The celebrated English philosopher, thinker, sociologist, jurist and plain eccentric Jeremy Bentham bequeathed his body to be mummified

The celebrated English philosopher, thinker, sociologist, jurist and plain eccentric Jeremy Bentham bequeathed his body to be mummified. In the first place, he had been fascinated by mummification since his youth; in the second, he was an atheist; besides which, he possessed a fine sense of humour and was convinced that people ought to serve one another in life and after death.

He permitted his own mummy to be used for the amusement of his friends, should they ever happen to miss him, and he also insisted that people should leave their bodies and organs to science.

Bentham's mummified body is displayed in a glass cabinet at University College London. When Bentham was mummified, something went wrong and the appearance of the head was badly distorted. It had to be separated from the body, and a wax head was fitted to the philosopher's mummy.

Now, for the first time in several decades, the head of Jeremy Bentham has once more appeared before the public eye. It is on show in the university's Octagon Gallery, which may be visited free of charge. The theme of the exhibition is DNA, and there are many other fascinating exhibits there, for example the mummified head of another eminent Englishman, the archaeologist Sir Flinders Petrie, mammoth bones, ancient hair and teeth.

A group of researchers intends to study DNA taken from Bentham's oral cavity, in order to test the hypothesis that the thinker suffered from autism or Asperger's, which might explain a good deal about his behaviour.