Thomas Hume Memoirs

Thomas Hume was a student at Edinburgh University during the city's eventful years 1828-1829, a period that was marked by the Burke and Hare murders, and of which Hume was a keen eyewitness, including at the execution and dissection of William Burke. In this notebook Hume records detailed encounters with the anatomist Dr. Robert Knox including a vivid recollection of attendance at the surgeon's infamous lectures at his anatomy rooms in Edinburgh Surgeons' Square, and his help in protecting Knox from the baying mob in the wake of the murders. Hume also recounts his interactions with other notable individuals of the period, including William Fergusson (and several other assistants to Knox) and "Daft Jamie" one of the murder victims. We are grateful to the descendants of Thomas Hume for donating his collection to RCSEd Library and Archive. You can read more about this notebook on our blog here.