DNA From Beethoven’s Hair Unlocks Family Secret

Friends of Ludwig van Beethoven kept locks of the composer’s hair as a keepsake, some going as far as snipping some hair from his deathbed. Researchers have used some of these strands nearly two centuries later to sequence Beethoven’s genome.

The research team published a paper last week in the journal, Current Biology, stating that their goal was to determine the cause of the varied illnesses he faced at the end of his life. Beethoven died at age 56 in 1827. Historians have long turned to journals and letters for clues about his health. One particular letter, written by Beethoven addressed to his brothers, requested that they make his medical ailments public upon his death.

For more information see Amy Dockser Marcus “DNA From Beethoven’s Hair Unlocks Family Secret” The Wall Street Journal, March 23, 2023.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Florida Probate Attorney) for bringing this article to my attention.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2023/04/dna-from-beethovens-hair-unlocks-family-secret.html