Science can be murder
Sometimes it’s murder being a scientist: all those hours in the lab, fieldwork in appalling conditions and equations not adding up after writing pages of numbers. However, thank your lucky stars you’re not one of these killer scientists.
Ripper, J. (1984). Stretchwrap - now the versatile all-purpose system. Confectionery Production 50, 267-268.
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The Whitechapel based murderer was never properly identified, although his extensive published works on cling-film made him a household name.
Brady, I. (2002). Cannibalism and the colonial world. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 8, 767-768.
Hindley, M. (1996). Bionic brain cells teach the language of nerves. New Scientist 150, 22-22.
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Through their research, the Moors murderers showed clear signs of murderous tendencies, Brady becoming an expert in the study of boil-in-the-pot dinners and Hindley getting into brains.
Manson, C. and Thurber, K. (1989). Remote control. Byte 14, 235.
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Having planned and ordered several brutal murders, most notably the movie actress Sharon Tate, Manson was put away for 36 years.
Shipman, H.L. (1972). Masses and Radii of White Dwarfs. Astrophysical Journal 177, 723.
- Manchester based GP, who killed around 250 patients making him the most prolific known serial killer in British history, maybe even the world. His interest in astronomy and stars, however, was less well known.
Grontved, A.M. and West, F. (2000). pH monitoring in patients with benign voice disorders. Acta Oto-Laryngologica 543, 229-231.
- Fred West’s ear, nose and throat studies were just a cover for what was to become a gruesome string of murders at 25 Cromwell Street.
Atiyah, M. and Sutcliffe, P. (2002). The geometry of point particles. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series A - Mathematical Physical and Engineering Sciences 458, 1089-1115.
- The Yorkshire Ripper spent many months perfecting his point particle research, but is better known for his brutal killing of thirteen women, and attempted murder of seven more before being banged up in Broadmoor Prison.
de Silva, S.R., Bundy, E.D., Smith, P.D. and Gaydos, J.C. (1999). A geographical information system technique for record-matching in a study of cancer deaths in welders. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine 41, 464-468.
- One of America’s most vicious serial killers, his interest in welders was just a disguise to get him closer to his victims. Bundy confessed to 30 murders, although many think the toll could be more than 100. He was executed in 1989.
Crippen, D. (1999). Region-alization, prioritization, and sailing ships in the year 2010. New Horizons - The Science and Practice of Acute Medicine 7, 218-228.
- The American born doctor worked diligently on his favoured subject of boats for the future, breaking only to poison his wife, Belle, dismember her body and bury the remains in a coal cellar.
Jackson, J.D., Cotton, M.A. and Axcell, B.P. (1989). Studies of mixed convection in vertical tubes: a review. International Journal of Heat and Fluid Flow 10, 2-15.
- Many think that Mary Ann Cotton’s work on vertical tubes directly influenced her murderous tendencies - in particular, her used of poison in exterminating her 21 victims.
