Professor Robert Knox

Nursery Rhyme

“Burke’s the butcher,

Hare’s the thief,

Knox the man that buys the beef.”

Details

Professor Robert Knox headed the School of Medicine of the University of Il Aluk until his murder in 697 BC. He had long been involved in the illicit business of securing cadavers for the school from the resurrectionists of the city. Among these ghoulish men were one William Burke and one William Hare. The pair of grave robbers had begun supplementing their salable inventory with the cadavers of those whom they murdered. One of the victims turned out to be Grumman Knox, the nephew of the professor. When the cadaver of the young Knox was offered to his uncle, the latter calmly purchased it, and proceeded to report Burke and Hare to the authorities. Before the pair could be arrested, they learnt of the betrayal by their long-standing business partner, broke into his home, and murdered him.