Gunther von Hagens, the 'Body Worlds' pioneer, dies at 81

Sun Sep 06 2026 06:29:32 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)

Developer of the plastination technique and creator of Body Worlds exhibitions passes away, leaving a legacy of controversy and public fascination with anatomy.

Gunther von Hagens, known worldwide as the controversial creator of Body Worlds exhibitions, died at the age of 81. The German biologist, who earned the nickname “Doctor Death” after inventing a method that preserves human and animal bodies for display, had long requested his own body be plastinated. More than 58 million visitors have toured his exhibitions, which sparked debates over the ethics of showcasing human remains. Von Hagens was admitted to a hospital in Heidelberg after a brain haemorrhage and had been dealing with Parkinson's disease for nearly two decades. Born in Nazi‑occupied Poland and raised in communist East Germany, he fled to the West in 1970 and developed plastination in the 1970s. He opened his first Body Worlds show in the late 1990s, sparking both acclaim for making anatomy accessible and criticism for commercial exploitation of death. The family will honour his final wish by plastinating his body.

Gunther von Hagens, the controversial creator of the Body Worlds exhibitions, died at the age of 81.

The German biologist, known as “Doctor Death”, pioneered the plastination process, replacing fluids and fatty tissue in corpses with rubber and polymers so that they could stand upright in permanent display.

According to his family, von Hagens had told them he wished his own body be plastinated after death, a request they intend to fulfil.

Over 58 million visitors have seen his exhibitions worldwide, yet religious groups and others have repeatedly protested the display of human remains.

Ngoc and his family said von Hagens died on Friday, a day after being admitted to a clinic in Heidelberg following a brain haemorrhage. He had been suffering from Parkinson’s disease for almost twenty years.

Born in Nazi‑occupied Poland in 1942 and raised in communist East Germany, he fled to the West in 1970. Within a few years he developed the plastination technique. Initially used by universities and research institutes, he launched Body Worlds shows internationally in the late 1990s.

Colleagues paid tribute to him as a “pioneer, a researcher, an inventor” who made anatomy accessible to the public, while critics accused him of voyeurism and profiting from death. In 2002 he caused further controversy by performing the first publicly televised autopsy in London after 170 years, even though authorities warned it could be illegal.