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An international research team has succeeded in deciphering Ludwig van Beethoven’s genome using five genetically matching locks of the composer’s hair. The evaluation shows that Beethoven had a hereditary predisposition to cirrhosis of the liver and was infected with hepatitis B, which — in conjunction with his alcohol consumption — probably led to his severe liver disease and thus to death.The genetic material of relatives living today also points to an extramarital relationship in Beethoven’s paternal line.
Several ailments and assumptions
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) remains one of the most influential and popular artists of classical music. Health problems severely affected his career as a composer and pianist, including progressive hearing loss, recurrent gastrointestinal complaints and liver disease. It was previously known that Beethoven asked his brothers in a letter written in 1802 to describe and publish his illness after his death by his favorite physician, Dr. Johann Adam Schmidt (1759-1809). Since then, medical biographers have put forward numerous hypotheses about the causes of the artist’s health complaints. According to the authors of the international research team’s current publication , this research is based primarily on documents such as Beethoven’s letters, diaries, and conversation books, as well as accounts from contemporaries, including medical notes, an autopsy report, and descriptions of skeletal material after exhumations in 1863 and 1888.In addition, analyses were carried out of tissue allegedly derived from Beethoven, such as toxicological analyses of hair of unknown authenticity and paleopathological and toxicological examinations of skull fragments, at least two of which are not authentic. These analyses prove several health problems of varying severity and impact on the artist’s life and career. These included bilateral late-onset, progressive and pre-dominant sensorineural hearing loss as well as chronic gastrointestinal problems and, towards the end of Beethoven’s life, liver disease.
Five strands of hair: with «almost certainty» by Beethoven
To find out more about Beethoven’s diseases, their genesis and the cause of death, the international research team has now used modern archaeogenetic investigation methods. Their research, published in the journal «Current Biology» shows that the DNA of five strands of hair — all from the last seven years of Beethoven’s life — can be attributed to a single person.The genetic data of this person indicate an origin that corresponds to the historically well-researched origin of Beethoven. On this basis, the researchers conclude that these five curls are «almost certainly» authentic. The main goal of the international study was to gain new insights into Beethoven’s health problems. As is well known, this included progressive hearing loss.
Beethoven’s hearing problems began in the mid to late 20s and were initially characterized by tinnitus, volume stimulation and the loss of high frequencies. In 1818 the composer was de facto deaf. In his mid-40s he ended his career as an artist.
At least since the age of 22, Beethoven also suffered from severe gastrointestinal complaints that continued throughout his adult life and were characterized above all by abdominal pain and frequent diarrhea.
In the summer of 1821, Beethoven also suffered jaundice, from which he fell ill at least once more in his life and which is known as a symptom of his liver disease.Cirrhosis of the liver has long been considered the most likely cause of his death at the age of 56. A possible cause of cirrhosis was also in Beethoven’s case excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages. Because several personal notes indicate that the musician drank regularly and abundantly wine. A close friend is said to have explained, for example, that Beethoven drank at least one liter of wine a day with lunch in the years 1825-1826. Some medical biographers suspected, that Beethoven was addicted to alcohol.
The lead author of the current publication, Tristan Begg from the University of Cambridge, explains: «Beethoven’s ‘conversation books’, which he used in the last decade of his life, suggest that he consumed very regularly. However, it remains difficult to estimate the exact quantities. Even though most of his contemporaries claim that his alcohol consumption was moderate by Viennese standards in the early 19th century, there are also sources in which other statements can be found.In our estimation, it was still amounts of alcohol that are now known to be harmful to the liver. If Beethoven’s alcohol consumption was high enough for a sufficiently long period of time, the interaction with his genetic risk factors is a possible explanation for his cirrhosis.»
The research team also suspects that Beethoven’s hepatitis B infection was also a co-cause of his severe liver disease, which, in combination with alcohol consumption and Beethoven’s genetic predisposition, led to liver failure and thus death. However, the researchers point out that it is currently impossible to determine how Beethoven became infected with the hepatitis B virus and how long this infection had existed.
Beethoven’s hearing loss has been linked to several possible causes, including syphilis due to his contact with prostitutes, as well as diseases that are genetic to varying degrees.The examination of the hair samples considered authentic did not reveal a simple genetic cause for the hearing loss. Axel Schmidt from the Institute of Human Genetics at the University Hospital Bonn explains: «Although no clear genetic cause for Beethoven’s hearing loss could be identified, one cannot be completely ruled out. The reference data necessary for the interpretation of individual genomes are constantly improving. It is therefore possible that Beethoven’s genome will provide clues to the origin of his hearing loss in the future.»
Cause of death: probably cirrhosis due to hepatitis and
A genetic explanation for Beethoven’s gastrointestinal complaints could also not be found, but based on the genome data, the scientists conclude that gluten and lactose intolerance can most likely be ruled out as causes. This also applies to irritable bowel syndrome, against which Beethoven even found a certain genetic protection.»We cannot say with certainty what Beethoven died of, but we can now at least prove the presence of a significant hereditary risk of liver cirrhosis and infection with the hepatitis B virus,» says Johannes Krause from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. «We can also rule out several other, less plausible genetic causes.»
«In view of the known medical history, it is very likely that genetic predisposition, hepatitis B infection and alcohol consumption led to Beethoven’s death. In the future, we still need to investigate the exact extent to which each individual factor was involved,» adds Tristan Begg.
Authentication of Beethoven’s hair
In total, the team conducted authentication tests on eight hair samples taken from public and private collections in the UK, continental Europe and the US. The scientists discovered that at least two of the locks of hair did not come from Beethoven, including a famous curl that the 15-year-old musician Ferdinand Hiller is said to have cut off from the head of the recently deceased composer.
Earlier analyses of the «Hiller-Locke» supported the suggestion that Beethoven suffered from lead poisoning, which may have contributed to his health ailments, including his hearing loss.William Meredith, who was part of a team involved in previous scientific analyses of Beethoven’s remains and initiated the present study together with Tristan Begg, says: «Now that we know that the ‘Hiller-Locke’ comes from a woman and not Beethoven, none of the earlier analyses based solely on this hair sample apply to Beethoven. Future studies for lead, opiates and mercury must be based on authentic samples.»
The five samples, identified as authentic and from the same person, belong to the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies in San Jose, California, a private collector, American Beethoven Society member Kevin Brown, and Beethoven-Haus in Bonn. Beethoven gave one of the curls (now in Brown’s collection) to pianist Anton Halm in April 1826 with the words: «That’s my hair!»Beethoven’s entire genome was sequenced using another sample from Brown’s collection, the «Stumpff-Locke», which turned out to be the best-preserved sample. The team found the strongest connection between the DNA extracted from the stump curl and people living in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, which is also consistent with Beethoven’s known ancestral origins.
A family secret;
The team also analysed the genome of Beethoven’s living relatives in Belgium, but could not find a match with the composer’s genetic make-up in any of them. Some of them, according to genealogical studies, have a common paternal ancestor with Beethoven from the late 1500s and early 1600s, but their Y-linked genome did not match the Y chromosome found in the composer’s authentic hair samples. The research team concluded that this was likely the result of at least one extramarital event — a child from an extramarital relationship — in Beethoven’s direct paternal line.The study suggests that this event took place in the direct paternal line between the conception of Hendrik van Beethoven in Kampenhout, Belgium, around 1572 and the conception of Ludwig van Beethoven seven generations later, in 1770, in Bonn, Germany. Although doubts had previously been expressed about the paternity of Beethoven’s father because there was no baptismal record, the researchers could not determine in which generation this event took place.
The study was led by the University of Cambridge, the Beethoven Center San Jose and the American Beethoven Society, KU Leuven, the company FamilyTreeDNA, the University Hospital Bonn and the University of Bonn, the Beethoven-Haus Bonn and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
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