant. As stories go, his is pretty interesting despite his being a bastard:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
@@HenryLebensbaumLaw Captain Obvious try staying on topic
Another excellent episode. Thank you very much!
Quite a story. I'm glad you dug this one up.
It was already dug up. 😁
Thank you for the extra history. I really enjoy all of the videos I have seen.
What a horrible find for that son! WoW. The History Guy's videos are Excellence at it's best with each and every video!
How can something be excellence at it's best? Your word usage creates a 'perfect circle'!
*Wow *its
Thx History Guy, history certainly does need to be remembered. Especially in these trying times. 👍
this is one of the best youtube channels imo, wonderful snippets of history delivered well, i love it.
You should do a video on Johnston Island or Atoll. It is south west of the Hawaiian islands. It was mined for guano unfer the Guano islands Act in 1856. It was privately owned for 15 years and then the US government made it a federal bird refuge with the Johnston Island reservation. It was used as a refueling station for aircraft and ships during WW 2 and to conduct nuclear missile tests under Operation Hardtack. The island was used to test the safety devices on nuclear weapons by purposely having faulty part used which led to 4 launch failures that released plutonium and americium into the island and water. from the 1970's to 2001 it was used to store and incinerate chemical weapons such as sarin, VX, and mustard gas. It also store Agent Orange and other defoliants after the Vietnam war.
There is a lot more history to the island that I didn't mention and I think it would make a great History Guy video. Thank you very much for your time and preserving history.
Good lord....WHAT a crazy...insane...and very disturbing story.
KEEP 'EM COMING!
He should do the story on the ageless undertaker who would snatch bodies, and compress them down into midgets, and then send them thru a dimensional portal to work as slaves on another planet...
MyCatInABox I hate it when people use readmore to be cleaver. Its never cleaver.
@@clayz1 It's clever, not cleaver. Cleaver is a rectangular bladed knife.
@@davidmarquardt2445 Yep.
SuziKitty Thank you. Getting old you know.
Your videos have reawakened my curiosity about history. I very much enjoy your videos and thanks for the great entertainment.
I knew of all 3 Harrison’s as a student of History myself. This remarkable tale however had eluded me! Thank You History Guy! I do not know how you deliver things unknown to a very long time fellow follower!
You mentioned around 5:08 that Benjamin Harrison was a politician in Illinois instead of Indiana, oops :) I've heard some of this story before and even been to the Harrison graves in North Bend. You made this much more informative than what I already knew about it, thanks!
This story does make me ask a question; If While Harrison was investigating if his friends body was stolen, didn’t see his father under that sheet, would he have pressed the matter at all? Meaning, if he saw someone else’s loved one hanging like a dog, would he have just shrugged it off?
Fair question.
Well now at times the History Guy even delves into the macabre all in the name of education. I find this last episode very interesting especially since it deals with medical education, the law and mortuary work. Keep digging, pardon the pun, and providing us with these great videos.
I like the News headlines of the time.
"Ghouls Indicted"
Amazing! I am a proud Hoosier and have never heard this story before.
You aught to do an episode on Burke and Hare, who decided that the whole "digging" thing was to much like hard work, so it was much easier just to bump someone off and take the body to the anatomy class.....
I think this is the very first story you've told that I've heard before. That is genuinely impressive with how much time I spend on the app
Remember history ... lest you repeat it. :-) Great story! I would recommend heartily that this one be re-posted on, oh, October 31st maybe? :-)
I hated history in school and yet your video's are addictive.
You should be teaching history teachers how to teach history.
Yes!!!! Fresh History Guy!!! Thanks Mr and Mrs History!!!!! Interesting story....perhaps a segway into Stories of the great Highgate Cemetary?
Very good one! As a professor at Tulane medical school in New Orleans, I was somewhat familiar with this story and the era of body-snatching, but didn’t know about the many details you shared here. Tulane and Charity Hospital in New Orleans have some fascinating experiences with that issue from the 19th century. (Tulane Medical School was founded in 1834)
You said it H Guy. Nothing makes sense these days 🙁
This being one of the primary reasons that I chose to donate my body to the UW Medical School. Having been the benefit of medical training as well as the victim of poor medical training throughout my life I prefer the former. To insure future doctors have the anatomical experience that’s necessary for obtaining this experience it made sense for me to let them gain it on something I was no longer using. If it keeps them out of the graveyard all that much better!
Excellent video as usual. I have already signed up to donate my cold cut to the local medical school, after which they will ship the bones to another university. ("At long last he fulfilled his lifelong dream of being admitted to Baylor School of Medicine."
I would absolutely demand that someone pull out a sharpie to pen that brilliant line on my corpse after my death. 😆 Can you imagine how hilarious that would be for the folks who wind up working with your body?
That line, via the efforts of a skilled tattoo artist, would be priceless. I can envision a discrete photo of the tattoo in the possession of all whose course of study led them to the discovery of said tattoo.
just so you know.. they dont always use them for that. you may want to research it... might give you the chilld a bit
You are correct. They said if the body doesn't meet their standards (imagine: at 23 applying as a student, rejected. At 68 applying as a cadaver, rejected) they will sell it for parts, some of them for military testing, crash test dummy (last job he had he was still a dummy). I told them to then ship the blob to the body farm so they keep the bones in their collection.
My Dad, a community college history prof, always yearned to teach at a 4 year college. In death, he got his wish: He taught at Harvard! --He willed his brain to Harvard Medical School.
Wow. Can't imagine. But totally unrelated to the video: I just realized how much I appreciate the consistent and easily recognizable way you title your videos. RUclips tries to 'trick' me into viewing videos it thinks I might like, but because you are so consistent and easily recognizable at Titles, I can easily pick ones I haven't yet viewed!! Thank you!
Great way to start a Monday!
There is much more to some of this body snatching than merely science.
Excellent video!
Great treatment of an important yet gruesome subject.
Thank you for your historical insights. I really enjoy all of your videos.
You literally help me fall asleep but I always wake up wanting to tell everyone what I heard. 👍
How could you fall asleep to this one? So many twists and turns
Tayhlor Pogacsas - Yes, I’m glad they took the time to dig up all the details on this event! Had they not, it could have remained buried forever!
Tayhlor Pogacsas Me too. My dog is well-versed in history!
The History Guy is a champion. Well-spoken and informative so much better than MSM history documentaries
Love your work
I use to work at the Medical College of Ohio & never heard this before... that’s really cool
chad wallace LOL well it wouldn’t be a story the college would want to advertise.
Leonardo Da Vinci had problems with his study of anatomy too.
This one has just the right amount of creepy. Keep em coming!
A thoroughly disturbing topic, making one think about current practices. Thank you for another great video.
I highly recommend this excellent book: www.goodreads.com/book/show/32145.Stiff
I did think about current practices, and find I am MUCH less disturbed by the idea of medical research using cadavers than I am by medical and cosmetic firms keeping living animals caged for life and subjecting them to experiments that cause actual suffering.
If we can live with the second one, the first one should be no problemo - whoever's body it was doesn't need it anymore, they don't suffer, and if it had been buried the body would ultimately have been dissected by bugs and bacteria anyway - it just seems a complete non-issue to me.
If they want my corpse after I've popped my clogs, they're welcome to it!
@@K1lostream :- I am glad that you feel that way, and the answer to that particular dilemma is to donate your body to science and medical research...you can sign the papers today.
But my problem was the underhanded, illegal and disrespectful attitude to the dead & FAMILY who paid good money to bury their relative and hoped that the body would stay buried as contracted for, and not end up making money for grave robbers.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Yikes!
Dear Camping,
I retired from the funeral industry only a few years ago. Here in California, the death industry is quite over-regulated by the State. So, WHICH current practices are you referring to? I worked for a large funeral company in Southern California. (NOT SCI!) Also for a small out of state chain with one office in California. Both were honest, honorable companies. Law abiding and considerate of feelings and bereavement. Don't make generalizations that are not universal, and are in all liklihood unsupportable.
Definitely a very very interesting episode History Guy !! , Thank you for all your hard work !
Man, can not even get respect in death, just like in life.
That is what cremation is for ~
In the 1870s there was a plot to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln and ransom it.
Agreed. 😵
"Rodney Dangerfield" lol
No deads care about their bodies ...
Love your in-depth analysis of history things I would've never know I love history fascinating how everyone lived back then. Makes any challenges facing us now a days pail in comparison
I just LOVE these episodes!!
This one particularly hits home as I am (very distantly) related to this family. My one suggestion is just that. Perhaps mention at the beginning of the video whether the subject matter was viewer requested; I think it would be fun to hear.
I don’t even look at myself naked, I sure the heck don’t want a bunch of strangers looking at me naked, wow
The best detailing of this amazing story I have ever heard.
The prudent point you made at the end of the video is worth remembering. We can learn much about the future from the past.
Oh my LORD, I cannot imagine finding my Daddy hanging...
More history I was not aware of.
Thanks for the history lesson 👍
Jeez Louise, body snatchers are disgusting, always an excuse for criminal activity, amazing.
That's capitalism for ya.
@martin corderoy Many do. Although I would imagine since adequate refrigeration was probably not commonly available the shelf life so to speak was somewhat shorter in the 1800s
Yeah, but think how much worse it would be with religious fanatics. "God made you sick, so making you better is interfering with the will of god." Or, "Galenos taught us everything we need to know about medicine."
martin corderoy My dad and my grandmother have both gone to Wake Forest University. Mom will go there when her time comes. I plan to also set up the paperwork for when my time comes.
Dad hoped to be assigned to some buxom young thing. ;)
@martin corderoy Because you cant "donate" someone elses body, even that of a relative. Just your own.
You can dissect one legally, and there is no mention of buying a body, but robbing a grave is illegal.
Had they done what you suggested, they would have broken the law. Breaking the law is bad, ok?
Going back in time to re-watch THG Greats of mine I was reminded in this episode that we now are experimenting on ourselves through the many medicinal drugs being given us.
Are they needed or not? Only History will tell us. History That DDeserves To Be Remembered. Thanks to THG we're being kept informed!
In Ireland and Scotland grave robbers were also known as stiffy-lifters.
That's what i call my ex's!
I would love to see a vlog where you talk about Western State Hospotal, specifically the one in Staunton, Virginia. There's a lot of history about that place that people have forgotten and probably want to forget as time passes.
More devastating than pestilence, ignorance, the bane of mankind.
That's why they snatched the bodies, to reduce our ignorance.
I'm a descendant of WH Harrison. Good to see a video about the guy!
Facebook and Twitter are also at the forefront of a new area of science: not body snatchers but data snatchers
We need a "data bill of rights". But the powers that be will not disturb a money making enterprise without a national public outcry.
I had heard of Resurectionist before but I had no idea the vault was invented to stop them. Thanks for sharing this story.
ln my line of work at one time...I had to go to the Body farm at the...University of Tennessee it was to say the least one l will never forget......Anyway....Thanks very much..!
phuc ewe Well played, Sir.
I'd love to see The Body Farm, grisly as it may be. It's famous in the world of forensic anthropology.
@phuc ewe 0'mercy was it....lol l0l...?
@@jeanettewaverly2590 The smell will make you very sick....An puke many times...l am 75 years old now.....l can still get sick just thinking about it sometimes...!
@@steveshoemaker6347 I bet it would! I loved the forensic anthro class I took in college, but we worked with "well-skeletized" specimens. I would like to see that famous facility -- provided I could hold my breath long enough, lol.
A couple of weeks prior to me seeing this video, I changed my mind from being buried to being cremated, then my ashes interred on my family plot. Mainly due to giving my son & his family a larger inheritance, rather than worries about being "resurrected". I made the right choice!
I've lived in Cincy for over 30 yrs & never heard of this story. Thanks!!
Good grief!!! These indeed were horrific acts. Where was the moral thinking of these colleges? SMH.
Thank you for more unknown history.
I find myself torn. It seems equally immoral to put the pursuit of medical knowledge on hold because you don't have access to corpses that your students need to learn basic anatomy, physiology etc. What would you have them do?
I’ve never heard William Henry Harrison being referred to as W H Harrison before.
#TippecanoeAndTylerToo
Well now you have!
This is probably a little late for this video, but I've been enjoying your true crime videos. Any chance that you could do one on H. H. Holmes, and especially how he built a precursor to his murder hotel in Fort Worth, Texas?
"Exploding Coffin" ----I just discovered my new computer gaming player name.
Very informative and enjoyable, keep up the good work.