Did Ludvig Van Beethoven Die of Lead Poisoning?
The Mystery of his Death Answered in Beethoven's Hair.
Aug 22, 2008
Ludwig, born in Bonn in 1770, was the eldest child of a singer and grandson of the Archbishop's Kapellmeister. When Beethoven was 22 he moved to Vienna to study music. In Vienna, he took lessons from Haydn and other prominent artistes. Beethoven was quickly establishing himself as a remarkable keyboard-player and original composer.
Deafness Poses an Obstacle.
By 1815 increasing deafness made public performance impossible and accentuated existing eccentricities of character, patiently tolerated by a series of rich patrons and his royal pupil the Archduke Rudolph.
The Science of Music
Beethoven did much to increase the potential of music and widen the horizons of later generations of composers. To his contemporaries he was sometimes a controversial figure, making weighty demands on listeners both by the length and by the complexity of his works, as he explored new fields of music. Ludwig van Beethoven died on March 26, 1827, in Vienna.
A Life of Pain
Beethoven's last years were filled with excruciating pain. He suffered from abdominal pains, bad digestion, headaches, diarrhea, rheumatism, fever, irritability, and depression. He never knew the cause of his myriad maladies, despite having consulted with numerous doctors. On March 26, 1827, he died as he had lived for so many years: in agony. He was 57.
Secrets of Beethoven's Hair
Snipping a lock of hair from the recently deceased was a popular custom in the 19th century. Fortunately for us, Beethoven had a lot of fans ... and a lot of hair. Admirers snipped him nearly bald, and several confirmed samples of his hair survive to this day.
A few strands were recently subjected to an X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy, which revealed lead concentrations of more than 100 times the level considered normal. It was enough lead to account for nearly all of Beethoven's symptoms, including his deafness.
Lead Posioning Kills the Maestro?
During his lifetime no one knew that lead was toxic-it was used in paint and in pottery, and was even added to wine to remove any bitterness. Beethoven could have poisoned himself with lead in any number of ways.
"If he had a favorite pewter mug that he drank from all his life, that alone could clearly be the culprit," says Russell Martin, author of Beethoven's Hair.
Modern Science Pose More Questions.
Recently, Viennese pathologist and forensic expert Christian Reiter, the head of the Department of Forensic Medicine at Vienna Medical University, has reported that he believes that Beethoven's physician, Andreas Wawruch, unintentionally hastened Beethoven's death.
According to Reiter, Wawruch worsened Beethoven's already lead poisoned condition by treating Beethoven with lead poultices that were applied repeatedly surgical draining of his bloated abdomen. Human hair is actually a poor biomarker for lead contamination and Reiter's hypothesis is questionable because of the lack of proper scholarly documentation in his study.
Resources:
Martin R. Beethoven's Hair: An Extraordinary Historical Odyssey and a Scientific Mystery Solved. Broadway; 2001.
Eisinger, Josef. "The lead in Beethoven's hair". Toxicological & Environmental Chemistry, Volume 90, Issue 1 January 2008, pp. 1–5
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