Beethoven's 'Healthy' Habit Was Anything But

Decades before Ludwig van Beethoven lay on his death bed sipping wine by the spoonful, the composer requested the cause of his ailments be made public. Some 200 years later, researchers hope they can deliver the final word to explain his abdominal pain, flatulence, diarrhea, and loss of hearing: lead poisoning. Lead was previously considered a factor in Beethoven's death in 1827 at age 56 based on testing of hair later found to have come from a woman. A study published last year focused instead on a gene that would've increased his risk of liver disease. But in a new letter published in Clinical Chemistry, researchers say they've uncovered more to the story based on two locks of Beethoven's true hair.

Testing showed high levels of arsenic and mercury but lead in particular. One lock had 380 micrograms of lead per gram of hair, the other 258 micrograms—an astonishing amount considering the normal level for hair is less than 4 micrograms. "These are the highest values in hair I've ever seen," Dr. Paul Jannetto, a lab director at the Mayo Clinic, tells the New York Times. Where did the lead come from? Beethoven's favorite drink, cheap wine, of which he reportedly drank a bottle a day or more. Ironically, Beethoven believed wine was good for his health. But "lead sugar" was added to sweeten the taste before it was fermented in lead-soldered kettles sealed with corks soaked in "lead salt," the Times reports.

Lead was also contained in many ointments and medicines of that period. Beethoven was at one point taking up to 75 medicines as he dealt with abdominal pain, diarrhea, and progressive hearing loss, all of which are symptoms of lead poisoning, per the Times. Lead poisoning might also explain his "infamous temper, memory lapses, and chronic clumsiness," per a release. Researchers conclude Beethoven's blood lead concentration would have been 69 to 71 micrograms per deciliter—"not considered high enough to be the sole cause of death," according to the letter. However, "higher hair lead concentrations, such as those seen in this study, have been shown to correlate with kidney and liver disease." (More Beethoven stories.)