Paper located with Somerton Man, Public domain via Wikipedia Commons.

History and Science Meet: Solving the Riddle of the Somerton Man

In 1948 a well dressed man was found dead on Somerton Beach, Adelaide. No one ever came forward to identify him and his lack of identity became one of Australia’s
celebrated mysteries. This was until 2022, where a combination of scientific and historical research revealed that he was Charles Webb from Victoria.

This talk will cover some of the breakthrough science that achieved this outcome together with historical work in filling out the timeline of his life. Many questions are still unanswered.

Presented by History of Science, Ideas & Technology Group