By Martha Irvine (Associated Press writer)
(Article appeared in The Advocate, Baton Rouge, La., Wednesday, October 18, 2000)
ARGONNE, Ill. – An analysis of a lock of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair suggests lead poisoning could explain the erratic genius' lifelong ailments, his strange behavior, his death, maybe even his deafness.
The four-year analysis of the hair – apparently snipped after the composer's death at age 56 in 1827 – has turned up a concentration of lead 100 times the levels commonly found in people today, according to researchers at the Health Research Institute in suburban Chicago, where the hair was tested.
That means it is all but certain that the composer suffered from lead poisoning, also known as plumbism, the researchers said.
"It was a surprise, but it stood out like a sore thumb in the analysis," said William Walks, director of the institute's Beethoven research project.
Scientists initially were searching for mercury, a common treatment for syphilis in Beethoven's day. The absence of mercury supports the recent consensus of scholars who believe Beethoven did not have syphilis.
On the net: Center for Beethoven Studies http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/beethoven/
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