Sir Bernard Henry Spilsbury (1877 –
1947), English pathologist
who committed suicide by gassing himself
in his laboratory.
In recent years, there has been some reassessment of Spilsbury's reputation which has raised questions over his degree of objectivity. An article in the British Medical Journal noted how "the virtuosity" of Spilsbury's performances in the mortuary and the courtroom "threatened to undermine the foundations of forensic pathology as a modern and objective specialism". Spilsbury is particularly criticised for his insistence on working alone; a refusal to train students; and an unwillingness to engage in academic research or peer review. This, says the article's author, "lent him an aura of infallibility that for many raised concerns that it was his celebrity rather than his science that persuaded juries to credit his evidence over all others." wikipedia
