DNA analysis: Researchers find something explosive in Beethoven’s hair samples

An international team of researchers with German participation has used DNA analyzes to gain new insights into the health of composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who struggled with serious physical illness throughout his life. As reported by the University Hospital of Bonn involved in the study, the Bonn Beethoven House and the Leipzig Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, genetic risk factors for liver disease and evidence of hepatitis B infection were discovered.

However, DNA testing of several hair samples failed to identify a genetic cause for Beethoven’s notorious deafness and the gastrointestinal problems that plagued him, as the institutions announced. The composer, who lived from 1770 to 1827, had gradually lost his hearing in his mid-to-late twenties and was eventually effectively deaf about nine years before his death. It is also known that he suffered from severe chronic gastrointestinal problems and liver disease.

According to the Bonn and Leipzig scientists, severe liver disease is also the cause of Beethoven’s death at just 56 years old. Liver cirrhosis has long been considered the most likely cause. It is known from historical sources that he drank alcohol regularly and over a long period of time in amounts that are harmful from a contemporary perspective. However, there is uncertainty about Beethoven’s health and cause of death, because his doctor’s statements have never been recovered.

The researchers, whose study was published in the journal Current Biology, see this alcohol consumption in connection with the genetic risk factors for liver disease they discovered as a possible explanation for his cirrhosis of the liver. The hepatitis B infection, which Beethoven contracted in the months before his death at the latest, according to their analyses, could also have significantly exacerbated the situation.

They suspect that this infection, combined with alcohol consumption and genetic predisposition, may have led to progressive liver failure and ultimately the death of the world-famous artist. “We cannot say with certainty what Beethoven died of, but at least we can now prove that there is a significant hereditary risk of cirrhosis of the liver and infection with the hepatitis B virus,” explains Johannes Krause of the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig.

The studies are based on DNA analyzes of a total of eight locks of hair from public and private collections attributed to the composer. However, at least two of them are not from Beethoven – including the famous “Hiller lock”, which a 15-year-old musician named Ferdinand Hiller is said to have once carved from Beethoven’s head. It had previously been analyzed and had provided evidence of possible lead poisoning. However, it does come from a woman.

The research team, which also included experts from institutions in the US, UK and Belgium, identified five hair samples as authentic and used them for further research. They are all from the same man. A comparison also showed that the DNA profiles of people from North Rhine-Westphalia are close to each other. This coincides with the reliable information about the origin of Beethoven’s ancestors.

The experts also discovered a little surprise when they analyzed the DNA profile of Beethoven’s living descendants in Belgium. Their Y chromosomes do not match those of the five hair samples. According to the scientists, this is likely explained by at least one extramarital affair in Beethoven’s direct paternal line. However, the timing is unclear.

A time period can only be roughly given for this, stretching from about the year 1572 to the composer’s conception almost 200 years later. This is interesting because, in the absence of a baptism record, doubts have already been expressed about the paternity of Beethoven’s father. However, no conclusions can be drawn from the results now published about the generation before Beethoven’s birth in which the infidelity took place.

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