Preview | Ben Franklin's Bones
Preview: Season 14 Episode 1 | 30sVideo has Closed Captions
Could Benjamin Franklin have been responsible in some way for the bones in the basement?
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.
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SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.
Preview | Ben Franklin's Bones
Preview: Season 14 Episode 1 | 30sVideo has Closed Captions
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.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- [Narrator] On "Secrets of the Dead"... - I saw what I believed to be the remains of more than one person.
- Here was a house that had been occupied by Benjamin Franklin.
- [Narrator] But was Franklin himself responsible for these grisly remains?
Scientists dig into the truth and reveal the dark underbelly of early medicine.
- Body snatchers could bring in bodies from the docks, from the graveyards, and into his anatomy school.
- [Narrator] "Ben Franklin's Bones," on "Secrets of the Dead."
[dramatic music]
Ben Franklin’s Scientific Achievements
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Clip: S14 Ep1 | 3m 23s | Franklin was curious about the world and he operated in it as a gentlemanly scientist. (3m 23s)
The Rise of the Body Snatchers
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Clip: S14 Ep1 | 2m 37s | Watch how the shortage of human cadavers turned anatomists to the criminal underworld. (2m 37s)
William Hewson’s Experiments and the Craven Street Bones
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Clip: S14 Ep1 | 2m 21s | Are the bones at Craven Street connected to William Hewson? (2m 21s)
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SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.