The first recorded autopsy in history was performed on which person?

The first recorded autopsy in history was performed on which person?

The correct answer is Julius Caesar. According to historical records, the first known autopsy in history was performed on Gaius Julius Caesar after his assassination on March 15, 44 BCE — a date famously known as the Ides of March. Caesar, the Roman general and statesman, was stabbed 23 times by members of the Senate led by Brutus and Cassius. The physician Antistius conducted the examination, making it the earliest documented autopsy in recorded history.

Ancient historians, including Plutarch and Suetonius, reported that Antistius determined only one of the 23 stab wounds — the second to Caesar’s chest — had been fatal. His examination was remarkable for its accuracy and detail, predating modern forensic science by more than 2,000 years. The findings were presented publicly during the trial of Caesar’s assassins, setting a precedent for medical evidence in legal proceedings.

This early form of forensic pathology demonstrated the Roman Empire’s advanced understanding of anatomy and medicine. It also highlighted the importance of using medical expertise to establish the cause of death, a practice that would later evolve into the field of forensic medicine. Antistius’s autopsy is considered one of the earliest recorded examples of a systematic medical investigation used in the pursuit of justice.

Fun fact: Leonardo da Vinci conducted hundreds of anatomical dissections centuries later, but the first official autopsy with recorded legal purpose was that of Julius Caesar — proving how advanced Roman medical thought truly was.