Study Concludes Beethoven Died From Lead Poisoning — and not from mercury:
By focusing the most powerful X-ray beam in the Western Hemisphere on six of Ludwig van Beethoven’s hairs and a few pieces of his skull, scientists have gathered what they say is conclusive evidence that the famous composer died of lead poisoning.The work, done at the Energy Department’s Argonne National Laboratory outside of Chicago, confirms earlier hints that lead may have caused Beethoven’s decades of poor health, which culminated in a long and painful death in 1827 at age 56.
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One metal that was clearly absent was mercury, Walsh said — a detail that weakens the hypothesis floated by some that Beethoven had syphilis, which in those days was commonly treated with mercury.“We found zero evidence of that,” Walsh said, “so it was nice to exonerate him of that scurrilous possibility.”
(Hat tip to Tyler Cowen at Marginal Revolution.)