Observations on Barclay's elephant.
This account attempts to trace the fate of the skeleton of an elephant that was gifted by George Ballingall to Dr John Barclay, one of the most important teachers of Anatomy in Edinburgh during the early 19th century. In his will, Barclay gifted his human and comparative anatomy collections, including the elephant, to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh on two conditions, that a hall should be built to house the collection, and that it should be associated with his name in perpetuity. In the 1830s, the comparative collection, but particularly the skeleton of the elephant, was the pride of the College. Unfortunately, interest in the comparative material rapidly diminished, and, due to constraints on space, while the elephant's skull was retained the rest of the skeleton was disposed of. An unpublished poem written at the time of the Burke trial, in 1829, testifies to the fact that Barclay's elephant was closely associated in the minds of the public with the activities of Dr Robert Knox, the then Conservator of the College museum.
Kaufman
M H
MH
Department of Anatomy, University Medical School, Edinburgh.
D000717:Anatomy, Comparative / Q000266:history*; D000818:Animals; D004606:Elephants; D049672:History, 19th Century; D006801:Humans; D009144:Museums / Q000266:history; D011037:Poetry as Topic; D012606:Scotland; D012863:Skeleton