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[TECHNOLOGY] · Germany · 56 sources

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German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, creator of Body Worlds, dies at 81

Gunther von Hagens, the German anatomist who invented the plastination technique in the 1970s and founded the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg in 1993, died on 24 July 2026 at the age of 81. He was born in 1945 in Alt‑Skalden (now Poznań, Poland) and later escaped the East German regime before establishing his career in the West. His "Body Worlds" exhibitions, first shown in Japan in 1995, have been visited by more than 58 million people worldwide. Von Hagens lived with Parkinson’s disease for many years and publicly expressed a wish to have his own body plastinated after death; his family said they will honor that request. The exhibitions have attracted both fascination and controversy over ethical concerns, but they have made human anatomy accessible to a broad public audience.

Entities

Angelina Whalley · Body Worlds · Gubener Plastinate GmbH · Gunther von Hagens · Heidelberg · Institute for Plastination · Plastinarium (Guben) · Plastination · Rurik von Hagens · University of Heidelberg

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