Analysis of the genetic material of strands of his hair. Ludwig van Beethoven overturns deeply held beliefs about health problems composer, even offering information on the causes of his death. Study findings published in the scientific journal Current Biology that Beethoven did not suffer from chronic molybdosis, as many believe, and did not have African roots, as some suggest. At the same time, the Belgian family in Flanders, bearing the surname of the creator, is not genetically related to him, despite their claims.

An investigation into Beethoven’s mysteries began in 1994, after a tuft of hair said to be from his head was sold at auction. Analysis of the hair showed that it contained 100 times more lead than normal, and university researchers theorized that Beethoven was chronically poisoned by lead from drugs or contaminated food.

In 2014, an archaeologist at the University of Tübingen in Germany, Tristan Begg, decided to use Beethoven’s hair genetic analysis technology. After collecting eight hair samples, Begg began to compare them.

One turned out to belong to an Ashkenazi Jewish woman and was immediately expelled, with the scientific team suggesting that the hair belonged to Sophie Lyon, a member of the composer’s close circle of friends. Of the remaining samples, two were suitable for analysis. The hair supports the theory that Beethoven died of cirrhosis of the liver. The composer, however, is known for drinking in moderation. Hair analysis showed that the composer had DNA variants that mean a greater likelihood of liver disease. His genetic material also contained traces of hepatitis B. Geneticist Arthur Kocher of the Max Planck Institute believes that Beethoven may have contracted hepatitis B at the time of his birth. The virus is often transmitted this way, and infected babies can have lifelong liver problems. The analysis, however, did not shed as much light on Beethoven’s health problems as scientists would have liked. The composer suffered from serious digestive problems, from acute chest pain and prolonged diarrhea. DNA analysis did not reveal the cause of these symptoms, and research doctors attributed the problems to hepatitis B.

Undetectable deafness

DNA also failed to explain the composer’s hearing loss, which began at the age of 25 and ended in complete deafness in the last decade of his life. Beethoven died at the age of 56. For William Meredith, Beethoven’s biographer and buyer of some of the composer’s hair tufts, the search was a unique adventure. “The complex story of Beethoven and his hair is fascinating. Each discovery leads to the next, one more incredible than the next,” says Meredith.