Cremation
the act of cremating or disposing of a corpse by burning instead of burying it. Cremation was practiced among the Greeks and Romans. The mass of the Hindus properly so called thus dispose of their dead, while the Mohammedans have recourse to burial.
In 1873 an eminent physician, Sir Henry Thompson, advocated its introduction into England on sanitary grounds, but public feeling was against the innovation, and it made little progress there. Later, however, in many of the European countries cremation of the dead received the highest indorsement of the government ments, while in the United States crematories were established in many of the cities. The first crematory in the United States was established at Washington, Pa., in 1876. It was first used for the incineration of the body of the Baron de Palm in December of that year. Other crematories have since been established in most of the large cities of the country.