Lectures on Tap-"A History of Body Snatching for Science"

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🧠 Lecture: "Over My Dead Body: A History of Body Snatching for Science"

🎤 Speaker: James Henry

Modern medicine was born in the shadows of the graveyard, built on a grisly trade of illegal body snatching for dissection. From the late 1700s through the early 1900s, graves across the Western world were plundered to satisfy the insatiable demand of medical schools desperate for cadavers.

In this chilling yet fascinating talk, James Henry uncovers how “resurrectionists” stole the dead, the public outrage and graveyard defenses they inspired, and how this hidden economy shaped the rise of medical science. But the story doesn’t end in the past: the dark trade simply evolved. Today, the sack-and-shovel ghouls have been replaced by modern body brokers who harvest and sell illicit human remains under the radar.

James Henry is a licensed NYC tour guide specializing in the cemeteries and burial spaces of New York City. He has worked with Atlas Obscura, Green-Wood Cemetery, Evergreens Cemetery, and the Bowery Boys, among others.

Get a drink, connect, and learn at Lectures on Tap! 🙌

Agenda

6:30 PM – Doors open: find a seat (open seating!), order food & drinks, and expect a bar line—arriving early is key.

6:55 PM – Host introduction

7:00 PM – Lecture begins

7:45 PM – Audience Q&A

8:00 PM – Have 1:1 time with the speaker, mingle with fellow guests, and order another round

8:30 PM – Wrap up.

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