The science of the brain was changing throughout the 19th century. Medical researchers were peering ever deeper into cerebral mysteries and one question piqued their interest more than any other: who has the biggest brain?
This episode of the Long Island History Project podcast turns for answers to Dr. James R. Wright, medical historian and retired professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the University of Calgary.
He introduces us to brain clubs, mutual autopsy societies and above all, the American Anthropometric Society of Philadelphia. The AAS had a particular interest in collecting and studying the brains of prominent scientists and intellectuals. You can imagine their excitement then, when Walt Whitman died in 1892 not far from their laboratory.
Wright walks us through the ensuing complicated tale uncovered by him and other historians. Did Whitman really donate his brain to science? Why did Henry Ware Cattelll, who performed the autopsy, keep changing his story? And how does eBay and the 1931 movie Frankenstein play into it all?
This is a special Halloween episode that is not for the feint of heart.
You can hear the episode online here.
The Long Island History Project is an independent podcast featuring stories and interviews with people passionate about Long Island history. It is hosted by academic librarian Chris Kretz.
For a full list of New York Almanack podcasts announcements click HERE.
Illustration: Detail from Tertia pagina figurarum capitalium (9 pictures of the brain and its parts), 1545 (NYPL).
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