William R. Maples Scientist

William Ross Maples, Ph.D. (1937 - 1997) was a noted forensic anthropologist working at the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory at the Florida Museum of Natural History. His specialty was the study of bones. He worked on a number of high-profile criminal investigations, some of them concerning historical figures such as Francisco Pizarro, the Romanov family, Joseph Merrick (known as "'The Elephant Man'"), US President Zachary Taylor and Medgar Evers. His insights often proved beneficial in closing cases that otherwise may have remained unsolved.He is the author of Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist (co-authored by Michael Browning). The book chronicles his career from the inception of his fascination with anthropology through to some of his high profile forensic cases.