Gunther von Hagens, Body Worlds creator, dies at 81

Gunther von Hagens, the German anatomist who invented the plastination technique and created the globally touring "Body Worlds" exhibitions of preserved human bodies, has died at the age of 81. His family and the Institute for Plastination, which he founded, announced his death on Monday, July 27, 2026, stating he died on Friday, July 24, after a long illness. He had announced a diagnosis of Parkinson's disease in 2010.

Von Hagens developed plastination in the 1970s, a process that replaces body fluids with reactive plastics to preserve biological specimens permanently, preventing decay. He founded the Institute for Plastination in Heidelberg in 1993. The first "Body Worlds" exhibition debuted in Tokyo in 1995, launching a decades-long tour that has since been seen by more than 58 million people across hundreds of cities worldwide.

Supporters praised von Hagens for democratizing anatomy, bringing knowledge of the human body out of medical schools and into the public sphere. His wife and longtime collaborator, Angelina Whalley, said he wanted to give people a look beneath the skin not for sensationalism, but from a deep conviction that body knowledge contributes to a healthier,...