Napoleon Death: Arsenic Poisoning Ruled Out

Napoleon Death: Arsenic Poisoning Ruled Out
By LiveScience Staff
http://www.livescience.com/history/080212-napoleon-not-poisoned.html

posted: 12 February 2008 11:33 am ET


A small nuclear reactor dedicated to research was used to analyze hairs samples from Napleon Bonaparte. The results suggest that arsenic poisoning did not kill the Emperor. Credit: Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics Arsenic poisoning did not kill Napoleon, a new analysis suggests, contrary to claims made in recent years.

The results of the study show high levels of arsenic in Napoleon Bonaparte's hair throughout his life, suggesting he was not poisoned at the end of his life while in exile on the island of Saint Helena. Rather he probably absorbed arsenic constantly throughout his life, the researchers say.

The cause of Napoleon's death has been in dispute for a long time, with some saying he died of stomach cancer and others suggesting arsenic poisoning during the Emperor's final years on Saint Helena, off Africa in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Hair samples

For the new study, physicists at the University of Milano-Bicocca and the University of Pavia compared the arsenic levels in hair samples taken from Napoleon Bonaparte at various stages in his life with levels in hairs from Napoleon's son (the King of Rome), Empress Josephine and 10 living persons.

The Napoleonic hairs studied by the Italian team came from when he was a boy in Corsica, during his exile on the Island of Elba, on the day of his death (May 5, 1821) on Saint Helena and on the day after his death.

Samples taken from Napoleon’s son in 1812, 1816, 1821 and 1826, as well as samples from the Empress Josephine, collected upon her death in 1814, also were analyzed.

The hair samples were provided by the Glauco-Lombardi Museum in Parma (Italy), the Malmaison Museum in Paris and the Napoleonic Museum in Rome.

The hairs were placed in capsules and inserted in the core of a small nuclear reactor at the University of Pavia. The technique used is known as “neutron activation," which has two advantages: it does not destroy the sample, and it provides extremely precise results even on samples with a small mass, such as human hair samples.

The researchers, including Ettore Fiorini of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics and the University of Milano-Biccoca, found traces of arsenic in all the hair samples and were surprised by their findings.

Surprise levels

First, the level of arsenic in the hair samples from 200 years ago was found to be 100 times greater than the average level detected in samples from persons living today. In fact, the Emperor’s hair had an average arsenic level of around ten parts per one million, whereas the arsenic level in the hair samples from currently living persons was around one-tenth of a part per one million.

In other words, at the beginning of the 19th century, people evidently ingested arsenic that was present in the environment in quantities that are currently considered dangerous.

The other surprise was that there were no significant differences in arsenic levels between when Napoleon was a boy and during his final days in Saint Helena. According to the researchers, including toxicologists who participated in the study, it is evident that this was not a case of poisoning but instead the result of the constant absorption of arsenic.

The results will be published in the journal Il Nuovo Saggiatore.

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Napoleon Bonaparte Feb. 11, 2008 -- Napoleon Bonaparte did not die from arsenic poisoning, a new examination of the French emperor's hair has established.

The man who dominated much of Europe in the early 19th century died at age 52 in British-imposed exile on St. Helena in the south Atlantic, where he had been banished after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

For decades, scholars have debated how Napoleon met his early death on May 5, 1821.

The autopsy and conclusion of his personal doctor, Francesco Antommarchi, indicated that Napoleon died of stomach cancer.

But the veracity of Antommarchi's report was questioned in 1961, and more recently in 2001, when high arsenic levels were found in Napoleon's hair. Various theories of conspiracy, treachery and poisoning followed.

According to those claims, the former French Emperor was poisoned to prevent a return to power if he escaped exile.

Now, Italian scientists have repeated the hair testing using a small nuclear reactor. The study will be published in the March issue of the Italian journal Il Saggiatore.

Researchers from the universities of Pavia and Milan analyzed several hair samples that had been taken during different periods of Napoleon Bonaparte's life -- from when he was a boy in Corsica, during his exile on the Island of Elba, on the day of his death on the Island of Saint Helena, and on the day after his death.

Samples taken from Napoleon II (Bonaparte's son) in the years 1812, 1816, 1821 and 1826, and samples from Napoleon's wife the Empress Josephine, collected upon her death in 1814, were also analyzed.

In addition to those historical samples, obtained from various French and Italian museums, the researchers tested ten hairs taken from randomly selected people alive today.
"It was very important to compare Napoleon's hair not only with samples from living persons, but also with samples taken from his close relatives," said Adalberto Piazzoli of the University of Pavia's Theoretical and Nuclear Physics Department.

The hairs were placed in capsules and inserted into the core of the nuclear reactor in Pavia. Known as "neutron activation," the technology provides precise results, even on tiny samples.

"Indeed we found that Napoleon's hair had high arsenic concentrations. But we found the same high concentration in samples belonging to his son and wife. Basically, the level of arsenic in all of the hair samples from 200 years ago is 100 times greater than the average level detected in samples from persons living today," Piazzoli said.

At the beginning of the 19th century, that finding suggests, arsenic was present in the environment in quantities that are currently considered very dangerous.

"Moreover, there were no significant differences in arsenic levels between when Napoleon was a boy and during his final days in Saint Helena. This shows clearly that the high arsenic concentration in Napoleon's hair wasn't due to poisoning. Instead, it is the result of a constant absorption of arsenic," Piazzoli said.

According to Ezio Previtali of the Italian National Institute of Nuclear Physics, "discovering that 200 years ago people were 100 times more exposed to arsenic than today is one of the most intriguing aspects of the research."

"I believe that this research has established new reference points, but I'm sure there will be more studies over Napoleon's death, because of the fascination this figure still exerts," Previtali told the daily La Repubblica.

The latest study into Napoleon's death, reported in 2007 in Nature Clinical Practice Gastroenterology & Hepatology, compared historical accounts with modern pathological and tumor-staging methods to point to advanced gastric cancer as the cause of death.

The gastric cancer diagnosis was also supported by a 2005 Swiss study which examined 12 pairs of trousers worn by Napoleon between 1800 and 1821. The trousers showed that Bonaparte dramatically slimmed down in the final six months of his life, losing almost 5 inches from his waist and more than 24 pounds, weight loss that would be consistent with a diagnosis of gastric cancer.