Jeremy Bentham was a British philosopher in the late 18th century and early 19th centuries. He was a supporter of women’s rights, gay rights, and animal rights. He is also one of the founders of Utilitarianism, so it’s safe to say that he was a major part of the Enlightenment movement.
In his will, he claimed that he wanted to be dissected and have his head removed. His flesh should be removed from his bones, and his bones would be dressed with one of his outfits and stuffed with straw and hay. He wanted his head mummified and sat on top of his body. Then, he would be seated in a glass or wood case to be displayed for everyone to see.
Most of his will was executed perfectly, except for his head. When it was time to dehydrate the head, it ended up looking skeletal and distorted. So, they designed a wax likeness and put it on top of his head. The mummified head was sat at his feet.
His body was displayed at The University College of London. Naturally, things went awry, and students stole the head in order to play pranks. One time, the head was found in a train station locker. The head has since been removed from the display.
No one really knows why he wanted this. Maybe he wanted to live on forever in a selfish way. Maybe he just wanted to reak people out, or have them work hard to keep his likeliness alive.
Either way, it makes a great story!