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 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.
“There’s no doubt in my mind … he was a victim of lead poisoning,” said Bill Walsh, an expert in forensic analysis and chief scientist at Pfeiffer Treatment Center, in Warrenville, Ill., who led the study with Energy Department researcher Ken Kemner.
Still a mystery, however, is the source of Beethoven’s lead exposure, which evidence now suggests occurred over many years. Among the possibilities are his liberal indulgence in wine consumed from lead cups or perhaps a lifetime of medical treatments, which in the 19th century were often laced with heavy metals.
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.
The work was done at Argonne’s Advanced Photon Source, a $467 million high-tech facility that sends subatomic particles sailing around a circular half-mile-long track at velocities up to 99.999 percent of the speed of light.
Scientists can divert those rays toward tiny samples in need of analysis. As those X-rays hit atoms in a sample, they knock other electrons out of place, causing a brief release of energy whose signature is specific to the types of atoms present.
