SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Ben Franklin's Bones

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published January 26, 2015 at 6:47 AM PST

Nearly complete skeleton of a baby found in the pit at Craven Street.

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—Learn why Franklin held human skeletal remains in the basement of his British residence—

When the skeletal remains of an estimated 28 people were discovered in the basement of the one-time London residence of Benjamin Franklin, people speculated that the Founding Father might have had a much darker side. What had taken place in this elegant Georgian town house located in the heart of London at 36 Craven Street? Who was responsible for this hideaway of bones? Had the work of a serial killer been unearthed? SECRETS OF THE DEAD investigates the mystery of "Ben Franklin's Bones."

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In November 1997, when the skeletal remains of at least 28 bodies were unearthed in the basement of an elegant townhouse, police feared it was the work of a serial killer. But when research indicated the bones actually dated to the mid-1700s, the implications became even more dramatic. This was no ordinary house: 36 Craven Street was the former residence of Benjamin Franklin.

In December 1997, 36 Craven Street was undergoing extensive renovation to transform it into the Benjamin Franklin Museum. While digging in the basement, a builder turned up a grisly discovery – a pit filled with human bones, including those of several infants – which prompted a call to the police.

Reconstruction – discovery of the bones in the basement.

“I would say in my 30 years in the police service, this is the first private address I have been to where there have been bones found actually concealed in the property,” says retired Detective Inspector Jim O’Connell, Metropolitan Police Service New Scotland Yard. “I thought, ‘I need to get some expert advice here…’ We called on a local coroner to come and give us some assistance.”

An investigation by Dr. Paul Knapman, retired coroner for the City of Westminster, revealed that the bones were more than a century old. But a more precise dating of the bones was needed to pinpoint when they were stashed – and thus determine who had been occupying 36 Craven Street, since many others besides Franklin lived in the townhouse over the years.

America’s Founding Father Benjamin Franklin was intellectually curious about the world and he operated in it as a gentlemanly scientist. He pursued experiments related to electricity, he looked at better ways to make clocks and improve bifocal lenses. In 1752, he had won world-wide fame when he proved that lightening was not an act of God but in fact electricity.

Tests conducted by Professor Simon Hillson, University College London, a specialist in the biology and history of human remains, uncovered findings that proved pivotal in dating the bones to the mid-1700s – surprisingly, the time when Franklin occupied Craven Street. Aside from Franklin, a young doctor named William Hewson also lived at Craven Street. But Hewson was no ordinary physician. He came to London to study at the anatomy school of William and John Hunter.

William Hewson, Benjamin Franklin’s neighbor at 36 Craven Street, was no ordinary physician. He was an anatomist. Hewson had conducted extensive research into the human lymphatic system and his detailed findings were recorded by leading anatomical artists of the day. Are the bones at Craven Street connected to William Hewson?

By 1771, he had made a name for himself as an anatomist, was a fellow of the Royal Society, married Polly Stevenson, daughter of the woman who owned 36 Craven Street, and had become a good friend of Franklin. And in 1772, Hewson established a thriving, though some might contend gruesome, business to support his family.

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Reconstruction of William Hewson with a cadaver.

Is the discovery of the pit of bones connected to Hewson’s activities at Craven Street? What was the significance of the cut marks across the skulls, dissection marks on the bones, fragments from an exotic green sea turtle and other animals, and the presence of mercury? What was Hewson’s relationship with the Resurrectionists (grave robbers/body snatchers) in London’s criminal underworld? Medical historians suspect that Franklin was aware of the bodies in his basement, but did he know the extent of what was going on and why?

In the 18th century, private anatomy schools were set up across London to give medical students the opportunity to learn anatomy by dissecting human cadavers. But supply lagged behind demand. Anatomists needed many more bodies than the ones of hanged murderers, which were the only bodies legally available at that time for their study. This created a business for body snatchers.

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Credits: A production of Icon Films and THIRTEEN Productions LLC for WNET. Narrator is Jay O. Sanders. Director is Kate Thomas-Couth. Executive producers for Icon Films are Owen Gay and Harry Marshall. Executive in charge for WNET is Stephen Segaller. Executive producer for WNET is Steve Burns. Coordinating producer for WNET is Stephanie Carter.

SECRETS OF THE DEAD: Ben Franklin's Bones

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