Guns, germs, and public history: A conversation with Jennifer Tucker.

In this wide-ranging conversation, historians David Serlin (UC San Diego) and Jennifer Tucker (Wesleyan University) discuss the role of material culture and visual media in shaping how museums communicate histories of science and technology. Tucker describes recent a public history project focused on 19th-century histories of firearms and gun regulation in light of contemporary debates about the Second Amendment "right to bear arms." Serlin and Tucker conclude by speculating about possible curatorial directions for a future public history exhibit focused on the social and cultural impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020.

A Reevaluation of the Death of Vincent van Gogh: Suicide or Murder? The Need for a Definitive Autopsy.

Vincent van Gogh died on July 29, 1890, from an apparent gunshot wound to the belly sustained approximately 30 hours earlier on July 27. Although little is known how Vincent sustained his mortal wound, art historians have long believed that the death was the result of a suicide, a widely accepted "truth" for the mysterious death of the then unknown and now iconic artist. The basis and validity of this suicide narrative is still very hotly debated among van Gogh scholars to this day. We dug deeper into all the circumstantial evidence and testimonies to arrive at a comprehensive overview of the probability that it was likely impossible for Vincent to self-inflict his mortal wound.We used all the available circumstantial evidence related to the day Vincent van Gogh was wounded to present the information and conclusions as if we were before a judge as expert witnesses to answer the question: suicide or murder? If Vincent did not shoot himself in the belly (a red flag in and of itself), whoever inflicted that penetrating wound into his abdomen murdered him. In our study, results from firing the same model revolver that allegedly killed Vincent from various ranges (direct contact, intermediate, and distant) demonstrated within a reasonable degree of medical probability (greater than 50%) that it was not probable for Vincent van Gogh to shoot himself without a described powder burn.With little forensic evidence to rely on 130 years after the suspicious event, many have suggested a respectful exhumation and graveside autopsy utilizing 21 century techniques to bring resolve to this 19 century cold case. This crime, whether suicide or murder, has generated renewed interest and numerous questions surrounding the suspicious death of the most iconic artist of the 19th century. These missing forensic facts will remain buried with all the secrets Vincent took with him to his grave, unless a definitive autopsy is performed. What an autopsy could add to our forensic fact basis and understanding of this intriguing cold case is enormous and further delineated as the next step to answer these difficult, otherwise unanswerable questions and allow us to finally sign off on his death certificate with certainty.It is clearly impossible to definitively prove suicide or murder, but it is also impossible to disprove murder given the data and arguments offered in this analysis. A physician's opinion is based on the material available to him, and in this case, "our opinion as to the cause and manner of death is based on the limited amount of forensic information available. It is, therefore, our opinion, based on that limited information that in all medical probability, the cause of death is not a self-inflicted wound by Vincent van Gogh, and, thus, in all medical probability, a homicide."

Ballistic protective properties of material representative of English civil war buff-coats and clothing.

One type of clothing system used in the English Civil War, more common amongst cavalrymen than infantrymen, was the linen shirt, wool waistcoat and buff-coat. Ballistic testing was conducted to estimate the velocity at which 50% of 12-bore lead spherical projectiles (V50) would be expected to perforate this clothing system when mounted on gelatine (a tissue simulant used in wound ballistic studies). An estimated six-shot V50 for the clothing system was calculated as 102 m/s. The distance at which the projectile would have decelerated from the muzzle of the weapon to this velocity in free flight was triple the recognised effective range of weapons of the era suggesting that the clothing system would provide limited protection for the wearer. The estimated V50 was also compared with recorded bounce-and-roll data; this suggested that the clothing system could provide some protection to the wearer from ricochets. Finally, potential wounding behind the clothing system was investigated; the results compared favourably with seventeenth century medical writings.

Historical trends in Hawaiian game harvest and hunter participation in Hawai'i from 1946-2008.

At present, 21 game species have been successfully established in Hawai'i for the purpose of recreational and subsistence hunting. However, it is unknown how these management efforts have affected hunting and recreation trends in Hawai'i and how the patterns may parallel national data. Consequently, managers and biologists in Hawai'i have little reliable harvest and hunting participation information on which to base current and future management goals. This study provides the first ever analysis of public hunting data in the state of Hawai'i, and is one of only a handful nationally to investigate long-term hunting dynamics in the United States. Our goal was to understand historical hunting trends in the state of Hawai'i in order to provide baseline information to assist in current and future management efforts. Based upon this goal, our objectives were to investigate the influence that time, location, and species have had on both game harvest and hunter participation from 1946 to 2008 across the inhabited islands of Hawai'i. We used 62 years of data from Pittman-Robertson reports to evaluate temporal trends in game harvest and hunter participation for all species, individual species, and taxonomic groups (mammals and birds) at both state and island levels. Since 1946, trends in game harvest and hunter participation in Hawai'i have varied widely by island and species, suggesting that game management may be most effective when approached at the island or species level. Across the state the overall harvest has declined, with only a handful of species being harvested in greater numbers over time on several islands. However, our findings do highlight inconsistencies and potential biases in harvest collection data that are critical for science-based management. In particular, because every game species in Hawai'i has been introduced, there is a critical need to improve harvest data collection and couple it with monitoring data in order to provide management and policy recommendations and develop better conservation planning guidelines.

Henry Granger Piffard, MD and his photogenic pistol cartridges.

A leading physician in New York during the last quarter of the 19th century, Henry G. Piffard, MD, was a pioneer dermatologist in New York. He had a propensity to invent, and he used that ability to advance the nascent field of instantaneous photography. The recent discovery of a few survivors of Piffard's patented "photogenic (flash) cartridges" prompted an examination of his connection to a leading photographic supply house of his time. The study provided insights into his system and revealed that Piffard had combined the use of his patent with his passion for skin diseases. As a result, Piffard's publications were among the first to document diseases of the skin photographically.

Aspectos sanitarios en el asedio de Baler, Filipinas (1898-1899) / Sanitary aspects in the siege of Baler, Philippines (1898-1899)

Estudiamos la situación sanitaria durante el prolongado asedio de Baler con ocasión de la guerra de independencia de Filipinas y posterior intervención norteamericana (1898-1899), contemplando tanto los medios materiales y humanos de que disponían como las heridas y enfermedades a las que hubieron de hacer frente. No cabe duda que estas últimas se vieron favorecidas por las deficientes condiciones higiénicas de la iglesia en la que se refugiaron y, sobre todo, la mala alimentación que también examinamos dada su relación con estos aspectos médicos, de tal modo que, al igual que aconteció al resto del Ejército español que combatía en Filipinas o en Cuba, fueron las enfermedades las responsables de la mayor parte de los fallecimientos al causar más bajas que los propios sitiadores

We study the sanitary situation during Baler's long siege within The Philippines war of independence and the later North American intervention (1898-1899), contemplating not only the material and human resources they had but also the wounds and diseases they had to face. Undoubtedly, the latter were favoured by the deficient hygienic conditions of the church where they found shelter and, especially, by the bad food supply which is also examined here due to its relation with these medical aspects. As a result, as it happened to the rest of the Spanish Army fighting in The Philippines or in Cuba, the diseases were the main cause for most of the deaths here, outnumbering those caused by the besiegers

Historical Vignette of Infamous Gunshot Injury to Spine: "An Ailment not to be Treated"?

The increasing prevalence and gloomy socioeconomic consequence of spine injury remain a concern in modern medicine. In this article, we highlight the infamous gunshot spinal injuries of a few eminent personalities across multiple centuries and their sociopolitical impact in context with the evolution of modern medicine. The role of available medicine in these victims was not more than a mere watcher, thus substantiating an infamous quote from ancient literature that describes spine injury as "an ailment not to be treated."

Modern toxic antipersonnel projectiles.

In the spring of 1944, Kurt von Gottberg, the SS police chief in Minsk, was shot and injured by 2 Soviet agents. Although he was only slightly injured, he died 6 hours later. The bullets were hollow and contained a crystalline white powder. They were 4-g bullets, semi-jacketed in cupronickel, containing 28 mg of aconitine. They were later known as akonitinnitratgeschosse. The Sipo (the Nazi security police) then ordered a trial with a 9-mm Parabellum cartridge containing Ditran, an anticholinergic drug with hallucinogenic properties causing intense mental confusion. In later years, QNB was used and given the NATO code BZ (3-quinuclidinyl-benzylate). It was proven that Saddam Hussein had this weapon (agent 15) manufactured and used it against the Kurds. Serbian forces used the same type of weapon in the Bosnian conflict, particularly in Srebrenica.The authors go on to list the Cold War toxic weapons developed by the KGB and the Warsaw pact countries for the discreet elimination of dissidents and proindependence leaders who had taken refuge in the West. These weapons include PSZh-13 launchers, the Troika electronic sequential pistol, and the ingenious 4-S110T captive piston system designed by the engineer Stechkin. Disguised as a cigarette case, it could fire a silent charge of potassium cyanide. This rogues gallery also includes the umbrella rigged to inject a pellet of ricin (or another phytalbumin of similar toxicity, such as abrin or crotin) that was used to assassinate the Bulgarian writer and journalist Georgi Markov on September 7, 1978, in London.During the autopsy, the discovery of a bullet burst into 4 or 5 parts has to make at once suspecting the use of a toxic substance. Toxicological analysis has to look for first and foremost aconitine, cyanide, suxamethonium, Ditran, BZ, or one of the toxic phytalbumins. The use of such complex weapons has to make suspect a powerful organization: army, secret service, terrorism. The existence of the Russian UDAR spray gun in the present day, however, shows that these weapons are still present. The possibility that one might be used to spray a charge of cyanide is still very real, especially as it would not be very difficult for an informed amateur to produce homemade toxic ammunition by adapting existing civil or military cartridges.

[The death of Goffredo Mameli in 1849]. / La morte di Goffredo Mameli a Roma nel 1849.

After the introduction of firearms, which became increasingly efficient over time, the number of seriously injured soldiers increased considerably during the nineteenth century. As a consequence, surgeons were called upon to broaden their activity, performing operations which had hitherto been considered too hazardous, since they were deemed to be too extensive, or were contraindicated by the risk of complications during surgery (haemorrhage, heart and circulatory failure). From 1846 onwards, the introduction of anaesthetic techniques carried out with ether had expanded surgical perspectives in anatomical districts like the abdomen, which were previously considered a sort of taboo, such that few surgeons ventured into the realm of this internal surgery. In the mid nineteenth century the possibility of suffering from severe infections, as an immediate complication after a firearm injury or after surgical intervention, was very high, ranging between 23% in London, up to 80% in Munich, according to the available records; in Zurich a 46% mortality is reported, and a similar 43% rate came from Edinburgh. The situation worsened during war time, since injured soldiers were recovered in extremely precarious conditions, ad hoc hospitals were located in dilapidated old buildings, and the physicians and health care providers were unaware of the minimum hygiene conditions required, and performed both operations and medications without taking sterility measures into consideration. The author reports and comments on the most significant parts on the documents written by Agostino Bertani, who described in full detail the clinical evolution of the wound suffered by Goffredo Mameli, the poet and patriot of the Italian Risorgimento who wrote the Italian national anthem. The clinical evolution of Mameli's disease was unfavourable: he underwent amputation of the left lower limb after the firearm injury suffered during the defence of the Roman Republic, since a gangrenous complication had become apparent. The poet died of septicaemia on July 6, 1849, 17 days after the surgical operation.

Gunpowder, the Prince of Wales's feathers and the origins of modern military surgery.

BACKGROUND: The history of military surgery claims many forebears. The first surgeon-soldiers were Homer's Machaon and Podalirius, followed a thousand years later by the Roman surgeons-general, Antonius Musa and Euphorbus; and later, e.g. Ambrose Paré, John Hunter and Sir John Pringle; and the 19th century innovators, Dominique-Jean Larrey (France), Friedrich von Esmarch (Prussia) and the Russian, Nikolai Pirogoff. The singular feature that distinguished modern military surgery from its earlier practice was the use of gunpowder. It was one of two inventions (the other was printing) that by the empowerment of individuals, lifted Western humankind from the medieval to the modern era. METHODS: Research of primary and secondary archives. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Gunpowder was first used in European warfare at Algeceras (1344-1368). Hitherto, the destruction of tissue had been the result of (relative) low-energy wounding with tissue damage caused by incisional or crushing wounds. The founder of modern surgery, Master John of Arderne (1307-1380), wrote of his experience gained as a military surgeon on the battlefield at Crecy (1346). Following Crecy, Arderne was the only chronicler who described the origins of the Prince of Wales's feathers as a royal and later commercial symbol, and the motto 'Ich Dien', 'I serve', as that of hospitals in the Western World. Later advances in military surgery incorporated both clinical experimentation and the innovation of new systems of pre-hospital battlefield care.

British game shooting in transition, 1900-1945.

This article explores the transformation of lowland game shooting from its heyday in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods to state-imposed rationalization during the Second World War. It evaluates the extent to which the interwar years constituted a period of depression or regeneration in the way the activity was organized and pursued, followed by an in-depth analysis of the impact of the Second World War. The study shows that the prevailing wisdom about the reasons for the decline of game shooting merits reappraisal, particularly in view of the unprecedented changes to the sport that resulted from the government's control and direction of food production during World War II.

Military morality transformed: weapons and soldiers on the nineteenth-century battlefield.

The increased lethality of nineteenth-century "arms of precision" caused military formations to disperse in combat, transforming the ordinary soldier from a near automaton, drilled to deliver random fire under close supervision, into a moral agent who exercised a degree of choice about where, when, and how to fire his weapon. The emerging autonomy of the soldier became a central theme in contemporary tactical debates, which struggled to reconcile the desire for discipline with the individual initiative necessary on the battlefield. This tactical conundrum offers revealing insights about human aggression and mass violence. Its dark legacy was the propagation of military values into civilian society, thus paving the way for the political soldiers of the twentieth century.

Victor Horsley (1857-1916) in World War I.

In 1914 Victor Horsley, 56 years old, pioneer neurosurgeon, politician and ardent supporter of the temperance movement volunteered for active service. After a brief period in France he was posted to the Middle East, initially to Egypt and then to Mesopotamia. There he witnessed the horrors of that campaign. His attempts to alleviate the appalling conditions to which the wounded were subjected took toll of his own health and the official cause of his death in 1916 at Amara was heat stroke.

Tragedy and the meaning of school shootings.

School shootings are traumatic events that cause a community to question itself, its values, and its educational systems. In this article Bryan Warnick, Benjamin Johnson, and Samuel Rocha explore the meanings of school shootings by examining three recent books on school violence. Topics that grow out of these books include (1) how school shootings might be seen as ceremonial rituals, (2) how schools come to be seen as appropriate places for shootings, and (3) how advice to educators relating to school shootings might change the practice of teaching. The authors present various ways of understanding school shootings that may eventually prove helpful, but they also highlight the problems, tensions, and contradictions associated with each position. In the end, the authors argue, the circumstances surrounding school shootings demonstrate the need for the "tragic sense" in education. This need for the tragic sense, while manifest in many different areas of schooling, is exemplified most clearly in targeted school shootings.

"More fatal than powder and shot": dysentery in the U.S. Army during the Mexican War, 1846-48.

In terms of deaths due to disease, the Mexican War (1846-48) was the deadliest of all American wars. Nearly 13% of the entire U.S. force perished from disease. Of the total 12,535 war deaths, 10,986 (88%) were due to infectious diseases (overwhelmingly dysentery, both bacterial and amoebic); seven men died from disease for every man killed by Mexican musket balls. Camp pollution was the greatest error committed by U.S. troops in the Mexican War. The indifference of line officers and recruits to the need for proper sanitation and military hygiene fueled the dysentery outbreaks, and the poor conditions in military hospitals contributed further to the spread of disease. This defect in military culture undermined the health of the army and led to medical disaster. Disease caused an enormous drain on the U.S. Army's resources, eroded troop morale, and influenced strategy and tactics. As we enter the 21st century, dysentery is still a major public health threat, killing hundreds of thousands of people annually-primarily children in developing countries where personal hygiene is poor and disposal of human and animal wastes is indiscriminate.