Burke and Hare were notorious murderers in the early 1800’s. Their full names were William Burke and William Hare. Burke was born in Ireland in 1792, and Hare was born there about 1790. Hare ran a lodging house in Edinburgh, Scotland. Burke lived in the house and became friendly with Hare. When one of the lodgers died, they sold his body to a Doctor Knox, who needed it for dissection. This successful transaction gave them the idea of murdering people in order to sell their bodies. Typically, they enticed their victims into the lodging house, made them drunk, and suffocated them. When they were finally arrested, Hare gave evidence against his partner and was released. Burke was hanged in Edinburgh on Jan. 28, 1829.
