Lead Killed Beethoven

Recent chemical analyses suggest that lead poisoning may have also contributed to the death of Ludwig van Beethoven in 1827 at age 57. Experts have long debated what caused the German composer’s poor health, digestive problems, abdominal pain, irritability and depression.

Beethoven visited as many as 30 doctors looking for a cure. Chemical analyses of his hair made by scientists at the Health Research Institute in Naperville, Illinois, show evidence of poisoning from lead, according to a 2000 report.