Ben Franklin's Bones

From 1757 to 1775, Benjamin Franklin lived in London, serving as a diplomatic representative to the Crown from the American colonies. In the late 1990s, when the house Franklin lived in was being restored, a cache of bones was discovered in a pit in the building's basement. In all, the skeletal remains of 28 people were found, including one infant. Filmmaker Kate Thomas-Couth's documentary—part of the PBS-aired Secrets of the Dead series—asks (not very seriously) whether Franklin was a "gentlemanly scientist" or a serial killer? Although occupied in diplomatic work, Franklin also continued to pursue scientific interests, and engaged in activities tied to his sometimes eccentric beliefs (such as taking daily naked "air baths”). Always gregarious, Franklin struck up a cordial relationship with some fellow boarders, including a woman who had a young daughter named Polly. In time, Polly met and married Dr. William Hewson, an anatomist with a passion for dissection, who was particularly interested in the human lymphatic system. To further his research, Hewson needed lots of corpses. In those days, surgery was considered a lowly profession: to obtain corpses, surgeons often had to deal with body snatchers, also called "resurrectionists," who raided pauper's graves for bodies (an unsavory but also lucrative business). Although it's unlikely that Franklin was involved, he did admire Hewson and followed the latter's research. Hewson would eventually be widely praised as the "father of hematology," but at the age of 34 he contracted an infection while performing a dissection, and quickly died. When Franklin returned to America, he urged the widow Polly and her family to join him in Philadelphia. Over time, her family spawned a long, esteemed line of physicians, some of whom are interviewed here. Presenting an intriguing look at the intersection of shady criminal activity and scientific inquiry during the late 18th century, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees)