This is the head of Portugal's first serial killer, Diogo Alves, who murdered 70 people in the 19th century. His head was cut off, then preserved in a jar all the way back in 1841 and has been kept on display at The University of Lisbon ever since.
Alves was executed in 1841, as phrenology was just beginning to rear its ugly head in Portugal.
We recognize phrenology as a pseudoscience today, but back then its premises were simple and its conclusions downright revolutionary: the brain housed all aspects of an individual’s personality in physically distinct areas, and the shape of the skull reflected this internal organization.
Personality traits, criminal propensity included, could be felt, palpated and measured right on the individual’s skull.
It is no surprise, then, that a notoriously wicked corpse would draw the attention of Portugal’s budding band of phrenologists—who requested Alves’ head be severed and preserved for posterity, so the source of his criminal urges could be studied in depth.
Source: Atlas Obscura
