BEETHOVEN boozed himself to death, according to detailed analysis of the composer’s hair.
It revealed the German genius, who died aged 56 nearly 200 years ago, had a genetically high risk of liver disease.
Beethoven probably drank himself to death, a study found[/caption]
A new analysis of 200-year-old locks of the German composer’s hair reveal a high risk of liver disease was in his genes[/caption]
He was rumoured to regularly down bottles of wine, and became riddled with health problems, including going deaf in his 20s.
A DNA study of five of his locks revealed a heightened liver risk and a hepatitis B infection before his death in Vienna in 1827.
Cambridge University PhD student Tristan Begg said: “It was some combination of these factors, including his alcohol consumption, that killed Beethoven.”
The study failed to find a cause of his hearing loss or long-term stomach pains.
Ludwig van Beethoven’s works include 1801’s Moonlight Sonata. He was a huge influence on fellow composers Johannes Brahms and Franz Liszt.
Liver failure was a killer in the 19th century, and around 7,700 people per year still die from it in Britain.